10 facts about the human body that seem fantastic

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Something interesting about saliva, women's hearts, as well as the participation of stars in the creation of the human race.

1. Sweat doesn't smell bad

You probably won't believe this, because you just need to smell it to refute our statement. And then, if sweat is odorless, why does mankind invent all kinds of deodorants and lotions?

In fact, the sweat itself really does not smell of anything, since it consists mainly of water. But it also contains acids secreted by the apocrine glands in the armpits, chest and groin. Bacteria living on the skin break down these acids, and their waste products give off an unpleasant odor.

2. Eyes see the world upside down

This was proved by the physicist Rene Descartes back in the 17th century. He projected onto a paper screen an image of a cut out bull's eye, and it was inverted - in accordance with all the laws of physics. The fact is that light is refracted when passing through the cornea and lens, so that the projection of the visible object turns out to be rotated.

Why then don't we see the world upside down? The fact is that our brain flips the picture back, making it correspond to reality (and at the same time glues the images from two retinas into one).

In the 1890s, psychologist George Stratton conducted an experiment,. He put on special glasses that flip the image, and wore them for eight days. On the fifth day, his brain simply stopped correcting the picture, and Stratton again began to see the world normally. True, his brain had to get used to it again when he took them off.

3. Three kilograms of bacteria live in you

If you think that you are the only inhabitant of your body, then you are wrong. The number of bacteria living in the human body is three times the number of its own cells. But they weigh quite a bit in comparison with your skeleton, muscles and viscera - about 1-3 kg (for a person 170 cm tall and weighing 70 kg).

In addition, not only bacteria live in you, but also archaea, fungi, protists and viruses. Some of them do really useful things - for example, they participate in digestion and protect you from disease-causing organisms and harmful substances. Others simply exist without bothering you. And still others are completely busy with something incomprehensible. Live with it now.

4. People produce cyanide

Sodium, potassium and hydrogen cyanides are substances that kill quickly, preventing the cells of the body from absorbing oxygen. Cyanide has been used for centuries as a poison, poison against pests, and even as a chemical weapon. The consumption of 0.1 gram of this substance is enough to kill a person weighing 70 kg.

It is all the more surprising that a person constantly absorbs cyanides in small doses, for example, with apples and spinach. What's more, cyanide is produced by breathing! At any moment, a healthy person contains up to 50 micrograms of this substance per 100 grams of tissue. However, it does not accumulate in the cells and is quickly excreted in the urine and respiration.

5. There are more than four blood groups

If you ask how many blood groups there are in the world, you will probably say: four,. Most likely, you were taught this in school. The first (0) - in 44% of the world's population, the second (A) - in 42%, the third (B) - in 10% and the fourth (AB) - in 4%.

Now, this is not entirely true. In fact, there are 29 blood groups in the world. At least that many were counted by the International Society of Blood Transfusion. The AB0 and Rhesus antigens, by which the four are distinguished, are not the only ones, there are others. And many of them are named after patients in whom the corresponding antibodies were first detected. Moreover, it is quite possible that new ones will appear in the future.

6. Wet wrinkled fingers are useful

Have you sat in the bathtub or pool and your fingers are wrinkled? It’s not just that. Scientists believe that in high humidity, the body uses a special mechanism and makes the fingers so that they better grip wet objects.

Whether you're drowning in a river and grabbing onto a branch, or leaning against trees as you slide on wet ground in the pouring rain, wrinkles on your fingers can help you do this more effectively. A study from the University of Newcastle found that people with water-wrinkled skin on their toes and feet were better at keeping slippery floors.

7. It is impossible to tickle yourself

When someone else tickles you, you can twitch, laugh, or struggle. But try tickling yourself and you won't succeed.

It is assumed that tickling appeared in the process of evolution as a means of protection from insects, spiders and other unpleasant creatures that crawl over people and can harm them. If someone else tickles you, it is also perceived as a threat. But if you tickle yourself, the body will not give out a reaction, because it will understand that it is doing it to itself.

But if you find it funny or unpleasant because you are tickling yourself, this is a bad sign, which can be a sign of schizophrenia or cerebellar damage.

8. Women's hearts beat faster

If you are a woman, know that your heart beats 78–82 times a minute versus 70–72 times for men. This is because female sex hormones affect myocardial cells, accelerating their contraction. True, there is nothing to be particularly proud of, since because of this feature, women often suffer from tachycardia and arrhythmias.

9. In a day, people produce a bottle of saliva

Your salivary glands produce two to six glasses of saliva per day - 0.5-1.5 liters. You still haven't choked on it, because you are constantly swallowing it reflexively.

But at night it is quite possible, because people do not know how to swallow in their sleep. And so that you do not choke, the body reduces the amount of saliva produced. Therefore, when you wake up in the morning, you usually feel dry mouth.

10. People are made of stars

It is possible that you have heard such an interesting statement by Lawrence Krauss - quotes:

Every atom in your body comes from an exploding star. And, perhaps, the atoms of your left hand belonged to another star, not the one from which the atoms of the right. This is the most poetic thing I know about physics: we are all made of stardust. You would not be here if the stars did not explode, because the chemical elements - carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, everything that is needed for the emergence of evolution and for life, were not created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and in order to transform into your bodies, the stars had to explode. So forget about Jesus. The stars died for you to be here today.

Lawrence Maxwell Krauss, physicist

This is true,. The six most abundant elements of life on Earth, accounting for more than 97% of the mass of the human body, are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and phosphorus. All of them were born in the process of nuclear fusion in the stars billions of years ago - before the formation of the sun and solar system.

So yes, you are made of stars. And also the whole world around you was created from them - all people, animals, objects, mountains, seas and air.