It seems that each of us has secret superpowers, but few people suspect about them.
We are sure that over the years of our life we have learned our body quite well. But our device is much more complex than one might think. Can you imagine that gastric juice can eat away metal, and the little finger is the strongest finger? And that is not all. So, what other superpowers does our body have?
1. Blinking helps the brain to rest
The obvious function of this process is to moisturize and remove dust from the eye. But for this you do not need to blink so often – 15 to 20 times per minute. Japanese scientists have found that blinking helps the brain to reboot – to reset the state of neurons in the part of the brain that is responsible for switching attention from one important object to another.
2. Hair can taste
The nasal passage and lungs have the finest hairs – cilia that recognize and destroy impurities. How do they find it? Taste. Feeling bitterness (for example, nicotine), the cilia begin to move faster, trying to get rid of harmful substances as soon as possible.
3. It is impossible to tickle yourself
All our movements are under the control of the cerebellum. It predicts your actions and instructs the motor area of the brain to reduce activity. There are two areas of the brain involved in processing the tickling response. The somatosensory cortex processes touch, and the anterior cingulate cortex processes pleasant information. When we tickle ourselves, these two areas become less active than when we are tickled by someone else.
4. Hair helps the environment
According to environmental engineers, the secretion of the sebaceous glands is capable of absorbing ozone, an oxygen compound that, in large quantities, can harm the body and the environment. Dirty hair absorbs seven times more ozone than clean hair, so if you want to take care of the environment, skip one shampoo.
5. People shine, we just don’t see it
Expression “You just shine!” has scientific evidence. Research has shown that the human body actually emits light. We do not see it, because it is about 1000 times less intense than the light rays that our eyes can perceive. Japanese scientists have found that the intensity of the glow changes throughout the day – the weakest is observed at 10:00 in the morning, and the strongest at 16:00 (perhaps because this is the end of the working day).
6. Stomach acid can dissolve a razor blade
Of course, you shouldn’t swallow these things, but just know that your stomach can handle them. Doctors tested the effects of gastric juice on metal objects and found that in 24 hours, stomach acid reduced the razor blades to 63 percent of their original weight. True, the other participants in the experiment – coins and batteries – hardly suffered.
7. Earwax is good for your health
It looks, of course, not very aesthetically pleasing, and the composition is unpleasant – 50% fat. But sulfur works like a lubricant – it coats the ear canal, collects dust and debris, and protects the body from infections.
8. The number of bones decreases with age
At birth, the human skeleton consists of 300 bones, but with age, many of them fuse together. When the body finishes growing, only 206 bones remain.
9. Hair knows when you sleep
Another incredible thing hair can do is remember when you sleep. Hair follicle cells contain RNA (one of the three main macromolecules, together with DNA and proteins that are found in the cells of all living organisms and play an important role in coding, reading, regulating and expressing genes) from the “clock genes” that express the sleep-wake cycle each person. So, the hair contains information about what time you go to bed and when you get up.
10. In today’s world, human nails grow faster than before.
This conclusion was made by scientists from the University of North Carolina. Comparing the rate of regrowth of fingernails and toenails with previous studies carried out 70 and 50 years ago, they found that nail growth increases by almost a quarter in a decade. For example, thumbnails are now growing more than 2mm per month, up from 1,65mm per month in the 1930s. The main reason is believed to be the proliferation of protein diets.
11. Taste buds weaken with age
Over the years, not only vision and hearing deteriorate, it becomes more difficult for us to recognize the flavor nuances of food. In addition, due to various damage with age, the process of repairing taste buds slows down. And the very sad news – women, as a rule, experience a decrease in taste sensitivity starting from the age of 50, but men do not experience this problem until the age of 60.
12. The surface of each person’s tongue is unique
Just like fingerprints, the surface of the tongue is unique. This became known through the research of Thai dentists. They conducted a biometric scan, which showed that each person’s tongue has an individual shape and texture (ridges, wrinkles, marks).
13. Man is the only mammal that cries from emotion
In the animal kingdom, tears serve to cleanse the eyes, and only in humans are they an expression of emotions. According to British scientists, tears also have a social role. Even if a person hides his tears from others, so he shows himself that things are really bad. However, you can also cry for joy.
14. The buttocks are the largest muscle
If the question of which muscle is the strongest can still raise doubts, then the biggest question does not arise. The gluteus muscles help keep the body upright and overcome gravity as we go uphill. They also cushion the weight when we are sitting.
15. Little finger is the strongest finger
Despite its size, the little finger is the main finger on the hand. He helps the work of the big one and strengthens everyone else. According to rehabilitation doctors, it contains 59% of all arm strength.
16. The intestines are three times your height
The small intestine is 5 to 7 meters long. If you imagine it in a straightened state, it will be at least three times longer than your body.
17. A person has more than five senses
In addition to sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing, there is a sense of space – proprioception, and a feeling of pain – nociception. And also equilibrioception – a sense of balance, thermoception – determining the temperature inside and around the body and a sense of time. And this is not a complete list.
18. Body position affects memory
It turns out that sitting and looking makes it easier to remember negative emotions, while sitting up straight and looking up makes it easier to remember positive ones. It seems like it can be used to improve mood.
19. The smallest bone is in the ear
Throughout the body, bones are not found smaller and lighter than the stapes, which are located in the middle ear. It got its name because of its specific shape. This bone consists of a base and an oval arch covered with a membrane and serves to measure sound vibrations.
20. The intestine has a “second brain”
The feeling of “butterflies in the stomach” before a first date or an important event is familiar to almost everyone. There is a scientific explanation for this: the intestinal cavity is lined with a neural network, and scientists call it “the second brain.” The fact is that the intestine is responsible not only for digestion, but also has its own reflexes and feelings and is directly connected with the nervous system.
21. There are no muscles in the fingers
Throughout the day, your fingers do a lot of manipulation, but no matter how strong you grip, it has nothing to do with the muscles. Any movement of the fingers is regulated by tendons and bones with the participation of the muscles of the palms of the hands and at the base of each individual finger.
22. Bones are stronger than steel
Despite the fact that bones sometimes break, they are incredibly strong and can withstand a load more than a steel bar of the same width. The most powerful bone in the body is the thigh, which can support 30 times the weight of the average person.
23. Tongue is the only muscle that does not connect two bones
Each muscle in the body connects to bones at both ends, allowing it to stretch. And only the tongue is connected only on one side with a part of the neck – the hyoid bone.
24. Children don’t have knee caps
The kneecaps form with age, and in infants, cartilage instead. Ossification begins at about 3-6 years of age and ends only in adolescence.
25. The liver can fully recover
The liver is elastic, and even if 75% damaged, it can recover to its normal size. The fact is that liver cells are quickly regenerated and fully restored in about one month.
26. A quarter of all bones of the skeleton are in the feet
Human legs consist of 52 bones (26 in the right and left). That’s almost a quarter of all the bones in your body! Each contains 33 joints and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
27. By the evening our growth decreases
It’s hard to believe, but in fact, in the morning our growth is higher than at the time of going to bed. This is due to the pressure that the joints experience during the day. During sleep, the muscles relax, the pressure on the spinal discs decreases, and growth returns to normal.
28. The human body has the same amount of hair as a chimpanzee
There are as many hair follicles per square centimeter of human skin as other great apes. True, our hair is much thinner, so it is rather difficult to estimate their amount by eye.
29. The skeleton is renewed every 10 years
The cells of your skeletal system are constantly regenerating, and complete bone renewal occurs on average once every 10 years. With age, this process slows down, and it takes longer to recover, as a result of which the tissues become more fragile.
30. Noise in the stomach when you are hungry: Borborygmus
The next time your stomach starts to rumble during an important meeting, blame it on Borborygmus. This is the technical term that the specialists of the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders gave to the gurgling sound. By the way, it appears due to the movement of liquid and gas in the intestines.
-The human body is an amazing and holistic system. Our body is constantly talking to us, in order to understand its signals, you need to communicate with it in the same language.
For example, the intestines know exactly whether food is right for us or not. If you want to sleep after eating, your mood spoils for no reason, you want to postpone things for later, this is not your product, remove it from your diet.
Swelling indicates whether you need to change the time you drink water. For maximum benefit, drink it in the morning. Otherwise, stones may form, since the kidneys after 17:00 work to accumulate, and the water contains minerals.
The body temperature rises to fight off viruses and bacteria and to protect us from great dangers.
Even the skin speaks to us: if the body lacks vitamin D, it easily reddens and burns. If acne or age spots appear, the excretory system (gastrointestinal tract) does not work well and the skin takes over these functions.