Random Facts About the Human Body
Human bodies are truly remarkable. From individual atoms to large chromosomes, our bodies’ capabilities seem almost unbelievable.
Infants begin life with roughly 350 bones; as they age and fuse together over time, adults only possess 206. Additionally, there are over 60,000 miles of blood vessels running through our bodies that if laid out would cover twice around the planet!
1. You have a coccyx.
Your coccyx is the triangular-shaped bone found at the bottom of your spine that forms its own end of spinal column and represents a vestigial tail – thus its popular name as your “tailbone.” Comprised of three to five fused vertebrae, it lies directly beneath sacrum at base of spine where it bears weight when sitting down as well as supporting ischial tuberosities in this position; an over-curved coccyx may lead to issues in lower back and neck pain as well.
Adult humans generally have their coccyx fused by age 30, although it may remain unfused for up to the first 20 years of life. Fusion usually completes by this point. When sitting, however, its movements and rotation may change slightly with sitting position changes; connection with sacrum via sacrococcygeal joint; during first trimester pregnancy may even increase to accommodate expanding uterus size.
Though trauma to the coccyx is common, its purpose remains unclear in modern humans. Compression causes significant pain when falling backward onto hard surfaces; alternatively it may produce idiopathic (pain caused by no identifiable source) pain in some individuals. Common sources of Coccyx pain include trauma injury, degeneration and aging.
2. You have a tail.
Your back consists of small bones known as vertebrae that interlock to form your spine, known collectively as your vertebrae. These vertebrae fuse together into your coccyx which is more commonly known as your tail bone. Most mammals possess tails; humans however are an acaudate species lacking one. Animals that do possess tails include fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds.
Human backs consist of five varieties or types of vertebrae: neck (cervical) vertebrae that support the head; thoracic vertebrae which anchor the ribcage; lumbar vertebrae which provide abdominal support, sacral vertebrae which stabilize pelvis and sacral vertebrae which stabilize tail. True tails are extremely rare and most cases result from abnormalities of the coccyx or spina bifida; some individuals may also possess pseudotails caused by other conditions like scoliosis or polio; some people also possess true tails despite not having abnormalities of their coccyx.
Other fascinating human body facts include our 2.5 million sweat pores, teeth that grow throughout life, noses and ears that continue to develop until puberty, being taller in the morning than night, an intestine which acts like an ocean wave when eating and that ear wax is actually just a form of sweat!
Our bodies are truly remarkable creatures with so much to teach us! If you want to delve deeper into understanding more of human anatomy, these guides offer useful information.
3. You glow in the dark.
Human bodies are truly an amazing marvel, full of fascinating yet quirky facts that range from skin regeneration after paper cuts to how ears and noses continue to expand throughout our lives (even after we stop growing taller), there is so much about our bodies that are simply bizarre.
One of the more fascinating body facts is that humans can produce enough energy for cells to emit light and glow in the dark for approximately one minute. However, this phenomenon usually only lasts that long.
Another amazing feat of human biology is hearing your own heartbeat, since your brain can recognize sounds in as little as 0.05 seconds; that is 10 times faster than blinking an eye!
Humans possess a natural diving reflex, which shuts down bodily functions when submerged in water. It is activated by serotonin chemicals found within your system; you can even view your heartbeat by looking at the palm of your hand.
Your tongue prints are distinctive to you and can often be mistaken for fingerprints. Furthermore, over your lifetime you will shed 22 kilograms of skin. Furthermore, an average person farts enough in one day to fill an air balloon!
Even though these facts might seem gross, it’s crucial that they’re understood. Otherwise, you could put yourself at risk: for instance, having an appendix that doesn’t function properly increases the risk of infection to other parts of the body; additionally, you need to understand that earwax is actually sweat.
4. You have a heart.
Your heart is the muscle responsible for pumping blood throughout your body, carrying oxygen and nutrients to all of its tissues while carrying off carbon dioxide and waste products. On average, it beats approximately 100,000 times each day, pumping approximately 2,000 gallons through you in each minute.
Your heart is roughly the size of a fist and rests at the center of your chest, directly behind and slightly to the left of your breastbone. There are four chambers within it – two on either side – separated by pericardium (an outer protective layer), myocardium (an inner muscular wall).
Pink and rubbery lung tissue indicates good lung health; if you smoke however, these healthy-looking lungs could turn black from within if not regularly ventilated properly.
There are over 600 muscles in your body, the Gluteus Maximus being the largest and the stapedius muscle in your ears being the smallest.
Each minute, your skin sheds over 30,000 dead cells that are replaced by new ones. On an annual basis, we produce enough sweat to fill two swimming pools. When we sneeze, our nose moves forward and backward to mix up the air; while your largest cranial cavity contains 2.5 million sweat pores. On average, humans fart enough each day to fill an entire party balloon – how embarrassing!
5. You have a brain.
As humans, our bodies are filled with fascinating and sometimes oddly mysterious details that we must constantly keep an eye on and remember to pay attention to. From learning our skeleton consists of 206 bones to knowing tongue prints are as distinctive as fingerprints and that our bodies shed 22 kilograms of skin each year – there is always something new and fascinating about the human body!
Brain is one of the most complex systems in our bodies, as it controls almost everything we do – emotions, thinking and learning among them. Additionally, it controls body functions such as movement, balance coordination and the fight or flight response. Composed of various parts that perform specific functions – cerebrum which interprets sight, sound and touch interpretation, hippocampus which helps us remember things – it plays an integral part in keeping us functioning normally.
The cerebellum is another area of the brain responsible for movement, balance, and coordination. It is widely believed that your right half of cerebrum helps with abstract things such as music, colors and shapes while your left half deals with analytical tasks such as math and logic. Unfortunately, scientists still do not fully comprehend how the brain operates but do know it contains nerve cells communicating between each other to form complex neural circuits which carry messages throughout its complex network of pathways.
The digestive system has often been called the second brain due to its own nervous system with 100 million neurons embedded into your gut wall! This connection between your gut and brain, known as the gut-brain axis, can be affected by factors like stress, diet or medication and is what triggers sneezes or coughs when eating too quickly or causes hiccups when you swallow too quickly!
There are so many interesting and amazing facts about the human body! Discovering these intriguing tidbits will teach you more about our anatomy while wowing your friends with knowledge!
Babies do not have kneecaps and their cartilage will gradually transform into bone as they get older. Each individual is uniquely imprinted with fingerprints and tongue prints, taking about 12 hours for digestion of one meal.
Bones
Bones play an essential role in shaping us, keeping us upright, protecting organs, storing minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, and providing shape. While bones may appear non-living, they actually contain living tissue which continually remodels and reshapes itself throughout your lifetime. In addition, bone marrow provides new blood cells.
Human bodies contain 206 bones, such as those in the skull, face, ribs, sternum and pelvis. Some of these 206 bones fuse together during gestation and childhood to form long and short bones – this explains why infants typically have less bones than adults do.
Some of our larger bones, like those in our arms and legs, feature five individual bones while fingers and toes each have three. If you’re picking up something heavy, remember that your wrist, hands, and fingers collectively have 54 bones ready to grab and secure it!
Appendixes have become notoriously malignant over time, becoming sources of infection to other parts of our bodies if left alone. Yet they serve an essential purpose – they store microbes that promote gut health. Therefore they serve an integral role in digestive systems.
Eyes
The human eye is an incredible organ that provides us with vision of the world around us. Understanding its various parts is crucial if we’re to use them effectively; not only do our eyes give us access to what’s going on outside, they can also relay information directly into our brains for processing and interpretation.
The outer layer of our eyes, known as sclera (say: SKLAIR-uh), serves to protect them from damage and infection by being thick and tough, with blood vessels carrying oxygen into our eyeball. Directly behind it lies an opaque lens called cornea (say: KOR-nuh). This transparent lens lets light pass through it, helping focus objects as it travels toward our retina at the back.
Light passes through the cornea before landing on a dark area at the back of the eyeball known as the iris, where it meets an adjustable hole called a pupil which allows eyes to respond to different lighting conditions by widening or narrowing depending on environmental light levels. Furthermore, this area contains colored pigment that gives eyes their characteristic hue.
There are six muscles that assist with eyeball movement: medial rectus, lateral rectus, superior ophthalmic muscle, inferior ophthalmic muscle and sphenoid bone. Our optic nerve provides visual information directly to our brain, with our eyes being capable of detecting movement up to 2.5 light-years away and blinking 20 times per minute or 10 million times annually – our appendix even stores microbes beneficial to digestion!
Nose
Human and other animal faces feature prominent noses which serve several essential purposes. Breathing air through, smell of scenting food and tasting is all accomplished through this complex structure made up of bone, cartilage and fat that contains nasal septum, turbinates and sinuses; additionally it also houses small muscles for facial expressions.
The nose serves three main purposes: providing oxygen, protecting against dirt and serving as the sense of smell. Air is brought into the nostrils through nostrils where it warms and moistens before being passed to lungs for filtering; additionally it serves as an outlet to release old air that has built up within us.
Furthermore, it protects our eyes by filtering out harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun and other sources of ultraviolet light. Furthermore, its mucous membrane vibrations act like an air stethoscope, helping us hear heartbeats and other sounds within our bodies.
Crookedness in a nose may result from either an off-kilter septum, an injury to bone spurs or some other factor. Crooked or deviated septum makes breathing difficult and leads to nasal congestion; additionally, thin tissue inside of it secretes sticky mucus to clean off dust and other contaminants from entering through its thin passageways.
Your sense of smell allows us to taste food by picking up on aromas from foods we consume; our noses can detect up to 100 different odors! In our lifetimes we produce enough earwax to fill two swimming pools, blink 20 times every minute (ten million per year!), and stop growing after puberty whereas noses and ears continue to expand throughout our lives.
Mouth
The mouth is an integral component of human anatomy. It plays an integral part in food intake and digestion as well as speech production and respiration. Its oval-shaped opening starts at the lips and extends towards the tonsils; composed of lips, cheeks, hard and soft palate, tongue, ducts of the salivary glands, etc.
Salivary glands produce saliva (spit) to aid with breaking down starches in our food, and tongue use this fluid to move food down through throat, esophagus and stomach for digestion. Furthermore, tongue also contain small papillae which act as taste buds on its surface.
Estimates suggest we blink approximately 20 times every minute – that equates to 10 million times in a year!
Babies blink twice as frequently as adults due to the development of their eyes; this helps ensure they see properly.
Human bodies contain approximately 25,000 quarts of saliva – enough to fill approximately two swimming pools! We produce billions of cells every day; should any become cancerous, this could result in our deaths.
If you suffer from chronic health conditions, salivary glands can stop producing saliva altogether and lead to dehydration and digestive bloating. To counteract this effect, drinking plenty of water will keep salivary glands working effectively while using a humidifier will increase body fluids which will also help alleviate discomfort and make you feel more at ease.
Senses
Human beings utilize specialized organs to sense both external environments and internal states through various senses. People typically identify five senses – touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. But the number can depend on your definition of each sense and what sort of information each sends directly to the brain.
Sensory receptors are cells which convert information from their environment into electrical signals that the brain can recognize and interpret. Each sensory receptor is tailored specifically to collect certain types of information before sending the signals along to our brain, which then transforms those signals into perceptions about our environment and body.
Humans generally deem vision to be the most vital sense, since it provides us with the most information per second. But with so much overlap between each sense’s information collection capabilities and those collected by another sense, some experts consider there may be as many as nine or more senses in a healthy human.
No one seems to notice what our bodies are sensing most of the time, yet that doesn’t mean we don’t use our senses – whether that be through using your favorite pen or roller coasters and how your brain processes these experiences or by keeping yourself calm during stressful moments on an airplane ride – yet every day, these experiences use your senses without even realizing it – hence why taking care of our senses should be prioritized and scheduled a free consultation session with a BetterUp coach is so vital! To gain more insights on this matter book your free consultation now with a BetterUp coach now to learn more!