From outer space to within your body, there are so many things to be amazed by! Here are some bizarre human facts that will make you appreciate yourself even further:
Your feet contain 25% of your bones; your tongue has eight interwoven muscles; and every 10 years your skeleton replaces itself completely.
1. The human body contains enough fat to make seven bars of soap.
Human bodies are truly amazing, yet still manage to surprise us with some extraordinary features. From how many times you blink a minute to your ears and nose continuing to grow throughout life, there are numerous amazing facts about the human body to dazzle your friends with!
Did you know that our bodies contain enough fat to create seven bars of soap? This is because humans are mostly composed of fats and oils; most coming from our intestinal tract. Furthermore, stomach acid has the power to dissolve metal; in fact, its production contributes to hunger pangs! On average people produce enough saliva in their lifetime to fill two swimming pools – each person also leaves behind their unique tongue prints which is unique just like fingerprints!
2. Embryos develop fingerprints three months after conception.
At the start of pregnancy, an embryo resembles something between a tadpole or seahorse and an insect larva. After nine weeks or so, however, its body starts taking shape with muscles developing and its tail eventually falling off – as well as beginning to develop external genitalia.
At around the same age, humans begin to form fingerprints. This happens when cells in the middle layer of skin grow faster than outer layer cells and fold and create ridges; each person’s unique fingerprint is the result.
By week 14, embryos also start developing the ability to hiccup as a way of ridding themselves of excess gas. Doctors can hear it using an ultrasound machine. Furthermore, it has its own sleep/wake cycle and responds to loud noises; additionally it blinks its eyes 20 times per minute!
3. Humans have a “diving reflex” that shuts down bodily functions when submerged in water to prevent drowning.
Human bodies are truly remarkable machines; every day it gets us where we need to go and has some awesome tricks up its sleeve – for instance, the muscle responsible for shutting your eyes in just under 100 milliseconds!
The “diving reflex” is an inborn ability of mammals that allows them to dive without breathing. When activated, your heart rate gradually slows, blood vessels narrow and the spleen releases red blood cells to increase oxygen capacity for increased survival underwater. This enables extended dive times.
Divers are sometimes surprised to learn that one unique benefit of diving reflex is protecting lungs from collapse. By filling with plasma, your lungs become resilient against water pressure and prevent shrinking when exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide. Your spleen helps speed recovery after extended breath holds by replenishing blood supplies faster.
4. There are tumors known as teratomas that can grow their own teeth and hair.
Teratomas can be extremely alarming; their appearance often being described as unsettling and bizarre. Teratomas are believed to form when pluripotent embryonic stem cells proliferate out of control, taking on whatever shape or size they want and creating these terrifying growths.
Teratomas can even form teeth and hair where they shouldn’t. When made up of nerve tissue, they can give off an illusion that it is alive and feeling.
Scientists such as Leroy Stevens investigated tumors to discover more about the embryonic cells they contained. His work led him to the discovery of pluripotent embryonic stem cells within mice as a result.
5. Your heart can sync to the rhythm when you listen to music.
Your breathing rate can synchronize with the beat of music you are listening to without you even realising it, due to something called entrainment – your body adapts to this rhythm to maintain stable heart rates and regulate your blood pressure.
Scientists have discovered that when listening to music with the beat of your heart, your breathing can adjust accordingly, with speedier or slower breathing based on how closely the beat of music matches up with what your body’s doing – this occurs subconsciously and is completely out of our conscious awareness.
Human bodies are full of odd and amazing facts! From sharing 40-50% of our DNA with cabbage to shedding 30,000 dead skin cells every minute, your body truly is amazing! Share these fascinating human body facts with friends the next time you meet for drinks or wait in line at your doctor appointment – these intriguing details about your own will certainly amaze and amass them!
6. When you blush, the inside of your stomach does too.
When we blush, the lining of our stomach turns red as well, due to adrenaline causing increased blood flow. So if you decide to devour that hotdog without looking first, be mindful it could also cause your stomach to flush red!
Human bodies are wondrous creatures – mysterious, magical, sometimes disgusting! There are so many amazing facts about our bodies that can astonish us! From how often we blink to why babies have more bones than adults to tongue prints being as individual as fingerprints – there are so many amazing discoveries waiting to be learned that will amaze your friends at your next dinner party or while waiting in doctor’s offices!!
7. Humans have a “diving reflex” that shuts down bodily functions when submerged in water to prevent drowning.
Humans share with other mammals an instinctual diving reflex which activates when submerged in water to avoid drowning, known as the bradycardic response. It works to conserve oxygen by slowing heart rate and diverting blood away from vital organs such as the skin towards vital ones like brain and heart.
This strange fact about human bodies helps explain why infants can stay underwater for long periods, as well as how quickly they can swim in deep water environments. Additionally, this allows infants to find food beneath the surface surface.
Facts about your body that might surprise or amaze include that your ears and nose never stop growing and stomach acid can dissolve metal. Eye muscles contain some of the fastest muscles found anywhere on your body and are capable of moving your eyelids open or closed within a fraction of a second!
8. Humans are bioluminescent.
Bioluminescence conjures images of fireflies and deep sea creatures using their light to attract mates or dissuade predators, but did you know that human bodies also exhibit bioluminescence?
According to a PLOS One study, humans produce visible light that’s 1,000 times weaker than what our eyes can detect. This light fluctuates throughout the day with forehead, cheeks and neck producing brightest glows.
Glow is caused by chemical metabolic reactions occurring when cells respire; free radicals created during these reactions react with free-floating proteins and lipids that emit photons via fluorescence, producing visible light emissions. Though unlikely to serve any evolutionary purpose, such fluorescence could prove useful in medicine or warfare applications.
9. Astronauts can grow up to two inches taller in space.
Scott and Mark Kelly may have found it difficult to tell apart as identical twins as children, but that should no longer be a concern now that he’s nearing completion of a year in space and could return up two inches taller than when he left Earth.
NASA reports that space scientists have discovered that astronauts in microgravity can grow up to three percent taller, thanks to decompressing their spines while away, which allows the spinal disks to expand without constant pressure from gravity.
Space flight can add several inches to a six-footer’s height, making them feel taller upon their return to Earth. Unfortunately, gravity will eventually take over and cause their height increase to fade back – eventually taking their newfound height back down with it!
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No doubt about it: the human body is an incredible and fascinating wonderland, from how often you blink to why tongue prints are as unique as fingerprints; you won’t believe your eyes when you learn these remarkable human body facts!
Did you know that babies are born with 300 bones but only end up needing 206 as adults? Or that sweat glands help cool your skin by producing sweat, while bacteria in pores create body odor? And the appendix actually serves a useful function by housing microbes essential to gut health? All of these amazing human body facts will surely impress your friends at your next gathering or trivia night! These interesting insights into human biology are sure to leave an impression at dinner parties or trivia nights!