The human body is one of the most perfect “machines”. Each person has around 125,000 hair strands on their head, laughs an average of 15 times a day, and cannot sneeze without closing their eyes… These are some intriguing facts about the human body that many people may not know.
Totaldui has compiled some interesting findings about the human body as follows:
1. On average, a person laughs 15 times a day.
2. You cannot sneeze without closing your eyes.
3. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
4. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
5. You cannot commit suicide by holding your breath.
6. You cannot lick your own elbow.
7. Like fingerprints, each person’s tongue print is unique.
8. If you sneeze too hard, you could break a rib.
9. If you try to hold in a sneeze, you could rupture blood vessels in your head or neck and die.
10. An average person consumes over 27 tons of food in their lifetime.
11. On average, a person spends 24 years of their life sleeping.
12. On average, a woman consumes over 2.7 kg of lipstick in her lifetime, even though she doesn’t intentionally eat it.
13. Talking on the phone for 8 hours burns about 914 calories. Driving for 8 hours burns 1,219 calories. Standing in a casino for 8 hours burns 1,402 calories.
14. The most common name in the world is Mohammed.
15. Typically, right-handed people use the left side of the brain for all conscious and voluntary activities.
16. Most dust in homes comes from dead skin cells.
17. In total, the skin of each person weighs about 2 kg.
18. When angry, a person uses 42 facial muscles to express their anger.
19. 10% of the world’s population is left-handed.
20. Each person has a total of 125,000 hair strands on their head.
21. Every 4 months, red blood cells travel a distance of 1,600 km.
22. In a lifetime, a person breathes approximately 38,000 cm3 of air.
23. Every second, about 100,000 chemical reactions occur in the human brain.
24. The brain takes 0.05 seconds to recognize what the eyes have just observed.
25. A person can only go without sleep for 10 days, while they can survive without food for several weeks.
26. Normal exhalation travels at a speed of 24 km/h, while sneezing can reach a speed of 1,030 km/h.
27. A person can “host” up to a million mosquitoes! Each human body has enough blood to nourish between 1.2 to 1.8 million mosquitoes. A mosquito drinks about 0.003 ml of blood in one bite, so it requires a “bloodthirsty army” to completely drain a human body.
28. Men’s breasts can also produce milk: Everyone – regardless of gender – has mammary glands, milk ducts, and nipples. Therefore, male breasts can produce milk if stimulated. Hormonal imbalance, severe stress, etc., are some causes that can stimulate milk production in men.
29. A woman can give birth to more than 40 children: Due to genetic factors, some women have the ability to reproduce and raise dozens of children. The record for the “greatest mother” is held by a Russian woman in the 18th century, who is said to have given birth to 69 children throughout her life.
30. Facial hair grows the fastest on the body: If you ask any man, they will surely agree that facial hair grows incredibly fast. They have to shave every day due to continuous growth. This can sometimes become an advantage for men as women are often attracted to beards.
31. Women’s fingerprints differ by 99% from men’s: Women’s skin secretes twice the amount of amino acids compared to men’s, and they are particularly distinctive on the fingertips. This is why scientists can determine a person’s gender based on their fingerprints.
32. The way you clasp your hands shows which hemisphere of your brain is dominant: If your right thumb is on top when you clasp your hands, it means your right hemisphere is dominant. Conversely, if your left thumb is on top, it indicates that your left hemisphere is more active. The right hemisphere is responsible for emotions and creativity, while the left hemisphere is used for reasoning, analysis, and logical thinking. 1% of the population clasps their fingers parallel to each other. People with this habit are ambidextrous. Scientists agree that for ambidextrous individuals, neither hemisphere completely dominates. Their brains develop equally.
33. Nasal discharge can be fluid from the brain: Fluid leaking from the nose could be cerebrospinal fluid. Cerebrospinal fluid surrounds the brain and is held by a special membrane. Sometimes, it may leak a small amount down your nose in the form of clear fluid.
34. Every person is a unique individual: Without even discussing thoughts, just your appearance alone proves that you are unlike anyone else. The shape of your ears, the size, and texture of your tongue are things that never change and are unique in the world (fingerprints can still change).
35. Women’s hearts beat faster: Scientists from Canada have revealed that women’s heart rates are faster by about 1.7 to 2.3 beats per minute compared to men. On average, a woman’s heart beats 10 beats more per minute.
36. The liver has over 500 functions: Sometimes, our liver is compared to the busy honeybee. It continuously performs various tasks, from filtering blood, breaking down and absorbing fats, to metabolizing cholesterol and vitamins, and much more.
37. A person can lie like a rock if they need to use the bathroom: Indeed, when you need to go to the bathroom, your ability to lie increases dramatically. The strong desire to “relieve oneself” makes us focus on self-control, thereby making the lie more convincing. Additionally, they restrict any other movements when they are in need.
38. And if you’re wondering what the heart smells like, it resembles the smell of mushrooms, according to a cardiac anesthesiologist.
39. During surgery, doctors sometimes have to remove some internal organs, but when replacing them, they do not need to put them back in the exact position. This means that your body has the ability to move organs into the correct positions after surgery.
40. People living in “extreme” conditions for generations will adapt in extreme ways: For example, those living at high altitudes often have larger lungs and different blood components. Or the Bajau people, who live most of their lives on the water and spend much time diving, have evolved to have spleens that are up to 50% larger, allowing them to store more blood.
41. On average, humans have as much body hair as chimpanzees. However, human hair is much shorter and finer.
42. Your eyes have a separate immune system from the rest of your body, and in many cases, if the body’s immune system “detects” your eyes, it will consider them a foreign object and can cause blindness.
43. Humans can bioluminesce and glow in the dark, but the light we emit is over 1,000 times weaker than what the human eye can detect. Therefore, we are unable to perceive this bioluminescence.
44. The reason your clavicle is easily broken is that it is designed to fracture. Its structure acts like a circuit breaker, fracturing at that point to prevent shock from impacts traveling to your spine, which could cause more severe conditions.
45. The eyeball is the fastest healing part of your body.
46. You can calm down by splashing cold water on your face, as this action activates the diving reflex in mammals.
47. Humans are one of the few mammals that do not produce vitamin C due to a lack of certain enzymes. Other mammals exhibiting this mutation belong to the primate suborder Haplorhini (monkeys, apes, and tarsiers), as well as bats and guinea pigs. All other mammals produce vitamin C in their livers.
48. The fastest-growing thing after loss on a human body is toenails.
49. The surface area of the lungs is equivalent to that of a tennis court.
50. 39% of people have extra bones in their knees. A century ago, only 11% of people had this bone.
51. Your tongue can become enlarged: When we gain weight, we not only gain in the waist, face, and belly but also in the tongue. In some cases, an oversized tongue can lead to obstructive sleep apnea. The good news is that the tongue can also slim down as you reduce overall body fat.
52. The longer your fingers, the more testosterone you have: The ratio of the length between your index and ring fingers is directly related to the level of testosterone in your body. If your ring finger is longer, you have a higher level of testosterone. Women with shorter index fingers are likely to be stronger due to higher exposure to testosterone while in the womb.
53. Stomach acid is very strong and can burn through a hole in your body without a protective lining: We have a special mucous membrane that protects the stomach from the effects of acid. However, you may still experience burning sensations due to acid reflux or heartburn. The worst-case scenario is when the digestive system does not function well, leading to gastric ulcers.
54. We secrete 1-2 liters of saliva each day: At certain times, we produce more saliva than usual due to various factors. However, most people secrete approximately the same total amount of saliva daily.
55. Our brains do not feel pain: The brain only alerts us to injuries or damage and cannot feel pain itself because it lacks special receptors. Therefore, when we experience headaches, it is the scalp, neck, sinuses, eyes, etc., that identify the pain. This is why neurosurgical procedures can be performed while the patient remains awake.
56. The immune system does not recognize that we have eyes: Our eyes have a special “immune privilege.” This allows them to protect vital organs from being damaged by the immune system. It prevents swelling and tissue changes, thereby safeguarding our vision. This is why studying and treating the eyes is relatively easier compared to other body parts, as the immune system does not reject anything.
57. Humans can glow, we just can’t see it: The saying “You can shine” is literally true. The intensity of light emitted by our bodies is 1,000 times lower than the sensitivity of the eye. However, we can see our own aura with the help of specially sensitive cameras. The brightest points on our bodies are the forehead, neck, and cheeks, which are brightest in the late afternoon.
58. We have different patellae until the age of 3-5: Most people think that newborns do not have patellae. The truth is they have them, but they are made of a slightly different material. A newborn’s patella is entirely made of cartilage, and as they grow, the patella becomes harder.
