So how well do you actually know your body?
Do you know why you’re laughing when you’re being tickled, despite the fact that there’s
nothing remotely funny about it? Or why do you suddenly jolt in the middle of a deep sleep,
as if you just slipped and fell? And I bet you didn’t know there’s more than
60 species of bacteria thriving inside your belly button! Eew! Well, science nerds,
today’s your lucky day because we’re rounding up the 13 Weird and Freaky Things Your Body Does!
What’s up, fact-natics! This is Discovery Amuse,
serving up your daily dose of the most outrageous, outlandish, and out-of-this-world fun facts!
Stick around ‘til number one to know more about your body’s “secret” superpower!
Better believe John Mayer when he says…
#13: Wrinkly Skin
Some parts of the human skin have a unique response to water. When
we soak in the bath or dip in the pool for a long period of time,
the skin on our fingers and toes start to shrivel up like prunes!
But scientists say that wrinkled fingers and toes actually help
improve our grip on wet or submerged objects -- kind of like the grooves in car tires!
Man: The wrinkles in wet skin create little channels for the water to escape
giving you more grip on a wet surface.
But come to think of it, if wrinkly skin helps improve our grasp on things,
then why isn’t human skin permanently shriveled in the first place? There is no confirmed
explanation for this skin-deep mystery just yet, but scientists believe that skin folds
could reduce the sensitivity in our fingertips or increase the risk of damage when catching objects.
Keep watching because our number one entry might just make you sign up with the X-men!
#12: Tickling Your Funny Bone
Show me one person--just one—who actually finds getting tickled funny. I bet you can’t name one,
can you? Because it’s just so darn annoying! Unless of course you have a fetish for it.
Man: It’s just tickling. No sex, you don’t even have to take off your shirt.
So why in the world do we react to tickling… with laughter?
Apparently, when we are tickled, the nerve endings under the skin send signals to the brain,
and the hypothalamus tells us that laughter is the reaction to a light touch. But it also tells us to
expect a painful sensation as a defense mechanism when we are touched in sensitive spots – such as
the underarms, near the throat, or under our feet! According to research, our bodies have
evolved to react with laughter to show our submission to the aggressor, ease tension,
and hopefully avoid getting hurt! In other words, we laugh so the tickling sensation would stop!
But why can’t we tickle ourselves? Experts say it’s because the brain
knows that it’s self-inflicted, so it doesn’t interpret the signals as a threat. Be wary
though if you can actually tickle yourself, because it might be a sign of schizophrenia.
#11: Swallowing Mucus
Now that may sound disgusting, but stay with me on this.
True fact: Our bodies produce about 1.5 quarts or 96 tablespoons of mucus per day, and we actually
end up swallowing most of it! Mucus is a mix of water and proteins secreted through our trachea
and other tubes, and is usually pushed to the back of our throats by microscopic hairs called cilia!
Despite its gross reputation, our snot apparently has essential functions, one of which is keeping
our nasal cavity and other airways moist. It also acts like a filter that catches all the debris,
bacteria, or dust that come through our nose and throat, so they don’t get into our lungs!
See! Snot is hot!
#10: Sleeping Jerk
Man: Did you just call me an asshole, Mackey?
Oops, sorry man. I didn’t mean to call you a jerk. What I actually meant was… hypnic jerk,
otherwise known as sleep start! You know, that involuntary body twitch
that usually strikes when a person is falling asleep? That kind of jerk.
Sometimes, these jolts get so wild that you actually rouse from your sleeping state
after feeling the sensation of falling! I can totally relate.
Sleep experts have 2 theories that might explain this phenomenon.
First is that these contractions happen when your brain tells your muscles to relax
but your body is not relaxing fast enough. The second theory is that because your body feels
like it’s falling when you relax, it reacts to the falling sensation by becoming rigid.
One thing’s for sure. Hypnic jerks have busted one too many students trying to catch some z’s.
#9: Goosebumps!
Goosebumps---or goosies as J.Lo likes to call them…
J.Lo: I got the goosies. Uh, you goosie. All: Goosies!
… usually appear when we experience strong emotions like fear, surprise, or arousal. But
did you know that we inherited these tiny bumps form our prehistoric ancestors? Yes, from apes!
When animals feel cold or perceives a threat, a stress hormone called norepinephrine is released
to condition them for a fight-or-flight response. This causes their hair to stand, making them
appear more prominent and more aggressive, in an attempt to make the opponent back off.
Similarly, when a human’s emotions run high, adrenaline causes small muscles
attached to the hair to contract, resulting in upright strands and swollen follicles.
Unfortunately, goosies don’t really serve any purpose for us compared to our furry friends.
Unless of course you’re judging a reality talent show.
#8: The Sunshine Effect
Sunbathing junkies know this all too well. Exposure to the sun makes our
skin darker while it makes our hair lighter. But why is that?
When sunrays touch our skin, our bodies respond to its harmful ultraviolet radiation by producing
more pigment called melanin. This helps us fight off the effects of the UV rays.
Meanwhile, our hair does not have the same defenses as our skin. The sun bleaches and
destroys the melanin in our hair, and the poor mane have no choice but to take the full brunt.
UV rays also oxidize the melanin in our hair into a colorless compound,
so our locks get lighter and stay that way until the new strands grow.
#7: Eye Floaters
Have you ever experienced moving your eye and seeing
squiggly lines or specks drifting from side to side that seem to disrupt your vision,
but disappear altogether when you try to look at them directly? Perhaps you’re
even experiencing it right now! Chances are, you just chalk it up to lack of sleep or eye strain.
But before you get blinded by wrong assumptions,
the truth of the matter is…there’s really something in your peepers!
These are actually microscopic fibers suspended in our “vitreous”, that jelly-like substance inside
our eyes, and these fibers sometimes clump up and cast tiny shadows on our retina. They may
appear like threads, cobwebs, worms, or tadpoles – depending on how wild your imagination runs!
They are mostly harmless, but if these floaters start to look more like specks of pepper,
it might be time to consult your eye doctor.
Doctor: All of those black specks at once can signify that you’ve actually had a retinal tear,
and some of the pigment underneath your retina has been freed and is now floating in your vitreous.
#6: Body Sweat
A not-so-wise-man once said, “sweating is your body’s way of crying while begging you
to stop moving.” And I hate seeing my body cry, so I just lie on the couch all day.
But why do we even sweat in the first place, when our beloved pet cats and dogs don’t?
Turns out, these animals don’t have a lot of sweat glands, while we humans have between 2
and 4 million of them, and the highest density of these glands are located on our palms and soles!
And we have our sweat glands to thank for cooling your body down when our body temperature goes up…
else we’d have to pant like dogs, or worse, roll in the mud like pigs and hippos to cool down!
Here’s a fun fact about sweat from Dr. Oz himself. Dr. Oz: See that little pea there? The amount of
sweat that equal that in size would cool this much blood
1 degree Fahrenheit. So sweat is a necessary evil.
Whoa, I didn’t know sweat was so powerful! But why do we still sweat when we experience fear,
pain, and anxiety, even though we’re technically not feeling warm? Well,
cold sweats are often associated with our body’s fight-or-flight response
when we’re faced with a stressful situation.
#5: Deleted Dreams
Picture this: You’re having a vivid dream, when all of a sudden,
you wake up… and you can’t even recall what it was, no matter how hard you try!
That’s probably how it feels walking down the boulevard of broken dreams.
I feel you, Billie Joe, I feel you.
Thankfully, a 2019 study done by a group of Japanese and American scientists has somehow
cracked this mystery. Turns out, our brain could be deliberately deleting some of our dreams!
We create dreams by consolidating information while we’re at the stage of deep sleep
known as REM (rem) or Rapid Eye Movement.
According to the study, the melanin-concentrating hormone or MCH neurons make us forget dreams
that our brain deems unimportant! The brain essentially decides whether or not
a dream is essential to remember to prevent memory overload!
Now doesn’t that remind you of the Memory Dump in Inside Out? Poor Bing Bong.
Bing Bong: Don’t you get it Joy? We’re stuck down here. We’re forgotten.
#4: Belly Button Ecosystem
There’s a bizarre crevice within our body that’s home to a unique,
microscopic ecosystem. Our belly buttons!
Yup, according to a team of scientists from the North Carolina State University,
the belly button biodiversity is on par with animal diversity in a jungle!
The researchers discovered that each navel hosts an average of 67 different species of bacteria!
There’s even a bacterium in there similar to what chefs use to make cheese! Factors like age, sex,
and whether the person was an innie or outie were considered,
but scientists have yet to explain why some navels had certain species, and others did not.
The microbes are mostly harmless, but for the love of sanitation,
do yourself a favor and clean your belly button once in a while!
#3: Blushing
Research shows that when you blush, people are more likely to forgive you because it
serves as a non-verbal apology and acknowledgment of your mistake!
But for some reason, this doesn’t work with my wife.
Anywho, have you ever wondered why your cheeks suddenly become rosy when you’re stuck in an
embarrassing situation? Well, that’s our sympathetic nervous system in action,
releasing adrenaline in a matter of a split second, which causes the blood vessels such as
those on our cheeks to dilate in order to increase the flow of blood and oxygen in our bodies.
So yeah, you might be the biggest liar in the world,
but your anatomy has a weird way of showing your true colors.
#2: Glowing in the Dark
Oh yes, it’s been proven that human bodies emit visible light. But before you get all too excited,
let me tell you now that you’re not turning into Captain Marvel anytime soon.
Sadly, the light our body emits is 1,000 times weaker than what the
naked eye can perceive. But this didn’t stop Japanese researchers to conduct an
experiment to shed more light on our supposed bioluminescence.
With the help of ultra-sensitive cameras,
the researchers discovered that body glow went up and down during the day,
with the lowest point recorded at 10 am and the peak glow recorded at 4 pm.
The face also glows more than the rest of the body. This might be because it gets more
exposure to sunlight, and the melanin being produced in it has fluorescent components.
So when someone says your skin is glowing, maybe it’s not because of your 10-step skin
care routine. You’re just born that way! Before we go to our number 1 pick,
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#1: Superhuman Strength
How do we explain people suddenly having the strength to rip off doors or lift heavy vehicles
during life-and-death situations? Here’s a clue: It’s not because of a radioactive insect bite!
Kid: how’d you do that? Peter: Uh,
workout? Plenty of rest? You now, eat your green vegetables.
In times of extreme duress, the hypothalamus---that part of the brain that
maintains the body’s physiological balance--- goes into overdrive and releases adrenaline!
Scientists theorize that humans only use a fraction of their muscle power daily.
But in life-and-death situations, the adrenaline is pumped into our circulation, blood directed
into our muscles, giving them the energy boost that allows them to perform beyond normal levels!
So, now that you know all the amazing things your body can do,
how will you better take care of it? Let us know in the comments section below!
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Now let’s get to more debunking by checking out our list of the 10
Myths People Still Believe! Fair warning: Your childhood will be seriously ruined!
‘Til then, stay healthy, fact-natics! And see you in the next video!