Out Of This World Facts About The International Space Station

Space, the final frontier, which few have been lucky enough to experience first hand and even fewer have called home.

The International Space Station (ISS) is home to astronauts from all over the world, demonstrating that the global community can come together for science and progress.

Here are some out-of-this-world facts about the ISS that everyone should know.


Let’s talk basics

The International Space Station (ISS) has been orbiting the planet for more than 20 years, since November 2000.

It is the single most expensive object ever built. The cost has been estimated at over $120 billion!

An international crew of between three to six people live and work aboard the ISS while traveling at a speed of five miles per second, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes.

In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 full orbits of Earth, traversing through 16 sunrises and sunsets.

It’s a small world after all

240 individuals from 19 countries have visited the ISS so far.

But one has been there the longest

Peggy Whitson holds the record for spending the most time living and working in space. She was there for 665 days.

For anyone with 20/20 vision

Thanks to the acre of solar panels that power the ISS, it can actually be observed with the naked eye from Earth as it flies overhead.

Which is pretty amazing because it flies at an average altitude of 248 miles above Earth.

No place like home

Speaking of home-y, the ISS really is.

The living and working space in the station is larger than a six-bedroom house. It has six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree bay window.

Space takes a toll on your body

Astronauts must exercise for two hours a day to combat the loss of muscle and bone mass that occurs while in space.

It took a lot of work

The largest modules and station pieces were delivered on 42 separate assembly flights.

Since it is huge

The ISS is 357-feet end-to-end, only one yard shy of an American football field including the end zones.

There’s nearly 8 miles of wires making up the electrical system.

That’s longer than the perimeter of Central Park!

So, it takes a lot to power it

More than 50 computers control all the systems on the space station.

And the ISS computers aren’t immune to viruses, in fact they’ve been infected 52 times and counting.

Sniff, sniff

The ISS is likely one of the only places you can actually smell space.

Astronauts have described it as a “metallic-ionization-type smell.”

And, soon we can all smell it

And, for most of us, the ISS has seemed way too far out of reach. Especially if you never got to go to Space Camp. But NASA has announced plans to change all that, and allow regular tourists to actually visit!

The first visits won’t come cheap, likely costing more than a million dollars for the first trip.

But you can’t beat that view!

In 1996 a physicist submitted…

In 1996 a physicist submitted a paper full of word salad and gibberish to a postmodernist journal and it actually passed peer review and was published. This is known as the Sokal Affair. “feminist and poststructuralist critiques have demystified the substantive content of mainstream Western scientific practice, revealing the ideology of domination concealed behind the […]

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People Talk About How to Prank Scientists With Time Travel

We’re gonna do a little thought experiment that will probably make you stare blankly at the wall while your mind races for an hour like it did to me.

Or at least I hope it does.

God bless Reddit for bringing us all prompts like these:

You can go back 100,000 years to a cave that will be discovered by archeologists, what do you write on the wall to mess with them? from AskReddit

Time travel pranks. Gotta love it. Let’s delve in, shall we?

1. Testing

“Test post please ignore”

– Eldrake

2. Ritualistic

Am an archaeologist and can safely say, “No, it’s not ‘ritual’” scrawled on the wall will fuck with us forever.

– TheMinisterTurtle

3. Oops

“Turns out time travel only works once per timeline. Sorry Guys.”

– Commissar_Genki

4. They will come…

This planet shall be our second home.

– Acharya007

5. Man to man

My regards to Steven Hawking.

Tell him sorry I couldn’t make it to his party.

– Sipyloidea

6. They’ve responded

The pulsar map that we included on voyager.

– A**munchStarpuncher

7. Betas

Hi devs, I found a bug within our simulation.

I was somehow transported back 100k years without any of my items but I still have my abilities.

If I could be transported back by tomorrow that’d be great, thank you!

– _Puddingmonster

8. The shadow

They have taken the bridge and the Second Hall.

We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long.

The ground shakes…drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out.

The shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out.

They are coming.

– notmyrealfarkhandle

9. Memes

Aliens.

With a crude portrait of Giorgio Tsoukalos

– _Ekename_

10. Walkers

I’d def put footprints on the ceiling

– haphazzard66

11. Remember me?

Remember me Michael?

Remember telling me that my time machine would never actually work?

Guess what, f**k you and your “rules of space time”

– Walunt

12. Do NOT

Do not the ca

– electricaldogbus

13. Confusion

I bet you’re confused right now.

– Upset_Anything2628

14. Curse you

what I’d do is find out who was in the team and when they were born (before I left).

Then, once I got there, I’d put their names and birth dates on the cave wall, and I’d then put the same date (let’s say 9/9/21) and then I’d write “the curse is true. Your days are numbered.”

– kingkong139

15. The coma copypasta

IF YOU’RE READING THIS, YOU’VE BEEN IN A COMA FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS NOW.

WE’RE TRYING A NEW TECHNIQUE.

WE DON’T KNOW WHERE THIS MESSAGE WILL END UP IN YOUR DREAM, BUT WE HOPE WE’RE GETTING THROUGH.

– A_man_on_a_boat

16. Intergalactic commerce

If leave a bunch of fake records of transactions with an alien species.

Write up a fake history of alien contact.

And then make up a story recording fake history of a conflict between an alien civilization and advanced humans

– IceColdAardvark

17. Question answered

A picture of a chicken laying an egg and a big #1

– MoreCommonCents

18. Wise words

Here may be found the last words of Joseph of Arimathea: “He who is valiant and pure of spirit may find the Holy Grail in the Castle of Aaaargh

– tcjaeger

19. Welcome

You may be wondering why I’ve gathered you all here today

– moeron9

20. The cool S

You know that “S” that everyone seems to remember writing in their notebooks in elementary school? That

– ghostfoxthefirst

21. Programming

printf(“hello world”);

– young_fire

22. Simulation theory

In big bold letters “SIMULATION #54286”. – asimgeker

23. Ads

There are hot milfs in your area.

– Stalin6989

24. A warning

Leave by 2022.

They do not come in peace.

– MageManatee

25. It’s true!

Draw the earth as flat, you will convince 1% of the idiots of the future

– CisWhiteEarthworm

26. It me

I would write my own name, date of birth, place of birth, and anything else generic that would identity my present self.

This isn’t really messing with them, but it could make my life a whole lot more interesting, that’s for sure.

– TinnieTa21

27. The return

“In 100,000 years they will return. Beware.”

– wws4990acct

28. Futurama

Dear Fry,

Our time together was short, but it was the best time of my life.

-Leela

– VapidHooker

29. Meta

The URL to this thread.

– redguy989

30. NOT AGAIN!

This cave painting was brought to you by raid shadow legends

– that_sweet_old_lady

I think I’d probably write something like “all the religions are wrong” and see what happens.

But what might YOU write?

Tell us your time pranks in the comments.

The post People Talk About How to Prank Scientists With Time Travel appeared first on UberFacts.

People Talk About Things That Sound Futuristic but Are Happening Right Now

The future is now, people!

While it might seem like crazy inventions are a long way off, we’re already living in it!

And we’re about to get some inside info.

What sounds futuristic but is happening now?

AskReddit users shared their thoughts.

1. Robots.

“It’s quite phenomenal how much certain industries have developed their robotics.

You just don’t see it in your everyday life, but places like Amazon and pretty much all mechanical-related businesses are developing robotics at an insane rate.”

2. Didn’t see it coming.

“I still feel a tiny bit blindsided by lab-grown meat suddenly being commercially viable. Would not have predicted that one.

Those drone light-shows too. What year was it where radio-controlled drones just kind of showed up, and became commonplace?

I think around 2015 was when they really “took off.””

3. It is a big deal!

“Private companies launching rockets into space like it’s no big deal. You can literally walk outside one night and think “what tf is that???”

And someone will tell you “oh that’s just the latest Space X launch.” And you go about your business.”

4. There you go.

“My 2 yr old daughter, walking around the house following and talking to a robot while it vacuums our house.”

5. Pretty insane.

“I have a device that fits into my pocket.

I can get virtually every bit of information produced by the human race if I know what buttons to push.

It’s also voice-activated, so I can just talk to it and figure out when my flight leaves or where the nearest fresh tomatoes are being sold.”

6. Seeing double.

“Scientist have already managed to clone a living thing.

And it happened around 25 years ago.”

7. Open Sesame!

“Automatic doors.

I remember seeing the first 6 Star Wars films many years ago (I’m 18 now) and playing the Lego games of it and I remember thinking to myself how cool the sliding doors were.

I understand they’ve been around for so long, but recently it just came to me that they have automatic doors just like in Star Wars.”

8. Scary.

“In China, they are using AI to identify Uyghur Muslims from the rest of the population.

It detects “classic Uyghur features” based on complexion, and facial features.

It’s the worlds first instance of “automated racial profiling.””

9. Weapons of war.

“Saw the recent news of the Israeli-Hamas conflict, including footage of Iron Dome being used.

I remember seeing the prototypes of that system in a “future weapons” documentary on TV years ago, but was never really sure if or when it entered active service

So yeah, we have rockets that shoot down other rockets now and might have for years already.”

10. Antimatter.

“The fact that humans are capturing and containing antimatter for study is amazing.

The fact that we can store it longer than a year at a time is extraordinary.”

11. That’s crazy.

“Facebook is integrating occlus rift support.

I’m not sure what’s available to the public, but in-house, they are having 3d meetings like in Star Wars. They can project and manipulate a screen in 3D like the 3d map in the first Ray movie. It doesn’t wrap around you yet, it hovers in front, but it will.

My friend works for FB in the AI dpt. The first software I tried out was a demo for medical education. I saw a life size human and I could use gestures to look at his different body systems, right in front of me, like on the Holodeck.

You turn the system on by holding up your palm like a wizard and an interactive sphere appears on your hand.”

12. Gene editing.

“CRISPR gene editing. People’s genes can literally be edited.

Basically, people get this enzyme called Cas9 (a nuclease) inserted into their DNA somehow (don’t know how, maybe an injection?) and Cas9 slices the target strand of DNA open, allowing a sequence to be taken out and replaced with something else which can then be transcripted into RNA, translated into a protein, and used in the body.

It’s mostly being used right now for gene therapy, stuff like sickle cell anemia, and agriculture but it’s crazy to think about what it could be used for in the near future. It’s kind of controversial because people don’t like the unnaturalness of it (like people’s dislike of GMOs), and I can see their point, I just think it is very intriguing and revolutionary, and I will be interested in seeing what happens with it in the future.”

Now it’s your turn to sound off.

In the comments, tell us about things you know about that sound futuristic but are happening now.

Thanks in advance!

The post People Talk About Things That Sound Futuristic but Are Happening Right Now appeared first on UberFacts.

Scientists Are Planning on Building Noah’s Ark…On the Moon

There are plenty of headlines I never expected to write since I started writing articles for you lovely people, and this is definitely one of them. I mean…Noah’s Ark? On the moon?

Let’s dig in here and get started on answering the many, many questions that you’ve probably already got brewing, eh?

Shall we start with why?

The answer to this is actually quite simple – you’ve seen movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact et al, right? The idea that an asteroid could suddenly slam into earth and take out all of humanity? Like, nothing left?

Scientists actually believe that, in the year 2068, something like that could be coming for us in reality.

The answer could be a 21st-century version of Noah’s Ark that, instead of containing two of every animal, would contain a repository of cryogenically frozen reproductive cells from 6.7 million species on Earth.

Dr. Jekam Thanga is the mastermind behind the project, and sees the whole thing as a global insurance policy.

“As a human civilization, we’re in a fragile state. We’re not really that rigid or able to face all kinds of adversities. And Earth’s ecosystem is also very fragile.”

They plan to utilize the lava tubes just below the moon’s surface to build the compound and a lunar solar farm to generate their electricity, and to use robots to man the laboratory, and no, we’re not living in a science fiction novel currently.

But we might be soon.

The lava tubes were formed billions of years ago by streams of lava that melted through the soft rock underground. They’re about 328 feet in diameter and could protect the facility from solar radiation, micrometeorites, and the extreme surface temperatures – not an ideal spot for humans.

At least not yet, says Thanga.

“Setting up a base inside a lava tube seems like a plausible way to go if we wanted to set up a permanent settlement on the moon. But we as humans are not mole rates. We’re going to feel pretty stuffy being underground without being able to see outside.”

Thanga says we could use existing technology and materials to build the actual structure on the moon, but the miniature robots being proposed would take a bit more finagling.

“What we envision is taking one of the existing pits – just the opening into the lava tube – and installing an elevator shaft there.”

He envisions elevator shafts and cryo preservation that shelves petri dishes much like books in a library.

There would also be a system for communicating back and forth with earth, and solar panels would be installed to turn sunlight into electricity. Modular batteries will attach to the cryo preservation modules and keep the lights on and maintain temperatures that are optimal for the samples.

If you think this all sounds a bit futuristic, think again – Thanga says this could be a possibility within the next three decades. He estimates it would take around 250 rocket launches to ferry 50 specimens each of the 6.7 million species to the ark, a goal that would be substantially helped by the private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin who are launching their own rockets into orbit.

If an asteroid does slam into Earth, let’s hope someone is still around to launch a rocket to the moon.

Someone who also knows how to use the petri dishes of cells to bring some more humans to life.

So, maybe they do have a few kinks still to work out, eh?

The post Scientists Are Planning on Building Noah’s Ark…On the Moon appeared first on UberFacts.

People Discuss Inventions They Think Did More Harm Than Good

It’s fascinating to think about what inventors might have had in mind when they came up with new ideas.

And it’s also interesting to ponder whether they could really comprehend where their inventions would eventually go and what kind of impact they would have on the world.

Folks on AskReddit shared what inventions they think did more harm than good.

Let’s take a look.

1. That’s a hot take.

“Al**hol as a beverage.

Like it or not, if al**hol as a beverage was discovered today, it would be illegal.”

2. Major problems.

“Lead in paint.

Doctors were telling us it would cause severe neurological problems for about 80 years before the US finally listened and banned it.

There are houses in the US today that still have lead paint.”

3. Going way back.

“The cotton gin.

Yeah it alleviated the work of slaves but it catapulted the demand for slavery and some historians note it as one of the causes of the American Civil War.”

4. Done a lot of damage.

“High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Used to sweeten food, enhance flavor, and add texture and volume, HFCS is a cheap and easily mass-produced ingredient that’s become a prime culprit of the US obesity epidemic. Why? Well from 1970 to 2000, there was a 25% increase in “added sugars” in the US.

After being classified as GRAS, HFCS began to replace sucrose as the main sweetener of soft drinks in the United States. At the same time, rates of obesity rose.”

5. Be careful with that thing!

“It has to be the guillotine.

A French device which appeared during the French Revolution because France still employed gruesome methods of execution which were faulty at times. The guillotine was invented as a means of quick painless execution, but it was so efficient that it led to an increase in its usage during the following years, as the punish rate skyrocketed.

Needless to say, the good intentions of its creation turned bad quite quickly… Talk about having a happy trigger finger.”

6. My teeth hurt.

“Soda/sugary drinks

Drinking sugar drinks contributes to obesity, diabetes and other diseases. Yet it’s available EVERYWHERE you go. And cheap to buy.

It also doesn’t help that soda in aluminum cans are lined with BPA that can cause high blood pressure. And soda is also packaged in plastic bottles that also contain BPA which can enter the blood stream and cause cancer.

If the sugary drinks don’t get you first… The packaging will.”

7. It adds up.

“The keurig cups.

From what I recall the guy that started that whole thing regretted it because of the amount of garbage those little single use keurig cups waste.”

8. A forever chemical.

“Teflon. A cancer causing chemical used in everything from baby bottles to fabrics to cookware and everything else.

Teflon is a “forever chemical” and is detected globally in humans, soil, drinking water, food and animals.”

9. Weapon of war.

“Machine g**s.

The inventor of the AK-47 said something along the lines of, “I would have preferred to have invented a lawn mower.””

10. Seems to be out of control.

“Cable news

It’s nonstop mind control now.

They tell folks what to buy (which they do now by calling it a shortage, results in mass panic.) I’m sure someone holds shares in whatever they tell as it’s just getting odd now.

They tell folks where they should vacation and not vacation.

They tell folks what brands they should and shouldn’t buy.

They tell folks who they should and shouldn’t vote for. This is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

Yes, they pass all this off as opinion peices, people just take it as the truth and not an opinion.”

11. Echo chamber.

“Twitter.

Echo chamber, ego inflating, self importance and attention seeking galore.”

12. People have strong feelings about it.

“Airbnb.

Started as an opportunity for people to rent out a spare room and meet travelers. Has morphed into a short-term rental platform where wealthy second home owners let entire homes or apartments at the expense of local communities.

Residents in once peaceful neighborhoods are forced to endure all the impacts that come with living next to makeshift unregulated hotels and group accommodation.

Loud parties any night of the week, a steady stream of strangers in apartment blocks or residential streets, parking congestion, masses of rubbish, security issues, loss of community all become commonplace.

Long-term rentals dry up because Airbnb is more lucrative and local businesses, in some cases even local hospitals, can’t find staff as they have nowhere to live. Long-term locals find themselves kicked out of their rentals to make way for another more lucrative Airbnb.

They are left with nowhere to go as other long-term rentals have gone the same way and it’s pushed prices up so much that buying a property is no longer an option.

Residential neighborhoods become a smattering of hotels without the volunteers and local people that once gave the place the sense of community that attracted many visitors to the area in the first place.

Most Airbnb users wouldn’t be aware of the detrimental impacts Airbnb can have for local communities.”

Now we want to hear from you.

Tell us what inventions you think did more harm than good.

Do it in the comments!

The post People Discuss Inventions They Think Did More Harm Than Good appeared first on UberFacts.

This Midwife Meets People Where They Are with Reproductive Health TikTok Videos

Menstruation can be an ever-complicated and mysterious thing.

Even to us women.

That’s probably why a TikTok midwife went viral for videos explaining the anatomy and mechanics of childbirth.

It started with a silly, brief video about a speculum during quarantine, and then her following exploded.

@midwifemama

#midwife #obgyn#inyourface #fyp#happyfriday

♬ ac butunstable – ??‍?

Midwife Sarah Pringle, @midwifemama, has been using TikTok to educate the masses, including her more than 700 thousand followers, for the past year.

As she told BuzzFeed:

“I posted a funny speculum TikTok and started to gain followers. I realized that people want to know about their bodies and their health. This led me to create educational content featuring common office procedures, women’s health products, and the basics of childbirth.”

She’s made dozens of videos–enough to support a 9th grade Health class for the entire semester.

Using 3-D models and set to catchy music, Sarah demonstrates things as mundane as where a tampon rests after insertion:

@midwifemama

#fyp#period#menses#PerfectGifts #NBAIsBack

♬ Plastic – Unghetto Mathieu

And a clear representation (at last!) of exactly what the doctor is poking and squeezing during your annual pelvic exam.

@midwifemama

#PajamaJam EDUCATION #gyn#midwife#pelvic #pelvicexam #pelvicfloor #womenshealth #FallGuysMoments

♬ Out the Frame – Marv Allen

She shares specifics on different types of birth control from the ring:

@midwifemama

#birthcontrolring #birthcontrol#baby#womensrights #womenshealth#rbg #OhNo

♬ Paper Planes – M.I.A.

to IUD insertion:

@midwifemama

#iud#birthcontrol#smear#RnBVibes #HolidayTikTok

♬ Stuck in the Middle – Tai Verdes

She also offers advice for products to quell troublesome yeast infections.

@midwifemama

Link in bio!!!! #bv #yeastinfection #yeast#bacterialvaginosis #boricacid #boricacidsuppositories #midwifemama #feminiva #healthfare

♬ THE BEST THING – Cecilia Grace

But it’s Sarah’s videos about dilation and childbirth that have proven the most popular.

This one, demonstrating checking fetal position within the cervix, garnered over 10 million views:

@midwifemama

#cervix#baby#labor#birth#nidwife#ob#JingleJangleWithMe

♬ Adderall (Corvette Corvette) – Popp Hunna

And this cervical check illustrating different dilation ranges has been viewed more than 13 million times.

@midwifemama

#baby#preg#pregnant#labor#labour#rn#laboranddelivery #laboranddeliveryrn #laboranddeliverynurse #midwife#midwifemama #YesDayChallenge #tt#springbreak

♬ Renai Circulation (English Cover) [TV Size] – Lizz Robinett

Sarah is definitely providing a much needed service, and people are here for it, as evidenced by her views, likes, and shares.

Sexual health education is so important.

It’s great when educators can find a way to meet people where they are.

What do you think? Did you learn anything? Tell us in the comments!

The post This Midwife Meets People Where They Are with Reproductive Health TikTok Videos appeared first on UberFacts.

38 Fascinating Facts About the Human Body Most People Don’t Know

The human body is totally amazing!

I’m constantly in awe when I read about it and learn how complex we really are. It’s kind of a miracle, don’t you think?

I sure do!

What are facts about the human body that a lot of people don’t know about?

AskReddit users shared their thoughts.

38. Triple threat!

“The chance of a natural pregnancy with identical triplets is 1 in 200,000,000.

My friend had identical triplets.

It was her first time making whoopie and she got pregnant with triplets. I didn’t know it was so rare.”

37. Stripes.

“Humans have stripes, we just normally can’t see them. They’re called Blaschko’s lines and form along the paths of embryonic cell migration.

The stripes are sort of U-shaped down our front, V-shaped on our back, wavy on the head and face and we have basic, simple stripes on our extremities.”

36. Smart stomachs!

“Your stomach is surrounded by more brain cells (half a billion neurons) than the brain of a cat contains in total.

It’s your enteric nervous system. It controls digestion, operates autonomously, has its own memory, can handle its own reflexes, it has its own senses even.

It’s thought to have come about because of the blood-brain barrier and the main brain being locked away in the skull, a spinal column and nerves away from the critical action of nutrition.”

35. I did not know that!

“The eyeball is the fastest healing part on your body.

Let me put it in a ‘simpler’ version if you don’t believe me. The eye ball has a cornea.

Now, cutting the cornea will result in much pain, but since this part doesn’t contain blood, but only gets a supply of oxygen, it is the only fastest healing part of your body that can heal in only 24-36 hrs.

Believe me now?”

34. Ahhhhhhh!

“X-rays of children’s mouths are nightmare fuel.

The second set of teeth to replace baby teeth are already grown and lodged in their skulls. So you’ll see two rows of teeth and its freaky looking.

They don’t grow in when the old ones fall out, they are already loaded in the chamber waiting to get launched.”

33. What?!?!

“Chickens in the eggs develop a tail and teeth, but those stops growing after some time. Its probably what’s left from the first birds, which had a long tail and teeth.

Scientists think that, with the right timing, you could make it so they dont stop growing and have a “chickenosaur” out of the egg, with small teeth in the beak and a long tail.”

32. Nuts!

“Humans are bioluminescent and glow in the dark, but the light that we emit is 1,000 times weaker than our human eyes are able to pick up.”

31. Did you hear that?

“Some women can feel the exact moment an egg is released from the ovary during ovulation.

Feels like a little pop just on one side.

Pretty neat.”

30. For a reason.

“The reason it’s so easy to break your collar bone is because its designed to break.

The way it was explained to me is that its like a circuit breaker.

It breaks there to stop the shock of impact getting to your spine.”

29. Oh, boy!

“Pineapple contains bromelaine, an enzyme that ingests proteins.

Your meat parts are mostly made of proteins, so when you’re eating pineapple, it’s also eating you.”

28. All you need.

“You don’t need those detox tea or whatever detox products your high school friend and your aunt are selling.

Your liver is all you need.”

27. Wow.

“Alzheimer’s disease isn’t just gradual loss of memory. It physically exists in the brain. It’s a physical plaque substance that attacks the brain.

Like, if you were able to open the skull of a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease to take a look at their brain, you would actually see this sticky, fibrous, grey physical matter overtaking their brain.”

26. Keep that in mind.

“Every 7 years, every cell in your body will have completely replaced itself. Different cells divide at different rates, however.

You need a new stomach lining weekly and a new skeleton every 7 years.”

25. It’s down there.

“You have a big flab of tissue that hangs down from under your stomach which covers your intestines. It’s called the greater omentum, it’s almost always removed in any basic anatomy drawing so most people don’t know it’s existence! It stores quite a bit of fat but it carries out some unusual roles.

In an abdomen infection it sometimes can wrap itself around it, hence giving it the nickname the “policeman of the abdomen.””

24. Painful.

“95% of the sensory fibres in the human ear are used to transmit sound. Until recently, the function of the other 5% of fibres were not known.

We now know that under certain conditions, these remaining fibres can become sensitized, leading to a rare condition known as hyperacusis, where everyday sounds cause the sufferer immense pain.

It is debilitating and often leads to people giving up their careers, relationships and homes, isolating themselves indefinitely in sound-insulated rooms.

Source: I am one of these people.”

23. Interesting…

“When loosing weight, fat isn’t lost through heat, p**p or sweating. Nearly all fat is lost through simple breathing.

If you lose 10kg of fat, precisely 8.4kg comes out through your lungs and the remaining 1.6kg turns into water.”

22. I did not know that!

“Infants are born with approximately 300 bones, but as they grow some of these bones fuse together.

By the time they reach adulthood, they only have 206 bones and teeth are considered part of the skeletal system, but are not counted as bones.”

21. Bypass.

“Our bodies have the ability to perform there own bypass procedures. My grandfather went in for a scan and it showed a 100% blockage in one of his major arteries.

The image also showed a new portion of the artery starting .25” before the blockage and then rejoining the artery .25” after the blockage completely bypassing the obstructed portion.

He had never had surgery before this discovery.”

20. No one likes it.

“You don’t like the sound of your recorded voice because it’s missing the low frequency you’re used to hearing.

When you talk, you hear your voice as it goes to the air and back to you ear. It also goes through your skull to your ear, and this bone conduction mechanism transmits the low frequencies better than air does.

Your recorded voice only has the air transmitted sound. That causes the dissonance between what you think your voice sounds like, and what it really does. It’s also why your voice will (almost) always be higher pitch than you think.”

19. Not just chillin’.

“The appendix is not a vestigial organ. It actually protects good bacteria in the gut.

You can live without it, but it’s not just chillin’ in there.”

18. Full circle.

“Migraine pain can lessen from vomiting.

Vomiting can cause dehydration.

Dehydration can cause migraines.

The human body is funny.”

17. All about arteries.

“We all have a major artery called the ascending aortic artery that runs down the center of our abdomen. Another artery, called the superior mesenteric artery, branches off of that.

There is a gap between the arteries that is kept open by a pad of fat, and the start of our intestines, called the duodenum, passes right through the gap between the two arteries.

Very very rarely something can happen to shrink the fat pad, and then the arteries act like a clamp and pinch the duodenum closed. This prevents anything, solid or liquid, from passing from the stomach into the intestines.

This is called Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome, and I had it. It is so rare that it took 2 months of doctors excluding everything else for them to diagnose me.

I couldn’t keep anything down, and went from 120 to 90 lbs. I had to have where my intestines were connected to my stomach moved to another spot, and have about 6 feet removed in the process.

This was almost 7 years ago now. Other than having to eat more than I used to in order to maintain my weight, I’m okay. That is only one of the weird, and very rare, medical conditions that I’m living with, but you’d never know by looking at me.”

16. Uh oh.

“That the body’s ph is 7.35 to 7.45 and if any of those scam products that promise to “change the PH of your body” actually worked, you’d be d**d.”

15. Can’t see it.

“Each one of your eyes has a blind spot where the optic nerve exit your eye into your brain.

You can’t see it because your brain tricks you not to see, it covers the spot with some made up image of what it thinks fits better with the rest of it.”

14. Well, that’s odd.

“Humans are one of a few species of mammal that oddly don’t produce their own vitamin C due to lack of a certain enzyme.

Other mammalian species who exhibit this mutation are those contained in the main primate suborder Haplorhinni (monkeys, apes, tarsiers), as well as bats, capybaras, and guinea pigs.

All other mammals produce vitamin C in the liver.”

13. Only about 20%.

“Apparently about 20% of people have a bony ridge on the roof of their mouth. Most people’s palates are smooth with a very slight ridge.

The 20% like me have an exaggerated and more pronounced ridge. Apparently it’s most common in women and Asian folk, and I’m neither so that’s neat.

I always thought it was totally normal.”

12. Blood stuff.

“Positive blood type women can have positive and negative blood type babies without issue.

Negative blood type women require a shot with antibodies to prevent the mothers immune system from attacking the fetus if it is a positive blood type.”

11. It adapts.

“When you get conditioned to physical activity, your circulatory system adapts — more blood, more vessels, more blood cells. But your lungs really don’t.

This is because no matter how much blood your heart is able to deliver to your lungs, the lungs still have no problem oxygenating it.

This is why your oxygen saturation doesn’t drop during exercise (unless you have a heart defect.)”

10. Creepy.

“Your brain continues to try to revive the body long after the heart has stopped.

In some cases, there has been found brain activity trying to make repairs to bring the body back 30 hours later.

This is used to indicate time of death in m**der victims.”

9. Ouch.

“Babies can break their collarbone during delivery. It happens quite often, but heals quickly.

My teacher told me that (if it happened to you ofc) you may feel a slightly higher spot on your collarbone, called the callus where the fracture grew back together.”

8. A little bit different.

“Humans have, on average, just as many hairs on their body as chimpanzees.

Human hair is just a lot shorter and finer.”

7. The King.

“When you have a bowel movement, your heart rhythm shifts temporarily due to a vagus response.

The reason Elvis d**d on the toilet was because his heart was beating 200+ bpm and the quick rhythm change caused a myocardial infarction. People with low heart rates have been known to pass out on the toilet because their bodies can’t handle the shift.

It’s also why EMTs will absolutely not let you use the bathroom before getting on the ambulance. Especially if the bathroom is a standard 5’x8′.”

6. Amazing!

“A pregnant woman that has a mild heart attack will be healed from the baby’s stem cells, leaving virtually no tissue damage.”

5. Survival instinct.

“If you faint at the sight of your own blood you may have an oversensitive vasovagal response.

The theory is that this developed as a survival mechanism, kind of like an opossum playing d**d.”

4. I believe it.

“Humans feel less satisfaction when they don’t gain anything from an interaction.

In other words, you get less dopamine (or whatever feel good chemical) when you do something that basically has an equal cost and reward. This has lead me to believe that free food DOES really taste better.

It never made sense to me why cupcakes only tasted good when kids brought them in for their birthday. Whenever I’d buy them on my own they tasted worse. I guess it’s because my brain knows I spent money on them.”

3. Strength.

“Your brain regulates how strong your muscles are. If your leg muscles were to contract at full strength, they would snap your femur.

Its why people in emergencies on adrenaline can lift cars off children. Your body is capable of great strength, but it could also severely damage you, so your brain keeps you a weak, soft bag of jelly.”

2. You need that sleep.

“You will sooner d** from lack of sleep than lack of food.

You can live, depending on your current body fat and health level, for months without food.

Estimates are you that you will d** from lack of sleep within 2 weeks”

1. Pretty incredible.

“Your eyes have a separate immune system from the rest of your body.

On a lot of occasions if your body’s immune system finds your eyes, they will assume they are a foreign body and blind you.”

Do you know any interesting facts about the human body?

Please share them with us in the comments!

We’d love to hear from you!

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