Body myths
The human body is fascinating and it’s capable of so much stuff, but why does your body do certain things? We’re looking at some of the quirkiest health myths out there. How many do you know?
We all know how impossible it is to keep your eyes open when you sneeze but do you know why it’s so hard? Contrary to popular belief your eyes won’t pop out if you sneeze with your eyes open. Closing our eyes while we sneeze is a knee-jerk reflex due to certain nerves being stimulated. The act of sneezing just happens to cause your eyes to close because of how your facial muscles are wired.
Why is yawning so contagious? There’s a lot of speculation behind why yawning is so contagious and it’s still a bit of a mystery. For years it was thought that there was a link between contagious yawning and empathy, meaning that people who are more sympathetic to others will often catch their yawn. However, research from Duke University could find no truth in this. It seems as though some people are just more susceptible to contagious yawns while others aren’t and younger people are more likely to do this than older people.
Lots of people have them and for centuries they’ve been associated with beauty but why do some people have dimples and others don’t? Believe it or not, dimples are actually a defect in one of your facial muscles. Called ‘zygomaticus major,’ this muscle is in the side of your face and dimples are believed to be caused by a divide in the muscle which is normally all in one piece. This divide means that a dent (or dimple) forms every time you smile.
Science can tell us how we blush but surprisingly, it still can’t tell us why we blush. Some scientists believe that blushing evolved as a means of enforcing social codes to which humans must adhere for our societies to function in a friendly manner. If we put our foot in it, blushing shows others that we understand we’ve made a mistake. In short, some believe that blushing is a type of physical apology if we offend others. It’s interesting to note, however, that babies, who have no idea of society or social norms, don’t blush.
There’s an old saying that believes when you get a shiver down your spine, someone is walking over your grave. Thankfully the reason why we experience these random shivers isn’t quite as morbid. Usually we get a random shiver when there’s a sudden (and often imperceptible) drop in our body temperature. So that shiver? It’s actually a muscular tremor initiated by your brain’s hypothalamus which is designed to help your body produce more heat.
Ever wonder why humans have nails? It’s all down to evolution. Nails are one of the features that distinguish primates (humans fall into this category) from other mammals. Essentially, nails are flattened versions of claws. Scientists believe that primates lost their claws and evolved to have nails to make it easier to grasp smaller branches and grab fruit.
Notice your shoes getting tighter as you age? That’s because your feet do get bigger with age. Years of walking, wear and tear can cause tendons and ligaments in your feet to weaken. This can cause the arches of your feet to flatten, which means that your feet get wider and longer. The average gain is one shoe size by age 70 or 80. This phenomenon doesn’t happen to everyone though and people who live with a long-term medical condition like diabetes are more prone.
Have you ever felt your stomach do a flip when you go down a steep hill or take a ride on a rollercoaster? The sensation is caused by your insides actually shifting. Your stomach and intestines are quite loosely connected and as you drop, they tend to rise slightly and your nerves detect the movement thus causing the somersault sensation.
Do you know why women tend to feel colder than men? It’s all down to our body fat. Women naturally have a higher percentage of body fat around our core. While this helps us to keep our vital organs nice and warm, our extremities tend to be colder. And when your hands and feet feel cold, so does the rest of your body.
Why do our fingers go wrinkly in water? Although you can’t see it, your skin is covered with oils. These oils help to lubricate and protect the skin and also make your skin slightly waterproof. When you go swimming, take a bath or are in water for a long period of time, the water temporarily washes the oil off your skin. Once the oil has disappeared, the water starts to absorb into your skin, creating the wrinkles.
Everyone sweats when it’s hot or they’ve just done some exercise, but why does sweat from your armpits smell worse than sweat from elsewhere in your body? It’s all down your sweat glands. The body has two types of sweat gland. Most of the glands on your arms and legs secret a mix of water and salt which is usually odourless. But the sweat glands in your armpits release an oily substance that bacteria love to eat. The horrible smell, believe it or not, comes from the bacteria feasting on that oily substance.
Have you ever noticed that you tend to be taller first thing in the morning? This is all down to cartilage. As you go about your day, the cartilage between your bones gets compressed, meaning that by the end of the day you are usually about 1cm shorter.
Fed up of clearing a blocked drain in the shower? The reason why hair clogs up pipes so much is because it is virtually indestructible. Aside from being flammable, human hair decays so slowly that it cannot be destroyed by cold or hot weather, water or other natural forces. It’s also resistant to a host of acids and chemicals.
Even if you’re the most ticklish person on the planet, it’s not physically possible to tickle yourself and make yourself laugh. Why? It’s all down to your brain. When you attempt to tickle yourself, your brain predicts it and knows where the tickle is coming from, this means that the act loses its spontaneity which is part of what makes us laugh in the first place.
Do you know what the proper term is for the middle of the area between your nose and upper lip? Called the philtrum, scientists have no idea what this small indentation does or what purpose it serves, however the ancient Greeks believed that it was one of the most erogenous places on the entire human body.
Ever wonder why your pinky toe is so small? It’s all to do with evolution. Given that we no longer have to run and hunt like we had to centuries ago, the pinky toe is getting smaller and smaller. In fact, there is speculation out there that the toe’s evolutionary purpose is disappearing, meaning that the toe itself might not exist in the distant future.