Amazing and Weird Facts About Humans

MA-Caver

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http://somethinbeautiful.blogspot.com/2009/03/50-weird-facts-about-humans-amazing.html

Some of my favorites...

While sitting at your desk make clockwise circles with your right foot. (go ahead no one will see you) While doing this, draw the number “6″ in the air with your right hand.Your foot will change direction that is a fact.

1. People with higher number of moles tend to live longer than people with lesser number of moles.
I wonder if the fact isn't a bit... spotty
4. Thinking about your muscles can make you stronger.
Hmm, right about now I'd be able to toss King Kong across a football field...
5. Grapefruit scent will make middle aged women appear six years younger to men. The perception is not reciprocal and the grapefruit scent on men has no effect on women’s perception.
Betcha there'll be a run to the grocery stores after this is read :rolleyes:
7. The colder the room you sleep in, the better the chances are that you’ll have a bad dream.
Wonder why that is?
8. There are more people alive today than have ever died.
Not for long if we keep going the way we've been
10. Women blink twice as many times as men do.
That's only because they're flirting half the time
11. The average person who http://somethinbeautiful.blogspot.com/2009/03/50-weird-facts-about-humans-amazing.html#stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night.
Interesting
12. Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
Well it is the best medicine :uhyeah:

15. The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb. The cartoon image of a light bulb over your head when a great thought occurs isn’t too far off the mark. Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping.
Some folks we know (collectively and individually) couldn't even produce HALF of that much energy...
16. The brain is much more active at night than during the day.
*written at 6:18 pm* uh...what?
20. Human hair is virtually indestructible. Aside from it’s flammability, human hair decays at such a slow rate that it is practically non-disintegrative. Hair cannot be destroyed by cold, change of climate, water, or other natural forces and it is resistant to many kinds of acids and corrosive chemicals. http://somethinbeautiful.blogspot.com/2009/03/50-weird-facts-about-humans-amazing.html#
Wonders if a bullet-proof vest could be made by tightly woven human hair?
21. The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razorblades. Hydrochloric acid, the type found in your stomach, is not only good at dissolving the pizza you had for dinner but can also eat through many types of metal.
So parents shouldn't worry too much if their kid swallows a penny successfully ... the stomach lining has got to be uniquely tough
22. The surface area of a human lung is equal to a tennis court.
that is an amazing fact I didn't know
24. Approximately 75% of human waste is made of water.
THAT I didn't NEED to know
25. The average person expels flatulence 14 times each day. Even if you’d like to think you’re too dignified to pass gas, the reality is that almost everyone will at least a few times a day.
is that why it's so funny when someone does it?
28. Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.
and some remain that way... or at least their brain does
30. Women are born better smellers than men and remain better smellers over life.
which is why a man's mistress shouldn't wear perfume
31. Your nose can remember 50,000 different scents.
can it remember this one? :fart:
34. Your eyes are always the same size from birth but your nose and ears never stop growing.
see!! I told you I wasn't lying :D
36. Monday is the day of the week when the risk of heart attack is greatest. A ten year study in Scotland found that 20% more people die of heart attacks on Mondays than any other day of the week. Researchers theorize that it’s a combination of too much fun over the weekend with the stress of going back to work that causes the increase.
So... we should have a petition to remove Monday from our calendars
38. Over 90% of diseases are caused or complicated by stress.
This isn't surprising
39. A human head remains conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it is been decapitated. While it might be gross to think about, the blood in the head may be enough to keep someone alive and conscious for a few seconds after the head has been separated from the body, though reports as to the accuracy of this are widely varying.
This was proven in the Reanimator :uhyeah:

42. It takes twice as long to lose new muscle if you stop working out than it did to gain it. Lazy people out there shouldn’t use this as motivation to not work out, however. It’s relatively easy to build new muscle tissue and get your muscles in shape, so if anything, this fact should be motivation to get off the couch and get moving.
So what are you all doing here reading this... for that matter what am I doing here posting this??
44. It is not possible to tickle yourself. Even the most ticklish among us do not have the ability to tickle ourselves.
Disagree... run your fingers lightly over your neck and see if you don't have the urge to smile or even giggle
45. The width of your armspan stretched out is the length of your whole body. While not exact down to the last millimeter, your armspan is a pretty good estimator of your height.
I learned about this in art class and DaVinci showed it with that drawing of his
46. Humans are the only animals to produce emotional tears.
*sniff* I'm all choked up about this
49. One human hair can support 3.5 ounces. That’s about the weight of two full size candy bars, and with hundreds of thousands of hairs on the human head, makes the tale of Rapunzel much more plausible.
Don't they make a cable out of human hair?
+ 51. It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it.
And it earned more than any movie ever.
 

Jade Tigress

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Pretty cool stuff. Though the consciousness and decapitation fact grossed me out. Some of your comments made me chuckle. :D
 

K-man

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20. Human hair is virtually indestructible. Aside from it’s flammability, human hair decays at such a slow rate that it is practically non-disintegrative. Hair cannot be destroyed by cold, change of climate, water, or other natural forces and it is resistant to many kinds of acids and corrosive chemicals.
Wonders if a bullet-proof vest could be made by tightly woven human hair?
A friend of mine is doing that with kevlar and tightly woven horse hair!
icon14.gif
 

Sukerkin

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Point #45 is not true in all cases. For example, my fathers span is considerably greater than his height and, whilst I am not so marked a specimen (probably because I'm taller), mine is too.

Apparently it makes me much more dangerous as a swordsman as my reach is further than people think it is :D. It certainly makes noto a lot easier for me than some of my fellow students :lol:.
 

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MA-Caver

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Not yet. Basically he is working with the military. Apparently most ballistic vests do not stop total penetration but minimize the depth of penetration. His design is to actually trap the projectile.

This dumb *** video illustrates what I am saying.

http://www.break.com/index/bulletproof-vest-test-goes-wrong.html

(Mentor's note: the video should have had a language warning on it as there are a number of people on MT who do not choose to listen to it.. just FYI :asian: )

I have no idea what is the mentality of those guys wanting to test out a vest at point-blank range (probably so he wouldn't miss eh? :rolleyes: ), is stupid enough as it is, but the fact that the guy had a hole in his chest and a BLEEDING hole at that, and all they could do was laugh and say "aww he's alright" is just plain ... stupid isn't the word, moronic isn't the word, idiotcy isn't the word... there isn't a word for it...
We're talking potential darwin nominees here.

Somehow I'm reminded of a Mad Magazine Don Martin (back page) toon where a couple living in squalor shows a husband wearing a vest and walks up to his wife proudly saying he's perfected it and hands her a gun, telling her to "test it out"... and she promptly shoots him between the eyes.

I would imagine that ballistic vest do just slow or re-direct a projectile pretty good but most likely at a distance and not at point blank (like those dumbass rednecks). I know that a few have optional metal plates that can be inserted inbetween the armor for further protection.

Anyway back to the thread. :rolleyes:
 

Korppi76

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Hmm that number 8 seems wrong but maybe I understand it wrong.
Since estimates range from 40 billion to 110 billion people who lived before us.
 

KELLYG

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MA-CAVER,

I disagree with this statement (like those dumb *** rednecks). Even the most dumb *** redneck I know would not do this! :boing2:
 
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jim777

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36. Monday is the day of the week when the risk of heart attack is greatest. A ten year study in Scotland found that 20% more people die of heart attacks on Mondays than any other day of the week. Researchers theorize that it’s a combination of too much fun over the weekend with the stress of going back to work that causes the increase.

This 'Monday' issue holds true on Tuesdays of weeks that have Mondays as holidays as well. I had heard this years ago, but with the numbers at 40% greater risk, and only for men. I don't know about the 'weekend fun' part, but the job stress certainly would seem an obvious contributing factor.

Cool read though :)
 
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MA-Caver

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MA-CAVER,

I disagree with this statement (like those dumb *** rednecks). Even the most dumb *** redneck I know would not do this! :boing2:
Must not know as many rednecks as I do... cuz down 'round my neck o' de woods...
 

KELLYG

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MT-CAVER,

Red neck check. Do most of the stupidest things that you have seen people do for fun start like this. "Babe hold my beer, y'all watch this"?
 

Stac3y

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MT-CAVER,

Red neck check. Do most of the stupidest things that you have seen people do for fun start like this. "Babe hold my beer, y'all watch this"?

Used to be. Now they mostly start with, "Mom! Mom! Look!"
 

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39. A human head remains conscious for about 15 to 20 seconds after it is been decapitated. While it might be gross to think about, the blood in the head may be enough to keep someone alive and conscious for a few seconds after the head has been separated from the body, though reports as to the accuracy of this are widely varying.

The jury's out on this one, since no one can really prove it isn't just reflexes and the final synapse bursts. Plus, we don't have many opportunities of putting this to more rigorous testing since the guillotine was traded in for more "humane" methods.

Does the Head Remain Briefly Conscious After Decapitation?
 

Jade Tigress

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The jury's out on this one, since no one can really prove it isn't just reflexes and the final synapse bursts. Plus, we don't have many opportunities of putting this to more rigorous testing since the guillotine was traded in for more "humane" methods.

Does the Head Remain Briefly Conscious After Decapitation?


The last story in the linked article is really freaky. I dunno, it seems plausible to me. Would decapitation cause immediate brain death? Doesn't seem like it would. It seems like 15 - 20 seconds of consciousness is realistic. But, I'm just being morbid. Can't help it. Carry on.
 

K-man

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The last story in the linked article is really freaky. I dunno, it seems plausible to me. Would decapitation cause immediate brain death? Doesn't seem like it would. It seems like 15 - 20 seconds of consciousness is realistic. But, I'm just being morbid. Can't help it. Carry on.
It would also depend on whether the strike delivered a ko or not. A very sharp blade, like a Samuri sword could probably sever cleanly, without shock. An English broadsword would knock anyone out and probably wouldn't sever the head with a single blow. Several other stories are around about facial movements after beheading with the guillotine. I'll conceed the 15 to 20 seconds.
 

Sukerkin

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Valid biological points - however, again historical misconceptions about Western arms and armour continue to surface.

An English Longsword doesn't carry quite the razors edge that a Katana does for it was devised for a different envirnoment but is in fact just as much a metallurgical and crafting marvel that the overly venerated 'Samurai Sword' is - and it has the advantage of being made from better steel.

Hollywood has got such a lot to answer for. Western swords are not barely edged bludgeons with which to club your enemy to death - even Reclaiming the Blade doesn't seem to have rippled the surface of the pool of misconception.
 

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