The human body is an incredibly complex and intricate system, one that still baffles doctors and researchers
on a regular basis despite thousands of years of medical knowledge. As a result, it should not be any surprise
that even body parts and functions we deal with every day have bizarre or unexpected facts and explanations
behind them. From sneezes to finger-nail growth, here are 100 weird, wacky, and interesting facts about
the human body.
Facts About The Brain
The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot
we don't know, but here are a few interesting facts that we've got covered.
1. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Ever wonder how you can
react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? It's due to the
super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa,
bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.
2. 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.
3. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica. Or any
other encyclopedia for that matter. Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage
capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1,000 terabytes. The
National Archives of Britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making
your brain's memory power pretty darn impressive.
4. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream. The brain only makes up about 2%
of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely
susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy and
swimming in oxygenated cells.
5. The brain is much more active at night than during the day. Logically, you would think that all the
moving around, complicated calculations and tasks and general interaction we do on a daily basis
during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the
opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on. Scientists don't yet know why this is but you
can thank the hard work of your brain while you sleep for all those pleasant dreams.
6. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. the more you dream. While this may be true, don't take it as a sign
you're mentally lacking if you can't recall your dreams. Most of us don't remember many of our dreams
and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register.
7. Neurons continue to grow throughout human life. For years scientists and doctors thought that brain
and neural tissue couldn't grow or regenerate. While it doesn't act in the same manner as tissues in
many other parts of the body, neurons can and do grow throughout your life, adding a whole new
dimension to the study of the brain and the illnesses that affect it.
8. Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. Not all neurons are the same.
There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as
slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.
9. The brain itself cannot feel pain. While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or
burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain. That doesn't mean
your head can't hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are
plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache.
10. 80% of the brain is water. Your brain isn't the firm, gray mass you've seen on TV. Living brain tissue
is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the
tissue. So the next time you're feeling dehydrated get a drink to keep your brain hydrated.
The human body is an incredibly complex and intricate system, one that still baffles doctors and researchers
on a regular basis despite thousands of years of medical knowledge. As a result, it should not be any surprise
that even body parts and functions we deal with every day have bizarre or unexpected facts and explanations
behind them. From sneezes to finger-nail growth, here are 100 weird, wacky, and interesting facts about
the human body.
Facts About Hair and Nails
While they're not a living part of your body, most people spend a good amount of time caring for their hair and
nails. The next time you're heading in for a haircut or manicure, think of these facts.
1. Facial hair grows faster than any other hair on the body. If you've ever had a covering of stubble on
your face as you're clocking out at 5 o'clock you're probably pretty familiar with this. In fact, if the
average man never shaved his beard it would grow to over 30 feet during his lifetime, longer than a
killer whale.
2. Every day the average person loses 60-100 strands of hair. Unless you're already bald, chances are
good that you're shedding pretty heavily on a daily basis. Your hair loss will vary in accordance with
the season, pregnancy, illness, diet and age.
3. Women's hair is about half the diameter of men's hair. While it might sound strange, it shouldn't come
as too much of a surprise that men's hair should be coarser than that of women. Hair diameter also
varies on average between races, making hair plugs on some men look especially obvious.
4. 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.
5. The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger. And the nail on the middle finger of your dominant
hand will grow the fastest of all. Why is not entirely known, but nail growth is related to the length of the
finger, with the longest fingers growing nails the fastest and shortest the slowest.
6. There are as many hairs per square inch on your body as a chimpanzee. Humans are not quite the
naked apes that we're made out to be. We have lots of hair, but on most of us it's not obvious as a
majority of the hairs are too fine or light to be seen.
7. Blondes have more hair. They're said to have more fun, and they definitely have more hair. Hair color
determines how dense the hair on your head is. The average human has 100,000 hair follicles, each of
which is capable of producing 20 individual hairs during a person's lifetime. Blondes average 146,000
follicles while people with black hair tend to have about 110,000 follicles. Those with brown hair fit the
average with 100,000 follicles and redheads have the least dense hair, with about 86,000 follicles.
8. Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toe nails. If you notice that you're trimming your fingernails
much more frequently than your toenails you're not just imagining it. The nails that get the most
exposure and are used most frequently grow the fastest. On average, nails on both the toes and
fingers grow about one-tenth of an inch each month.
9. The lifespan of a human hair is 3 to 7 years on average. While you quite a few hairs each day, your
hairs actually have a pretty long life providing they aren't subject to any trauma. Your hairs will likely
get to see several different haircuts, styles, and even possibly decades before they fall out on their
own.
10. You must lose over 50% of your scalp hairs before it is apparent to anyone. You lose hundreds of
hairs a day but you'll have to lose a lot more before you or anyone else will notice. Half of the hairs on
your pretty little head will have to disappear before your impending baldness will become obvious to
all those around you.
11. Human hair is virtually indestructible. Aside from it's flammability, human hair decays at such a slow
rate that it is practically non-disintegrative. If you've ever wondered how your how clogs up your pipes
so quick consider this: 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.
Facts About Internal Organs
Though we may not give them much thought unless they're bothering us, our internal organs are what allow
us to go on eating, breathing and walking around. Here are some things to consider the next time you hear
your stomach growl.
on a regular basis despite thousands of years of medical knowledge. As a result, it should not be any surprise
that even body parts and functions we deal with every day have bizarre or unexpected facts and explanations
behind them. From sneezes to finger-nail growth, here are 100 weird, wacky, and interesting facts about
the human body.
Facts About The Brain
The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot
we don't know, but here are a few interesting facts that we've got covered.
1. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Ever wonder how you can
react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? It's due to the
super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa,
bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.
2. 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.
3. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica. Or any
other encyclopedia for that matter. Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage
capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1,000 terabytes. The
National Archives of Britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making
your brain's memory power pretty darn impressive.
4. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream. The brain only makes up about 2%
of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely
susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy and
swimming in oxygenated cells.
5. The brain is much more active at night than during the day. Logically, you would think that all the
moving around, complicated calculations and tasks and general interaction we do on a daily basis
during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the
opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on. Scientists don't yet know why this is but you
can thank the hard work of your brain while you sleep for all those pleasant dreams.
6. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. the more you dream. While this may be true, don't take it as a sign
you're mentally lacking if you can't recall your dreams. Most of us don't remember many of our dreams
and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register.
7. Neurons continue to grow throughout human life. For years scientists and doctors thought that brain
and neural tissue couldn't grow or regenerate. While it doesn't act in the same manner as tissues in
many other parts of the body, neurons can and do grow throughout your life, adding a whole new
dimension to the study of the brain and the illnesses that affect it.
8. Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. Not all neurons are the same.
There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as
slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.
9. The brain itself cannot feel pain. While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or
burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain. That doesn't mean
your head can't hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are
plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache.
10. 80% of the brain is water. Your brain isn't the firm, gray mass you've seen on TV. Living brain tissue
is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the
tissue. So the next time you're feeling dehydrated get a drink to keep your brain hydrated.
The human body is an incredibly complex and intricate system, one that still baffles doctors and researchers
on a regular basis despite thousands of years of medical knowledge. As a result, it should not be any surprise
that even body parts and functions we deal with every day have bizarre or unexpected facts and explanations
behind them. From sneezes to finger-nail growth, here are 100 weird, wacky, and interesting facts about
the human body.
Facts About Hair and Nails
While they're not a living part of your body, most people spend a good amount of time caring for their hair and
nails. The next time you're heading in for a haircut or manicure, think of these facts.
1. Facial hair grows faster than any other hair on the body. If you've ever had a covering of stubble on
your face as you're clocking out at 5 o'clock you're probably pretty familiar with this. In fact, if the
average man never shaved his beard it would grow to over 30 feet during his lifetime, longer than a
killer whale.
2. Every day the average person loses 60-100 strands of hair. Unless you're already bald, chances are
good that you're shedding pretty heavily on a daily basis. Your hair loss will vary in accordance with
the season, pregnancy, illness, diet and age.
3. Women's hair is about half the diameter of men's hair. While it might sound strange, it shouldn't come
as too much of a surprise that men's hair should be coarser than that of women. Hair diameter also
varies on average between races, making hair plugs on some men look especially obvious.
4. 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.
5. The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger. And the nail on the middle finger of your dominant
hand will grow the fastest of all. Why is not entirely known, but nail growth is related to the length of the
finger, with the longest fingers growing nails the fastest and shortest the slowest.
6. There are as many hairs per square inch on your body as a chimpanzee. Humans are not quite the
naked apes that we're made out to be. We have lots of hair, but on most of us it's not obvious as a
majority of the hairs are too fine or light to be seen.
7. Blondes have more hair. They're said to have more fun, and they definitely have more hair. Hair color
determines how dense the hair on your head is. The average human has 100,000 hair follicles, each of
which is capable of producing 20 individual hairs during a person's lifetime. Blondes average 146,000
follicles while people with black hair tend to have about 110,000 follicles. Those with brown hair fit the
average with 100,000 follicles and redheads have the least dense hair, with about 86,000 follicles.
8. Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toe nails. If you notice that you're trimming your fingernails
much more frequently than your toenails you're not just imagining it. The nails that get the most
exposure and are used most frequently grow the fastest. On average, nails on both the toes and
fingers grow about one-tenth of an inch each month.
9. The lifespan of a human hair is 3 to 7 years on average. While you quite a few hairs each day, your
hairs actually have a pretty long life providing they aren't subject to any trauma. Your hairs will likely
get to see several different haircuts, styles, and even possibly decades before they fall out on their
own.
10. You must lose over 50% of your scalp hairs before it is apparent to anyone. You lose hundreds of
hairs a day but you'll have to lose a lot more before you or anyone else will notice. Half of the hairs on
your pretty little head will have to disappear before your impending baldness will become obvious to
all those around you.
11. Human hair is virtually indestructible. Aside from it's flammability, human hair decays at such a slow
rate that it is practically non-disintegrative. If you've ever wondered how your how clogs up your pipes
so quick consider this: 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.
Facts About Internal Organs
Though we may not give them much thought unless they're bothering us, our internal organs are what allow
us to go on eating, breathing and walking around. Here are some things to consider the next time you hear
your stomach growl.
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