I’m sure we all can agree that the human body is a very fascinating thing. It’s what keeps us alive and functioning in this dangerous world. It is responsible for various functions and processes that help us respond to our environment and survive. Although, there are many things that the human body does that are just strange. What causes them? Why do they happen? How do they happen? Here are a few cool things you probably didn’t know about your body explained by science!

Sneezing

Sneezes are actually a really awesome way of our bodies protecting themselves from foreign invaders. They occur when an invader, such as a particle of dust, mold, bacteria, or other unknown substance is detected by the tiny hairs of your nose. When the hairs of your nasal passage sense them, they send electrical signals to your brain saying, “Hey! We need to be cleared immediately!” Then your brain prepares the body for a mini shutdown by telling the body it’s time to evacuate the invader. Your body will react by shutting its eyes, maybe sending the tongue to the roof of its mouth, as the contraction occurs and the invaders are launched far away. Way to go nasal hairs! 

Hiccuping 

These guys can either be hilarious or a heavy burden depending on the situation. They are mostly caused by eating or drinking something too quickly, or depending on the type of food or drink you consume. When they occur, the diaphragm, a sheet of muscle below the lungs is stimulated. Once stimulated, it will undergo many involuntary contractions until the hiccuping is over. When you inhale air, the diaphragm pulls in a downward motion to pull air into the lungs, then it relaxes when you exhale. But when you get the hiccups, the diaphragm will pull down in a very jerky motion causing you to suck air in very rapidly. This air hits your vocal box causing the goofy sounds.

Being Ticklish

There are many theories on this subject. What many scientists have concluded today is that being ticklish is a way that your skin reacts to feeling. Your skin can react to feelings of touch such as pain and vibration. Scientists believe that tickling comes from the feelings of touch and pain combined. There are two types of tickling one is called Knismesis which is the defense mechanism that something is moving on you. This type doesn’t normally make you laugh, but it can give you goosebumps or make you feel uncomfortable. The second is Gargalesis, which is more intense and usually leads to uncontrollable laughter. It also helps people bond. Even animals like monkeys, elephants, and rats can be tickled. 

Brain Freeze

I’m sure the last time you decided to swallow a huge spoonful of ice cream, you may have become a victim of the famous ‘brain freeze.’ When this occurs, your brain isn’t actually freezing, but giffing off the allusion that it just might be. When you consume a cold food or beverage, and it touches the nerves in the roof of your mouth, blood vessels in your head are stimulated. The cold sensation causes them to swell, giving you a headache. Pretty cool right? (Pun intended) 

Burping and Flatulence

If you thought I was just going to skip over this subject, boy were you wrong! Your body makes gas in two different places. The first is from the air you ingest into your body via breathing, gulping food, or drinking carbonated beverages. The gas that comes out up top is resurfaced as a belch, and when it comes out the other way…well you get the picture. Most gas is odorless, however there are certain things that can cause gas to take on odors. These things include bacterias in food that make things like sulfur, or yes, you guessed it, the magical fruits! Not that these foods contain any real magic (sadly) they just contain various bacterias or your body may react to them in certain ways that may cause unpleasant smells. When this happens, please do us all a favor and just excuse yourself. 

The Funny Bone 

Why this is even called the ‘funny bone’ is beyond me because there is nothing funny at all about smacking your elbow on your desk. But what is really going on when you trigger this is quite interesting. Within the bones of your arms are nerves. So when you hit this so-called ‘funny bone,’ you are actually hitting a nerve called the ulnar nerve, instead of a bone. This nerve helps you move your hand and it supplies feeling to your last two fingers, thus causing a sensation that shoots down your arm when hit, making laughter the least likely result.

Sleeping Limbs

I don’t know, when I was younger I always thought my hand or foot was asleep because it got bored of me not using it. The sleeping, or tingling sensation, is really caused by a cutoff of circulation in a particular body part or from putting too much pressure on a nerve. Once you begin moving said body part or change your position, the sensation is likely to stop in a few moments.

Falling Asleep…Literally

Alright, is it just me or whenever you are about to fall asleep, things go all dark and you feel like you’re falling into a big black hole? It’s an annoying awakening and you have to start the relaxation process all over again. Well, if you’re like me, what you suffer through from time to time are sleep hallucinations. Yeah! Insane, right? This specific hallucination is called hypnagogic hallucination and gives off the sensation that you are falling in space. But don’t worry, you aren’t really falling to your doom. 

Goosebumps

When your body is exposed to cold weather or you are afraid of something, you may experience goosebumps. When your body is cold, it reacts by raising hair follicles to help keep you warm. The bumps help hold the hair in an upright position. When you are afraid, these goosebumps raise your hair in a method of defense. This is very similar to a cat. When you see a frightened cat, typically its fur looks raised and spiky. This is a defense mechanism that makes the cat look like a bigger organism to predators. You have it the same way! Even though our tiny arm and leg hairs don’t do much in keeping us warm or making us look scary, it’s still a rad feature.

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about your strange self! The human body is a truly fascinating and oftentimes, disgusting, specimen. I encourage you to dig deeper and discover more truths about why you are the way you are. 

Sources for more info:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/10-unexpected-body-quirks-explained.aspx

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/10/30/452984579/why-do-we-get-goose-bumps

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/hiccup.html

https://www.healthline.com/health/why-do-we-sneeze#faq

https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/10/23/what-is-the-evolutionary-reason-why-humans-are-ticklish/#6c941caa1f92

https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/features/truth-about-gas#1