Top 10 false facts about the human body

The human body, despite all the advances in medicine, still remains terra incognita in many ways. And many information about him, passed down from generation to generation, often ignore the difference between fact and fiction.

Here are the top 10 "facts" about the human body that are actually completely false.

10. We only use 10 percent of the brain's "power"

Weighing just over 1.4 kilograms, the human brain is home to nearly 100 billion neurons. They transmit information to each other through contact points - synapses, of which there are about a quadrillion in the brain.

The brain is divided into three primary parts - the brain, cerebellum, and brainstem.

• The brain, which occupies about 85% of the total brain, is where most of the work related to the intellect and personality of a person takes place.
• The cerebellum controls coordination and balance.
• And finally, the brain stem is the link between the brain and the spinal cord. Connected to the spinal cord, the brain controls most of the body's automatic functions, such as breathing and digestion.

It would be incredible if this whole complex "design" used only 10 percent of the "bandwidth" of the brain.

The claim that we only use 10% of our brain is believed to have originated in the late Victorian era. In the late 1890s, Harvard psychologists William James and Boris Sidis used the prodigy William Sidis (his IQ was nearly 300) as proof that all humans have the ability to be just as smart. We just have to try.

Further research in the early 20th century showed that rats with brain damage could perform certain tasks. This was used to confirm the hunch that the human brain is full of untapped potential. In modern science, there is no confirmation of the 10% theory.

9. It will take 7 years before chewing gum is digested

Many mothers scared their children that if they swallowed gum it would take seven years for the stomach to digest it. If your seven years have not passed yet, you may be relieved to know that this “fact” is complete nonsense.

The US Food and Drug Administration defines gum as a "non-nutritive chewable substance." (Translation: this is not food). Chewing gum is not recommended to be swallowed, but if it happened, then it's okay. Some of the ingredients, such as sweeteners, will be digested. And the bulk of the chewing gum, which is the elastomer, will be released naturally from the body.

8. Adolescents get acne from chocolate

As if puberty and school weren't hard enough, many more teenagers are being taught that eating delicious chocolate has a causal link to acne.

Fortunately, the myth of chocolate and acne is grandma's tales.Eating foods high in fat will certainly lead to higher blood sugar levels. And this can indirectly affect the appearance of acne. But no food is a guaranteed way to avoid teenage acne.

7. Carrots improve night vision

During World War II, the British Department of Information ran a campaign in which RAF pilots ate large quantities of carrots. This is how they explained their supernatural ability to shoot down German fighter pilots under cover of darkness.

In truth, all the carrots in the world couldn't give you the gift of night vision. British troops detected German bombers using state-of-the-art radar stations. It is unlikely that German intelligence has bought into the idea that British pilots are fueled by high-octane carrots. Nevertheless, the myth about the benefits of carrots for vision has long outlived its creators.

6. We have five senses

The Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to recognize the five senses of the human body. You probably learned them in elementary school: sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste. But these feelings are not the only ones.

What is "feeling"? In fact, this is a sensor that can perceive external influences. Each feeling is activated by a unique phenomenon.

Depending on the classification, humans have 9 to 33 senses. These include some of the senses, such as blood pressure, the sense of light, the sense of color, and the sense of balance that you knew about but did not consider "meaningful." So, the next time someone says that he has a sixth sense, you can answer that you have 33 of these feelings.

5. The ability to roll the tongue "tube" - hereditary

Many people have a funny tube roll, and this skill is considered the dominant genetic trait. That is, if one of your parents could do it, then you can. Not really.

In 1940, the famous American geneticist Alfred Stertevant published a study in which he concluded that the ability to fold the tongue is a hereditary trait based on a dominant gene. However, the scientist's joy over his discovery was short-lived. It turned out that there are twins, one of whom can curl up his tongue, but the other cannot. And the results of Stertevant's study were quickly debunked.

4. We lose most of our heat through our heads.

In the 1950s, scientists conducted research by exposing objects to cold temperatures and studying where heat comes from. It turned out that most of the heat came out through the top - the "head" of the object.

The problem with this study is that the items were wrapped in coats and only their tops were exposed. So yes, if every part of your body is covered and your head is uncovered, you will lose a disproportionate amount of heat through your head.

However, later studies show that, all other things being equal, about 7% of the heat will "go out" from the head. This makes sense because the head occupies about 7% of the body area.

3. Hair and nails continue to grow after death

In third place on the list of false facts about a person is a common, albeit rather frightening, delusion.

In fact, the human body is quickly dehydrated after death. When this happens, the skin begins to wrinkle and shrink. This gives the illusion that hair and nails are still growing.

2. The habit of crunching your knuckles leads to arthritis

Arthritis is a generic term for a group of pain syndromes that include pain, swelling, and inflammation in the joints. For many health conscious people, arthritis prevention involves a seemingly simple guideline - don't crunch your knuckles. However, this recommendation is not true.

Crackling in the knuckles and joints is associated with blisters in the synovial fluid (joint lubricant).And research done by doctors at Harvard Medical School has found no evidence that crunching fingers has a causal relationship to arthritis. However, it is really better to give up this habit. It makes a painfully unpleasant sound.

1. If you shave your hair regularly, it will grow thicker and darker.

We gave the first place in the rating of popular misconceptions about the human body to perhaps the most widespread myth. It says: after shaving, hair growth will increase, while the hairline will be thicker and darker than before.

Any changes in growth rate can be caused by hormonal changes. But otherwise it is just imagination. When we cut the hair, the rest of it looks like a noticeable dark dot on the skin. Plus, the rest of the hair feels stiffer because we cut it straight across.

There is no scientific evidence that shaving, whether with a regular razor or one of the best epilators, affects the thickness, growth rate or color of the hair.