Category: Interesting Facts
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
1. Most recipients have three kidneys after a kidney transplant, because their own kidneys are usually left in place.
More Kidney Facts
2. Bean-Shaped Organs – The two kidneys you have are bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist.
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
Bed bugs are reddish-brown, oval-shaped, wingless, flattened insects about 1/4 inch long. Bed bugs can be transported long distances in the seams of clothing, luggage, bedding and furniture; are commonly found in apartments, dorms, prisons, hospitals, hotels, and in private homes; and occur in poor, unsanitary conditions, and in very clean environments.
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
The Flu – Each year in the United States, seasonal influenza kills more than 36,000 people and hospitalizes 200,000 others. Worldwide, annual epidemics cause about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths.
Influenza Pandemic of 1918 – The 1918 influenza virus, also known as the Spanish Flu, remains the most deadliest outbreak in recent history, killing up to 40 million people worldwide, particularly young people.
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
884 million people worldwide do not have access to an improved water source. An improved water source is defined as:
- Water that is supplied through a household connection
- Public standpipe
- Borehole well
- Protected dug well
- Protected spring
- Rainwater collection
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
We typically spend more than 2 hours each night dreaming.
Scientists do not know much about how or why we dream.
Sigmund Freud, who greatly influenced the field of psychology, believed dreaming was a “safety valve” for unconscious desires. Only after 1953, when researchers first described REM in sleeping infants, did scientists begin to carefully study sleep and dreaming. They soon realized that the strange, illogical experiences we call dreams almost always occur during REM sleep.
While most mammals and birds show signs of REM sleep, reptiles and other cold-blooded animals do not.
Some scientists believe dreams are the cortex’s attempt to find meaning in the random signals that it receives during REM sleep. The cortex is the part of the brain that interprets and organizes information from the environment during consciousness. It may be that, given random signals from the pons during REM sleep, the cortex tries to interpret these signals as well, creating a “story” out of fragmented brain activity.
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
The gluteus maximus, pronounced gloo-tee-us mak-suh-mus, is the “largest” muscle in your body.
The gluteus maximus is one of the gluteal muscles. The gluteal muscles are the three muscles that make up the buttocks:
- The gluteus maximus muscle
- The gluteus medius muscle
- The gluteus minimus muscle
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
Over 79,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for an organ transplant.
Nearly 3,000 new patients are added to the organ transplant waiting list each month.
Someone may be added to the organ transplant waiting list every 11 minutes..
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
Soft spongy bone marrow is on the inside of some of your bones, such as your thigh bones and your hip bones.
Bone marrow has special cells called stem cells, which make red blood cells and platelets.
Red blood cells bring oxygen to the tissues in the body, and platelets help the blood clot such as forming a scab to stop bleeding.
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
The flexor hallucis longus muscle is the long muscle that bends the big toe:
- Flexor = A muscle that flexes a joint
- Hallucis = Great toe
- Longus = Long
Your big toe helps you move and keep your balance.
Short Interesting Facts About Us, the Human Body & More…
Did You Know That…
Gum is designed to be chewed and not swallowed, but it isn’t harmful if you accidentally swallow it.
Folklore suggests that swallowed gum will sit in your stomach for seven years before being digested. Your body can not digest gum, but the gum doesn’t sit in your stomach. It progresses relatively intact through the digestive tract and is excreted in your stool, just like everything else you eat and drink.