9 Things About Your Body You Never Expected to Find Out

If you think that you know yourself 100%, just wait. You likely don’t even know what senses your body actually has. You also may not have expected to learn that we are relatives with bananas. Just take your time and enjoy reading some curious information about your body.

We at Bright Side love not-so-obvious wonders and are sharing 9 facts that may surprise you.

1. The small holes close to the edges of the eyelids have a major function.

There are small openings inside the edges of the eyelids called puncta. These openings help to take tears out of the eye. When you blink, some tear fluid is pumped out of the eye through your puncta.

When the puncta are blocked for some reason, tears will overflow.

2. Papillae on your tongue tell you about danger.

Papillae are mushroom-shaped dots that are scattered across your tongue. You have between 200 and 400 across the dorsum or top of the tongue. Each papilla contains 3 to 5 taste buds and isn’t just to detect flavor, but also temperature and touch.

Thanks to papillae, you can enjoy food and avoid pain and poison. They send information to your brain so your body gets alerted to avoid dangers like smoke, for example.

3. A single strand can potentially carry a weight of up to 3.5 oz.

A single strand can potentially carry a weight of up to 3.5 ounces (100 grams), while a full head of human hair can hold between 12,345 lb to 18,518 lb (5,600 kg and 8,400 kg) without getting yanked out or breaking.

4. The nostrils switch during breathing.

Usually, we don’t notice it, but while we breathe, one nostril becomes congested and brings less to airflow. Studies say that on average, nostrils switch about every 2 hours. Also, right-handed people tend to breathe more with their left nostrils.

5. Your liver can grow back.

Your liver has a unique feature in comparison to other organs. It can regenerate itself after damage. Any liver can regrow to its normal size even after 90% of it is removed.

6. You have more than 5 senses.

Normally when we think of human senses, we think of 5 of them: eyesight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. However, your body is capable of sensing way more than this.

Equilibrioception — a sense of balance
Proprioception — knowing which parts of your body are where without looking
Kinaesthesia — a sense of movement
Thermoception — a sense of temperature
Nociception — the ability to feel pain
Chronoception — a sense of time

7. Your brain grows throughout your life.

At birth, the average baby’s brain is about a quarter of the size of the normal adult brain. Then it doubles in the first year and keeps growing to about 80% of adult size by age 3 and gets to 90% by age 5. At the age of 25, the human brain is fully developed.

8. Children grow faster in springtime.

Yes, it’s a fact that kids grow a bit faster in the spring than during other seasons. A major growth spurt happens between 8 and 13 years of age in girls and 10 and 15 years in boys.

9. The DNA of a human and a banana have a 50% similarity.

We’re all relatives and share common DNA, even with flowers. Researchers have found that humans and plants share 18.7% of their genomes with each other. We also share 60% of the same DNA with fruit flies and chickens, and 96% with chimpanzees. We’re even similar to bananas, according to studies, as we have about 50% to 60% of the same genes.

Which fact was the most surprising to you? Did you ever think that you had common genes with plants?