10 Things the Human Body Is Capable of That Make Scientists Scratch Their Heads

Starting from embryos healing their mothers, to having a brain capacity that is equal to a 3 million-hour-long video. These are facts that might still be confusing to scientists but they can give us even more reasons to appreciate our body daily.

We at Bright Side expected that maybe we could find proof of the superpowers that people can have, and we are not disappointed at all with our findings, because, in a way, we actually have a few that we never paid attention to before.

1. Your brain produces enough electricity to light a small light bulb.

Our brain has about 100 billion cells, called neurons. When we move, see, think, dream, or laugh, is when the electrical signals and chemicals are racing between billions of neurons this neural highway. So, even though one neuron makes a very small amount of electricity, all of them together can create enough electricity to light a low-wattage light bulb.

2. Your sense of smell can take you back in time.

When we smell something that has a connection to something meaningful from our past, the first thing we experience is the emotions we had at that moment, and then the memory often follows. Sometimes we won’t remember the event or situation, but the emotion will be there.

This ability actually has a very simple evolutionary explanation. There is a part of our brains that is dedicated to detecting chemicals that will signal to us if something approaches, which is what our sense of smell does. And this was very important for our survival in the past.

3. We can lift a 100 lb person but not 100 lb stone.

When we lift “live weight” it’s easier because the person can adapt to gravity and distribute their weight in more directions. If this person chooses, they can also wrap their arms around you, which will make things even easier. While lifting an object, like a rock, the rock can’t choose to distribute its gravity and weight. The gravity is in the default position and this makes it a lot harder to lift it up.

4. Women’s brains actually shrink during pregnancy which makes “pregnancy brain” pretty much true.

A study confirms that “pregnancy brain” is not just a phrase used to explain the emotional rollercoaster the future mother is going through. The brain actually shrinks during pregnancy, but this is not a negative thing. As it gets smaller it becomes more efficient and the woman prepares for becoming a mother.

Actually, the loss of gray matter happens in the part where it will heighten her understanding of other people’s beliefs, feelings, and nonverbal signals. These changes will boost her ability to become attached to her infant and make her hyperaware of threats so that she can protect the baby and herself more quickly.

5. To have super strength our gut needs to shut off.

Fatigue, pain, and fear are all things that prevent us from attempting to use our amazing strength in our daily life. We have heard of stories about when people lift cars to save their loved ones. That superpower actually comes from adrenaline, but in order for it to fully work it needs to shut down the digestive system and the immune response. Then the combination of energy levels and increased oxygen strengthens our muscles beyond our normal levels.

It’s a pity, but we can’t have these powers all the time, because if we did our body wouldn’t be able to withstand the strength and all the work. It could make things worse for our overall health starting with our immune system and our heart, and leading to other illnesses.

6. We can see with our ears.

We have seen how blind people walk and get around by using a walking stick or clicking sounds that create echoes, letting them know about their surroundings. But scientists actually studied the brain of a blind person named Daniel Kish. He described his vision as “something like seeing the world in dim flashes of light.”

So, when his brain was being studied, the part that controls his visual context actually lit up when he was listening to the echoes that help him navigate using clicks. However, when he was listening to other sounds, this area was pretty silent. This led scientists to the conclusion that Daniel was truly experiencing something like visions.

7. Headaches can tell us to seek shelter as bad weather approaches.

For some people, headaches are not just a signal that we are too tired or overworked. For some, it can be about predicting the weather. In fact, research has confirmed that some headaches, ranging from mild to severe ones, are due to weather changes. This is due to the changes in temperature and barometric changes.

While for some it can be the quick rise in the temperature or in the pressure, and it’s usually during a storm. During the storm the warm and cold air mix and create variations in the air pressure (barometric). In fact, this is how thunderstorms, rain, and wind are created. This type of air pressure actually applies force on a given area, and in the case of headaches, this “area” is you.

8. The brain has the ability to hold 2.5 petabytes of memory.

Our brain has about 1 billion neurons. Each of them creates 1,000 connections to other neurons, making, in total, a trillion connections. This gives the brain a storage capacity of around 2.5 petabytes — 1 million gigabytes. If we compare it to the length of a digital video it would be 3 million hours of TV shows, leaving the video to run non-stop for over 300 years.

9. The embryo can heal the mother.

There have been many studies involving pregnant women and their unborn babies. The results of these studies have given scientists a new light on the power of the unborn child. During the pregnancy, the embryo’s cells move out through the placenta and take up residence in different parts of the woman’s body. This can influence the mother’s health.

In fact, these cells are known to stay inside the body for more than a decade even after the baby is born. In fact, they can help the mother heal after the organ damage that was done during the pregnancy.

10. Human ears are capable of “hearing” molecules.

While we could see the difference between cold and hot honey, cold being thicker, and hot runnier, we can’t see the difference in cold and hot water. But we can actually hear water molecules, and by just simply pouring water into 2 glasses, we can tell the difference.

You can take 2 glasses and pour hot water into one and cold into the other, and when doing this you can hear the difference. This is because the molecules in cold water have less energy, producing low-frequency tones while hot water has more energy and produces higher-pitched tones, and we can hear and distinguish both of them well.

Do you know of any other superpowers we might have? Have you felt healthier after having a baby? Do you have headaches that are connected to weather changes?