Fascinating and Bizarre Facts About the Human Body

The human body is an amazing thing. It contains our genetic information and is responsible for everything we do in life. It’s a living organism that’s wonderful, disgusting, beautiful, incredible, and stomach churning. Every living cell, tissue, and organ that makes up the human body serves some purpose. There are so many strange things the body can do that you probably don’t know about. To shed some light on these things, we are delving into a slew of weird facts about the human body.

For instance, did you know that there are 206 bones that make up the human skeleton? Or how about the fact that your eyes blink around 20 times a minute? Another weird fact is that when you blush, the inside of your stomach does too! These are just some of the interesting human body facts you will read about in this article.

So without further ado, here are weird facts about the human body that will have you scratching your head and leave you with a feeling of amazement.

1. The only muscle that never tires is the human heart.

That’s a good thing because if your heart goes you’re in trouble.

2. Humans shed 40 pounds of skin in our lifetime. 

The outer layer of skin is also replaced every month.

3. Your eyes blink around 20 times a minute.

That’s over ten million times a year, which is insane!

4. Your ears never stop growing.

While the rest of your body shrinks as you get older, your ears continue to get bigger.

5. Your tongue is covered in around 8,000 taste buds, each containing up to 100 cells helping you taste your food.

That’s why food tastes so good.

6. The average nose produces about a cupful of nasal mucus every day.

Thankfully most of that doesn’t actually come out of your nose.

7. You are the tallest when you first wake up. 

This is due to gravity compressing cartilage in our spines while we sleep.

8. You produce about 40,000 liters of spit in your lifetime.

That’s enough to fill around five hundred bathtubs. Let that sink in.

9. The cornea is the only part of the body with no blood supply.

It gets its oxygen directly from the air.

10. The entire surface of your skin is replaced every month.

This means you have about 1,000 different skins during your lifetime.

11. The human body contains enough fat to make seven bars of soap.

Just watch Fight Club for more information.

12. The body has 2.5 million sweat pores.

That’s probably a good thing when it’s hot weather.

13. Fingernails grow faster than toenails. 

This is because your fingernails get more sun.

14. Every minute you shed over 30,000 dead skin cells.

That’s why you need to shower daily.

15. Embryos develop fingerprints three months after conception.

This fun fact demonstrates how incredible the human body is.

16. On average you fart enough in one day to fill a party balloon.

This fact will either disgust you or have you laughing out loud.

17. Babies don’t cry until they are one month old.

The tear ducts of babies continue to develop after birth so it takes one to three months before they are fully formed.

18. You wee enough wee every month to fill a bath.

This is one of those weird facts you don’t really want to know but now you do.

19. From the day you are born to the day you die, your body goes from having 300 bones to 206.

As you grow from a baby to a toddler some bones fuse together while others are absorbed into the body as other parts.

20. When you blush, the inside of your stomach does too.

This one is just downright weird.

21. There are 150 billion red blood cells in one ounce of blood.

That can save a lot of lives.

22. The smallest bone in your body is not one, but three different bones: the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup).

They are all located in the ear and help with hearing.

23. There are certain kinds of tumors that can grow their own teeth and hair – they’re called teratomas.

This sounds like something out of a horror movie but is true.

24. 80% of the human brain is water. 

If you don’t stay dehydrated you can quickly get a headache.

25. Your brain can survive for five to 10 minutes without oxygen.

That’s why some people still appear alive after death. The body can still twitch or shake.

26. In cases of extreme starvation, the brain will begin to eat itself.

Zombies anyone?

27. The femur is the strongest and longest bone in your body. 

That’s why it’s so painful when you break it.

28. When listening to music, your heartbeat will sync with the rhythm.

As Snap! explained: “Rhythm is a dancer. It’s a soul’s companion.”

29. The small intestine is roughly 23 feet long.

Yet it only takes up a small part of your body.

30. Your thigh bone can resist thousands of pounds of force.

The good old femur can support 30 times your body weight.

31.  Your blood vessels could circle the globe. 

That’s about 60,000 miles in length.

32. 25% of your bones are in your feet. 

That’s 26 bones per foot, which makes 52 bones between the two.

33.  Every organ you have two of, you only need one of to survive.

It’s nice to have a backup though.

34. The thickest area of skin cells is found on your feet.

The thinnest area of skin are your eyelids

35. You can’t breathe and swallow at the same time.

Fun facts like this are good to know so you don’t end up trying to do both and carking it.

36. Your brain can’t feel pain.

It just receives the information to tell other parts of your body when you’re in pain.

37. Blood vessels are responsible for ice cream headaches.

When something cold touches the roof of your mouth, blood vessels constrict to minimize heat loss, causing a sharp burst of pain in the brain until the body adjusts. Damn you blood vessel!

38. An average person dreams four to six times a night.

You spend roughly two hours dreaming each night.

39. There are at least five types of receptors in the skin that respond to pain and touch.

Touch is better than pain.

40. 12% of people dream in black and white.

That number used to be 15% before color TVs.

41. If you hurt your pinky finger, the strength in your hand decreases by 50%.

This is why the pinky is such an important finger.

42. Your left kidney is higher up than your right kidney.

There is one on your left side and one on your right side.

43. There is such a thing as “Pregnancy brain.” Women’s brains actually shrink during pregnancy.

A great excuse for whenever your wife forgets something.

44. Hiccups protect lungs from gills that you don’t have anymore.

That’s right, we had gills!

45. Stomach acid can dissolve metal.

If it touched your skin, it would burn right through, just like the blood from the Xenomorphs in the Alien films.

46. The average human grows around 600 miles worth of hair in their lifetime. 

That’s equivalent to about 428.4 inches per strand of hair.

47. Tongue prints are as unique as fingerprints.

Although you can’t be charged for a crime using your tongue prints.

48. The average body temperature is 98.6 F (37 C).

But they can range between 97 F (36.1 C) and 99 F (37.2 C).

49. Most heart attacks happen on Mondays.

The stress of going back to work gets to people, with an increase of 20% of men and 15% of women suffering heart attacks on a Monday.

50. The muscular system is divided into three types: smooth, cardiac, and skeletal.

Smooth muscles are involuntary, cardiac muscles are in your heart, and skeletal muscles are attached to your bones.

51. Your jaw can put 200 pounds of force on your teeth.

That’s why it’s one of the strongest parts of the human body.

52. Every body part can repair itself except teeth.

This is why it’s so important to brush your teeth and see the dentist regularly.

53. If you removed all of your skin it would weigh roughly 20 pounds. 

Your skin makes up 15% of your total body weight.

54. Body odor comes from bacteria eating your sweat.

That’s why all you need is a good shower and you’re smelling fresh again.

55. Your stomach lining regenerates itself every 3-4 days.

This is to ensure you have the right protection in your stomach on a regular basis.

56. When your stomach growls, it means it’s full of hot air. 

This often occurs when drinking while working out or while talking as you eat.

57. Cracking your knuckles pops nitrogen bubbles.

It also releases endorphins, which is why you enjoy cracking your knuckles.

58. You are born with a tail. 

Most of these disappear around eight weeks in the womb and form your tailbone.

59. The cornea gets its own oxygen.

While your eyes are open it takes in air, as opposed to getting it from your blood vessels.

60. Your funny bone isn’t actually a bone.

The humerus is actually just a nerve protected by a thin layer of skin, which is why it hurts when you knock it.

61. Your heart can beat up to 100,000 times daily.

It can send around 2,000 gallons of blood through your body.

62. If your lungs are pink then they are healthy. 

When they are black you have a problem.

63. Some people can hear the sound of their own eyeballs moving.

It’s known as superior canal dehiscence syndrome and sounds like sandpaper.

64. Without bone marrow you would most likely die. 

It helps produce red and white blood cells needed to survive.

65. Your eyes can detect light more than 1.7 miles away.

Of course, if you have problems with your sight this isn’t necessarily true.

66. You can detect up to 1 trillion smells.

Women also have a better sense of smell than men.

67. When your body overheats you will find it harder to hear. 

Your body can also produce enough heat in 30 minutes to boil a half-gallon of water.

68. There are more than 600 muscles in the body. 

The strongest is the masseter muscle in your jaw and the weakest is the stapedius muscle in your ear.

69. Your bones are stronger than steal. 

But this doesn’t mean you are indestructible.

70. The fastest muscles in the body are found in the eyes. 

They are called extraocular muscles and can flick your eyes in any direction in just 50 milliseconds.

71. Your tongue is made up of eight interwoven muscles. 

They are similar in structure to an octopus’ tentacle or an elephant’s trunk.

72. Over 1,000 types of bacteria live on your skin. 

This is why your skin is always renewing itself.

73. Your big toe can bear 40% of your body weight.

You need all ten toys if you want to enroll in the US Army.

74. Some people are born with their internal organs reversed from normal positions.

This impacts one in 10,000 and is called situs inversus.

75. The tiny hairs in your nasal and lungs passage can taste bitter flavors.

They are known as cilia and help remove particles from your respiratory tract.

76. You can process approximately 150,000 pounds of food in a lifetime.

No wonder everyone is getting fatter.

77. Your mouth has the same skin cells as the vagina.

So if you’re a man, you should never be worried about going down on your partner as you’ve been kissing her mouth.

78. Your fingers are capable of feeling objects as little as 13 nanometers.

That’s why you can feel the smallest speck of dust or dirt on your fingertips.

79. People with blue eyes can tolerate higher alcohol.

They also have higher rates of alcohol dependency and abuse, so it’s a catch-22.

80. Your ear cleans itself.

That’s what earwax is. It’s actually a type of sweat that keeps bacteria out of your ears.

81. You don’t actually breathe through both nostrils at the same time.

It’s done through one nostril at a time.

82. Your veins have one-way valves that ensure blood flows in only one direction. 

Unlike arteries, which have no valves as the heart pumps the blood hard enough.

83. Identical twins have an identical smell.

Only identical twins have the same smell. Every other human is unique.

84. Humans share 96% of their DNA with chimpanzees.

We also share 60% with bananas.

85. Humans are the only animals that cry from emotion.

Other animals shed tears, but are emotion-free.

86. Most people have a left lung 10% smaller than the right lung.

This is to accommodate the heart.

87. Humans give off a light that the eyes can’t see.

It’s suggested the body glimmers.

88. Blood makes up 10% of your body weight.

This is why it is important not to lose too much if inured.

89. Your forearm is the same length as your foot.

Measure it and you will see.

90. Humans have 46 chromosomes

Or 23 pairs of chromosomes. Interestingly, crayfish have a massive 200.

91. The brain looks wrinkled because it is folded to fit inside your skull. 

Animals like rodents have smooth brains.

92. The average erection has about 130 milliliters of blood in it. On average, a rabbit has 126 milliliters of blood in it. 

Therefore, there is more blood in a boner than a rabbit.

93. Humans have about the same amount of hair on their bodies as chimpanzees.

Human hair is just much finer.

94. The left half of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right half of the brain controls the left side of the body.

Just because.

95. You actually see the end of your nose but your brain tells you not to see it.

This is so as not to impair your vision.

96. When a woman gets “wet” from being sexually excited, it’s blood plasma that provides lubrication. 

It’s extracted from the blood supply.

97. The human brain can hold up to five times as much information as an encyclopedia set. 

It’s close to 1,000 terabytes in computer terms.

98. Sneezes regularly exceed 100 mph.

This is why you always close your eyes when sneezing.

99. By 60 years of age, 60% of men and 40% of women will snore.

There’s nothing you can do about this.

100. There are no muscles in your fingers.

It’s the muscles in your hand and forearm that make them work.