I like to think I'm pretty clued up about my own body. Don't you? But there are still some surprising facts that I'm still discovering. The human body is a complicated and amazing thing, and there's so much going on that we can't see. So here are some extraordinary facts about your body that you won't believe …
Since you only get one body, it's priceless to you. But it's been calculated that if every possible element and organ in your body was used, it could reap a pay check of $45 million (source: well.com). Unfortunately you can't capitalise on this bumper harvest, but it's nice to know you've got a multi-million dollar body, isn't it?
Do you feel that you were short-changed in the height department? Measure yourself when you wake up. You'll be up to one centimeter (2/5 of an inch) taller than you will be at night. This is because the cartilage in your spine contracts during the day. There's bad news though as you get older; after 40, you'll get 1cm shorter every 10 years! Bad news if you're already short!
… because you're already losing a pint of sweat daily through the half a million sweat glands your body has. Now do you understand why we're always being told to drink plenty of water? If you live in a hot climate, you'll probably lose even more. I wonder who counted all those?
The heart is an amazing organ that works hard to pump blood around our body, beating 100,000 times every day. But one amazing fact is just how much blood it pumps during your lifetime - a massive 1.5 MILLION barrels. That could fill 200 train tank cars. So why not donate blood at your local hospital or collection center? They won't ask for a barrelful!
Your eyes are pretty extraordinary too. The eye muscles make around 100,000 movements every single day. What a workout! And another really surprising fact about tears is that like snowflakes, every one looks different under the microscope. Tears have a different chemical composition depending on the reason for them (crying, laughter etc).
Ouch! You've cut yourself. But did you know that if you took all the blood vessels and stretched them out, you'd have enough to go round the globe 2½ times? And if you're worried about losing blood to mosquitoes, don't be - 1.2 million of the little suckers would have to bite you to suck out all your blood.
Dusting isn't one of the most interesting chores to do. But were you aware that you're actually hoovering up your own skin cells when you dust? The skin is the largest organ in the human body, and replaces itself every month. In fact, we lose 40 pounds of skin throughout our life.
So you can see how amazing the human body is! Technology may be impressive, but the body is even more incredible. There is so much going on inside our bodies that we aren't aware of; thankfully we have doctors to fix us when things go wrong! What do you find most fascinating about the human body?