Advertisement
The fat of the land
Forget high food prices and the credit crunch: SA is on its way to becoming the fattest nation.
Real-life story
Christy Reese, mother of a toddler with Down syndrome, shares her story with Health24.
     TERMS     GET A DAILY HEALTH TIP  
  
MAKE HEALTH24 YOUR HOMEPAGE   
H24 NEWS MEDICAL SCHEMES DIET FITNESS NATURAL MAN WOMAN SEX PREGNANCY CHILD TEEN SUN
FOCUS CENTRES MEDS ORAL PET MIND GRAPHICS VIDEOS ANTI-AGEING WIN TOOLS EXPERTS TALK
 
DO THIS:TEST YOURSELFGREAT GUIDESQUIZ YOURSELF
 General
16 weird body facts

Did you know that you now have 96 fewer bones in your body than when you were born? There's a lot more you never knew to ask.

If you remove the minerals from a bone by soaking it overnight in a six percent solution of hydrochloric acid, it will become so soft, you could tie it in a knot.

 
Advertisement
One person in 20 has an extra rib, and they are most often men.

When you were born, you had 300 bones. Now you have 206, if you are an adult. The rest of the bones have not disappeared – they have merely fused together.

The female egg cell is the largest cell in the human body. It is about 175 000 times heavier than the smallest cell, the male sperm cell.

There are 96 000 km of blood vessels in the average adult body.

The average person has about 100 000 scalp hairs.

When you look at an object, the image of that object appears upside down on your retina. However, your brain automatically corrects for this, allowing you to perceive the object the right side up.

Enamel, found on our teeth, is the hardest substance in the human body.

The soles of your feet contain more sweat glands and more pressure-sensitive nerve endings per square inch than any other part of your body.

Like fingerprints, every person has a unique tongue print.

The kidneys filter your blood up to 300 times per day.

During the first six weeks of life, there is no difference between the male and female embryo.

Human fingers stretch and bend about 25 million times in a normal lifetime.

The human body contains 30 000 billion red blood cells.

Tooth decay has led to 60 percent of adult Americans losing their upper right, middle molar.

Source: The People's Almanac 2, compiled by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace.
 
Print this article
 Rate this article
Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

 
 JOBS
Sharepoint Consultant (MOSS; KM; Collaboration)
R350-380 Per Hour
Gauteng - North/Sandton
Sharepoint Consultant (MOSS; KM; Collaboration)
R550,000-600,000 Per Annum Cost To Company
Gauteng - North/Sandton
Senior Ms Dynamics PreSales Consultant (CRM; MOSS)
R350,000-500,000 Per Annum Cost To Company
Gauteng - North/Sandton
Senior Business Intelligence Pre Sales Consultant (SSIS; MOSS; PPS) jp 18646
R350,000-500,000 Per Annum Cost To Company
Gauteng - Johannesburg
Senior Africa Analyst
R429,100-644,400 Per Month Cost To Company
Gauteng
Financial Manager
R429,100-644,400 Per Month Cost To Company
Gauteng
Admin Assistant
R5,500-7,400 Per Month Cost To Company
Gauteng
Management Accountant
R400,000-450,000 Per Annum Cost To Company
Gauteng - North/Sandton

 
Previous article: Next article:
Minor ops, major complications What's stalking you?
Sign up
 *Daily tip
 Newsletter
 Special offers
*Stand a chance to win R1000 every month!
 OTHER ARTICLES
GynaeDoc - top 5 questions
Healthy things to do daily
How healthy are your parents?
Mouth ulcers can be quite a mouthful
10 things not to do today
Stocking up - You and varicose veins
What your body's telling you
Suffering from an insomnia hangover?
Cold and flu - Client
Winning the battle against psoriasis
Weird medical trivia
5 top weird ops
16 scary symptoms
Crash diet ads mislead the desperate
Are you a hypochondriac?
Are you your own worst enemy?
The answers
Hip and happening over 60
FAQs for the not so young
Check your risk
All about auto-immune hepatitis
Why a liver transplant?
Here’s the good news
Could you get multiple sclerosis (MS)?
20 proven benefits of exercise
Six top excuses
Screening tests for women
45 best health tips ever
100 fascinating facts
10 muscular dystrophy facts
Hazardous waist
Caring the hospice way
Feel good forever
Quiz answers
How to spot a health hoax
Minor ops, major complications
16 weird body facts
What's stalking you?
Suing doctors in SA
Stem cells – hope or hype?
Banking for baby
 

 Sponsored links
 Health24 links

Advertisement
 Top Condition
 Centres