Take a look around you: the world is full of scientific marvels. From the atomic building blocks of life to the deepest depths of outer space, there are a lot of things to awe over. Add your body to the list.
Yes, the human body is truly an incredible specimen. Don’t believe it? Take a look at these ten facts, you’ll be surprised at what you learn.
- Infants are born with approximately 300 bones, but as they grow some of these bones fuse together. By the time they reach adulthood, they only have 206 bones.
- More than half of your bones are located in the hands, wrists, feet, and ankles.
- Every second, your body produces 25 million new cells. That means in 15 seconds, you will have produced more cells than there are people in the United States.
- The largest bone in the human body is the femur, also known as the thigh bone. The smallest bone is the stirrup bone, which is located inside your ear drum.
- There is anywhere between 60,000-100,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body. If they were taken out and laid end-to-end, they would be long enough to travel around the world more than three times.
- Teeth are considered part of the skeletal system, but are not counted as bones.
- Despite accounting for 2% of our body mass, the brain uses 20% of our oxygen and blood supply.
- While humans are not the biggest, fastest, or strongest animals around, we are the best at something: long distance running. Our long legs, upright posture, and ability to shed heat via sweat are all factors that make us good runners. In fact, early humans used to hunt their prey by chasing it for long periods of time until the animals literally died from exhaustion, a technique known as persistence hunting.
- About 60% of your body is made up of water.
- Pound for pound, your bones are stronger than steel. A block of bone the size of a matchbox can support up to 18,000 pounds of weight.
