31 Human Body Facts That Sound Completely Fake But Are Totally Real
Liz Richardson
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1. The average person produces 20,000 liters of saliva during their lifetime — aka, about 53 bathtubs full to the brim with saliva.
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2. In the US, only about 35% of adults have 20/20 vision without glasses, contact lenses, or eye surgery.
3. You're around 1 cm taller in the morning when you first get up than you are later in the day; this may be due to gravity compressing the cartilage in our spine and other parts of our bodies when we stand up or sit down during the day.
4. Your hands and feet contain 106 of the 206 — aka, more than 50% — of bones in your body.
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5. People aren't simply born left-handed or right-handed; research suggests that hand dominance develops over time, shaped by both biology and practice.
6. Tooth enamel lacks living cells, so once it's damaged, your body can't repair it naturally.
7. Distichiasis is a rare genetic mutation that gives you extra-thick lashes.
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8. Your stomach lining is completely replaced every 3–4 days.
9. The human tongue has a unique pattern — much like an individual fingerprint.
10. Cutis anserina is the medical term for the "goosebumps" you get when cold or scared; it literally means "goose skin" in Latin and refers to an involuntary reaction controlled by your nervous system.
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11. The average adult has between 2,000 and 10,000 taste buds.
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12. The total mass of the bacteria in and on your body is roughly 0.3% of your body weight.
13. Children can grow 50% faster during late spring and early summer due to increased vitamin D, extended daylight hours, and improved sleep patterns.
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14. Your fingers wrinkle after being in water for a long time because your nervous system causes blood vessels to narrow, creating the wrinkling effect.
15. You can't tickle yourself because it's not unexpected; your brain monitors your movements and anticipates the sensations they will cause.
16. The stapes is the smallest bone in your body; it's a stirrup-shaped bone in the ear, only 2.5 to 3 millimeters long.
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17. The average human tongue is about 3 inches long.
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18. Ounce per ounce, human bones are stronger than steel.
19. Your fingernails grow at an average rate of 3.47 millimeters per month.
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20. Hypnic jerk is the name of the phenomenon where your body jerks as you're falling asleep.
21. An average human breathes between 2,100 and 2,400 gallons of air each day.
22. Studies suggest that identical twins tend to have similar body odors — even when they live apart — partly because of their shared genetics.
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23. Under normal resting conditions, it takes about 20 seconds for blood to circulate through your entire body.
24. Your body contains about 60,000 miles of blood vessels.
25. Humans naturally breathe more through one nostril at a time, as airflow alternates between the two nostrils throughout the day.
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26. The small intestine is about 20 feet long in adults.
27. The space between your eyebrows is known as the glabella.
28. You close your eyes when you sneeze because it's an automatic reflex.
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29. Your skin sheds around 30,000 cells in a minute.
30. Humans have an estimated total of 2–4 million eccrine sweat glands.
31. Lastly, shaking hands can spread more germs than a friendly kiss.
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