The human body: Most of the time, we just don’t think of it, but it’s complex and amazing. Some things about the human body are downright strange!
* Your nose can remember 50,000 different scents.
* Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.
* Girls have more taste buds than boys do.
* You can’t lick your elbow.
* You probably just checked if you could lick your elbow.
* Exercise and play, reading, puzzles and healthy eating are all good for the brain.
* It takes 17 muscles in the face for us to smile and 43 muscles to frown.
* About 1,000 of the cells in your body could fit on the head of a pin.
* Your body contains about 60,000 miles of blood vessels.
* Minerals in our food make for healthy skin and strong bones and teeth.
* Your brain is made up of five different parts, each part playing its own role.
* The pituitary gland (in the brain) is only the size of a pea, yet it controls your growth by releasing special hormones. Later on, it will release more hormones that will cause all sorts of changes to your body. It’s part of growing up.
* Your heart beats around 100,000 times a day!
* REM stands for “rapid eye movement” and is part of the sleep cycle. You have your most vivid dreams in the REM stage.
* Adults normally have 206 bones, but babies start out with a skeletal mix of about 300 different bones and cartilage elements.
* Babies are born with kneecaps, but they are made of cartilage, which is soft. The kneecaps only become fully “ossified” into hard, bony kneecaps somewhere between the ages of three and five.
* Sneezes exceed 100 miles per hour, and nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour.
* You develop a new stomach lining every three to four days. Otherwise, the strong acids would start to break down your stomach!
* It takes about six months for your fingernail to grow, from base to tip.
* Over a lifetime, the average person produces about 25,000 quarts of saliva. That’s enough to fill two swimming pools!
