The human body

Bathtubs of snot? The "gross but true" guide to human anatomy

Image: Tima Miroshnichenko

From the tiny, unseen creatures residing on your eyelashes to the incredible volume of mucus your nose produces annually, the inner workings of our anatomy are packed with crazy facts that sound like science fiction. Prepare to have your mind blown as we discover 10 of the most astounding, hard-to-believe truths about our very own body. Get ready to never again look at your saliva, bones, or even your earwax in the same way!

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Did you know that about 50% of people have tiny creatures living on their eyelashes? These eyelash mites are about a third of a millimetre long. They can sometimes cause allergic reactions, but most people never find out they’ve got them. We bet you're calling your ophthalmologist for a consult right now!

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Earwax is produced by your body to protect the lining of your ear canal by trapping dirt and repelling water. But what will probably baffle you is that by the time it reaches the outer ear, the wax has been inside your ear for about a month. No wonder it tastes so disgusting!

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You usually only notice snot when you’re making too much of it, that is, when you are sick. But can you guess how much mucus an average person produces in a year? The answer will shock you: about 100 gallons, enough to fill two bathtubs! While the sticky goo is rather unpleasant, you wouldn’t want to go without it. Mucus creates a layer of protection between you and the outside world, so thank God it’s there.

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And what about your saliva? How many bathtubs do you think you can fill with your year's supply? Saliva helps break down and swallow food, fights bacteria, and neutralizes acid, among many benefits. So, if it is that good for you, it’s no surprise your mouth produces tons of it. In fact, it makes between 250 and 730 quarts a year, equivalent to filling a small swimming pool over a lifetime.

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That pink squidgy blob inside your head is stuffed with facts, memories, and dreams. Your brain is constantly crackling with tiny pulses of electricity, performing ten quadrillion calculations per second. They’re brilliantly complicated machines that scientists are only just beginning to understand. One thing is for sure: an average person has 1460 dreams in a year, about four dreams every night, or to put it another way, around the same as the number of miles from Denver to Nashville.

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Clever as your brain is, it wouldn’t be able to do much without the network of nerves that link it to the rest of your body. Nerves bring information from your senses to your brain and deliver orders from your brain to the other organs. As you can imagine, if we were to measure that amazing network, we would end up with a lot. In fact, every person has a whopping 44 miles of nerves running through their skin. Can you imagine?

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The outer layer of your skin is called the epidermis and consists of dead cells that provide protection from dirt and germs. What you probably didn’t know is that your body is constantly losing and replacing these cells. Also, your dead skin cells sometimes absorb water and swell. This is the reason the ends of your fingers go wrinkly in the bath. But don’t worry, the entire surface of your skin is replaced every month.

Want to play some more? How much do you think the average adult’s skin weighs? Just under 7 pounds, or as we like to say, the same as three pineapples!

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Human hair feels soft, but it’s one of the strongest fibres on the planet. The number of hairs on your head ranges from around 9,000 to 140,000, depending on what sort of hair you have.

Everyone loses about 50 to 100 hairs every day, but this process can speed up in men as they get older. Hair generally grows about half an inch a month, or 6 inches a year. Yet, if you don’t cut it regularly, it will most likely stop growing when it’s about 5 feet long.

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This fact is not for skeptics: the average adult’s skeleton weighs the same as one car tyre. In fact, our skeleton only makes up about 15 per cent of our overall body weight. So, next time someone tells you that big bones is the reason for them being overweight, be suspicious.

Another fun fact? Your collarbone is the last of your bones to stop growing when you become an adult. Called the clavicle, it doesn’t stop growing until you’re about twenty-five.

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Human muscles, on the other hand, make up about 40% of your body weight, and there are more than 600 of them. Yet, you use just 200 when you take a step, and almost all of them when you throw a ball.

The biggest muscle in your body is the _gluteus maximus_—a.k.a your bum. The smallest is in your ear, the stapedius, just about forty thousandths of an inch. The jaw muscle is the strongest by force, and the eye muscles are the busiest—10,000 movements an hour when reading! Our favorite muscle, though? The heart, of course!

Deathbed statements

Beyond the grave: Take a look at the last words of 12 famous people

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Throughout history, hundreds of historical figures have left their mark on the world through their marvelous achievements. When their lives came to an end, their last words were often a reflection of their lives and ideals. From George Washington and Mark Twain to Frank Sinatra and Leonardo Da Vinci, in this article, we will reveal 12 final words of memorable personalities.

Image: The New York Public Library

After serving two terms as the United State's first president, George Washington retired to his Virginia plantation. In mid-December 1799, he developed a cold and a severe sore throat. Despite doctors' efforts to cure him, the end was imminent.

His long-time secretary, Tobias Lear, was at his side during his last days and documented all the events that transpired, including the former president's last words. According to his account, shortly before he took his last breath George Washington said "Tis well" —an old-fashioned way of saying "everything is okay."

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Noir icon of perpetual elegance and rebellious charisma, Humphrey Bogart is an undisputed legend in cinema history. A Hollywood Golden Age star, Bogart is still remembered today for his scar on his upper lip, his everlasting cigarette, and his perfect portrayal of gangsters and detectives.

At the age of 57 Bogart was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, for which he was hospitalized for several months. According to lore, the legendary star's last words were "I should never have switched from scotch to martinis." However, his wife Lauren Bacall confirmed that the last thing he actually said was "Goodbye Kid. Hurry back," before she left his bedside to get their children.

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As one of the greatest American writers of all time, Mark Twain is usually credited with all sorts of great quotes that he often didn't say. For that reason, there are different versions of what his last words were before he died in 1910 at the age of 74.

The most plausible theory can be found in an article published one day after his death. According to this chronicle, Samuel Langhorne Clemens' last words were not spoken aloud but written. The famous humorist and essayist reportedly wrote to his daughter Clara, who accompanied him on his bedside, "Give me my glasses."

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Joan Crawford, the Oscar winner for Mildred Pierce and one of the greatest stars of Hollywood's golden age, died in 1977 of a heart attack.

The actress, who had a complicated personality, was true to her nature until her last breath. She was so ill that her doctor felt it wasn’t worth taking her to the hospital. One of her nurses began to pray aloud in desperation. Losing her patience, Crawford snapped for the last time and said, "Damn it... Don't you dare ask God to help me."

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The year 2024 marked the 700th anniversary of the death of the man who better described remote lands. Marco Polo was a merchant who spent more than 20 years of his life traveling through the Orient and wrote about his adventures in a book that became a bestseller when the printing press wasn’t even invented.

Marco Polo was, and still is, a legend. When, on his deathbed, his wife and friends begged the brave explorer to confess if what he had told in the book was true, he barely whispered: "I have not told the half of what I saw and did."

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Julius Henry Marx, better known as Groucho Marx, is considered one of the most influential comedians of all time. The man with the bushy black mustache was one of the Marx Brothers. Together they made 13 films, including the classic Duck Soup. After a long and prominent career, Groucho passed away in Los Angeles in 1977 at the age of 86.

His brilliant one-liners are still remembered and replayed to this day, so it is not surprising that not one but several final words are attributed to him. A few close friends have suggested that his last line was "This is no way to live!", while most suggest that his last words were in fact dedicated to his wife: "Die, my dear? Why, that's the last thing I'll do!"

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Voltaire, the French writer, philosopher, historian, and lawyer, one of the major figures of the Enlightenment, died in 1778 at the age of 83. Different accounts of his deathbed make it impossible to determine exactly what his last days were like.

One of these stories, however, is consistent with his ideas about God and his well-known criticism of the Church. According to this version, when the priest asked him if he wanted to renounce Satan before he died, Voltaire replied, "This is no time to make new enemies."

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L. Frank Baum was a prolific American author. He wrote 55 novels, 82 short stories, and more than 200 poems. However, his most memorable work is his series of children's fantasy books The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

On May 5, 1919, Baum suffered a heart attack. He died the next day, shortly before his 63rd birthday. Disturbed by the imminence of death, he whispered to his wife: "Now we can cross the Shifting Sands," a clear reference to the Land of Oz.

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Augustus, the first Roman emperor, is often attributed with the phrase: "Behold, I found Rome of clay, and leave her to you of marble," alluding to the great infrastructural works carried out during his prosperous 40 years of rule.

However, according to other historical accounts, his last words were addressed to the friends who stayed with him on his deathbed: "Have I played the part well? Then applaud, as I exit."

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"Darling, you've gone through worse and you can beat this too. You have to fight," implored Barbara Marx, Frank Sinatra's fourth wife, to her beloved on his deathbed. "I'm losing," The Voice whispered through teary eyes.

Barbara recounted the last hours of the singer of such hits as My Way and New York, New York in her memoir Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank. Frank Sinatra, one of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century, pronounced his last words in 1998 at the age of 82.

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Despite being one of the most famous artists of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci was very hard on himself. All his life he challenged his own limits, evident in his paintings and sculptures as well as in his inventions, some of which were truly revolutionary.

Even after a lifetime of success, he wasn’t quite satisfied. When he suffered a stroke at the age of 67, he sent for a priest to receive the Holy Sacrament and, according to historians, his greatest regret was that he hadn’t achieved excellence with his work. In that sense, it is said that his last words were: "I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."

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The Yankee Clipper was one of the greatest baseball players of all time but he is also known for having been married to the iconic American actress Marilyn Monroe. Joe and Marilyn were together for less than three years. In 1955 the actress left him for American playwright Arthur Miller.

DiMaggio was devastated. He never married again, and never got over his one true love. His last words before he died in 1999 at the age of 84 were: "I'll finally get to see Marilyn."