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!

Image: César Couto

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!

Image: Franco Antonio Giovanella

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!

Image: Andrea Piacquadio

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.

Image: FUHMariaM

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.

Image: BUDDHI Kumar SHRESTHA

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.

Image: camilo jimenez

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?

Image: Ximena Mora

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!

Image: Ashton Bingham

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.

Image: cottonbro studio

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.

Image: The Lazy Artist Gallery

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!

Deep roots

11 everyday words with indigenous roots

English is a very welcoming language in the sense that it incorporates terms from many other languages from all over the world. And, as it couldn’t be otherwise, Native American languages have lent many of their words and terms to English speakers. Some traveled through Spanish or French before settling into English, and others arrived directly through early contact and trade, helping shape the way we speak today. Did you know about these 11 terms?

The word "canoe" comes from the Taino term canoa, which was first used by Caribbean islanders long before Europeans arrived. Early explorers adopted it to describe the slim, sturdy boats they saw.

Over time, "canoe" became the standard English word for a small paddled craft. Today it still carries that sense of simplicity and closeness to nature.

The word "barbecue" comes from barbacoa, another Taino term for a wooden frame used for cooking meat over fire. Europeans adopted it and applied it to both the method and the gathering itself.

Today, "barbecue" means everything from a backyard cookout to a regional cooking style. Its origins highlight the deep culinary influence of Native Americans in the nation's current culture.

"Skunk" comes from the Algonquian word squnk, which means "urinating fox" (quite a fitting term, indeed). This was an obvious reference to the animal’s strong defensive spray. Early settlers adopted the term directly.

Since English had no better name for the creature, the Native word stuck. Today, the word skunks is also used as playful slang.

The word "moose" originates from Eastern Abenaki, a part of the Algonquian family, where it meant "he strips off bark." Yes, it described the animal’s habit of tearing bark from trees.

The name entered English quickly because settlers relied on Native knowledge of local fauna. The word remains unchanged because of its accuracy and usefulness.

"Raccoon" comes from the Powhatan word arakun, meaning "he scratches with his hands." It described the animal’s clever, humanlike front paws.

Settlers adopted the term because it captured the creature’s behavior beautifully. Today, the raccoon is used as a household symbol of curiosity, not unlike the animal itself.

The term "chipmunk" most probably comes from the Ojibwe word ajidamoo, which means "one who descends trees headfirst." Early English settlers adapted the sound into today’s form.

Though the spelling changed over time, the lively image of a chipmunk racing down a tree face-first stayed.

The word "caribou" comes from the Mi’kmaq term qalipu, which means "snow shoveler," referring to the animal’s habit of digging through snow for food.

French settlers brought the word into English, keeping its descriptive nature. The name still connects the modern animal to the winter landscapes it belongs to.

"Totem" comes from the Ojibwe word ototeman, which means "kinship group." It described symbols representing clans and shared roots.

English adopted it to describe carved poles and symbolic elements. Though broader in modern usage, it still hints at the original sense of community, identity, and heritage.

"Coyote" comes from the Nahuatl word coyōtl, which was used by Indigenous tribes of central Mexico. Spanish speakers adopted it, and English borrowed later.

The word kept its meaning, and it remains one of the most direct links between the English language and Nahuatl.

The tasty avocado’s name traces to the Nahuatl word ahacatl, which refers to the fruit and to a body part as well. Spanish speakers transformed it into aguacate.

Later on, English speakers adapted it to avocado. While the name sounds contemporary and culinary, it has ancient Native roots.

The last Nahuatl word and also the last word on the list comes from the term xocolātl, which describes a bitter cacao drink that was consumed long before Europeans arrived in America. The name traveled from Spanish to English.

Though the product changed dramatically, the word survived. Today, chocolate is a universal symbol of sweetness, with rich and deeply indigenous roots.