The world is a big, wonderful place full of facts we never thought possible. For instance, if a pregnant mouse has a sudden medical issue, the fetus will send stem cells to heal the mother, increasing its chances of survival as well. Fetal stem cells have been found in human mothers as well, dubbed by science as microchimerism.
Bright Side dug up some more marvelous facts about nature and its creations, upholding our yearly resolutions to spread knowledge and joy.
1. The heart slows when your face touches water.
As mammals, we can’t breathe underwater, so as part of the mammalian dive reflex, our heart rate goes down in the water — more so if we go underwater. Even splashing the face with water makes the heart slow down, making it a great way to calm down.
2. Fungus can break down plastic in weeks.
It is said that in the future, there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish. This is why the plastic-eating fungus is great news, and there are around 50 new species of such fungi discovered already. One of the fungi discovered can digest plastic within 2 months, so there’s hope for us yet.
3. Newborn babies can support their own weight.
Newborn babies are strong — strong enough to be able to grasp things in their tiny fists and even support their weight as shown by an experiment done in the nineteenth century. Louis Robinson witnessed babies able to hang from a walking stick, from 10 seconds to 2 minutes and 35 seconds.
4. Koala fingerprints have been mistaken for human ones.
We’ve been told that our fingerprints are unique, and they are. But the fact remains that even though we share a common ancestor with the koala that was alive 100 million years ago, koala fingerprints look very similar to human fingerprints, as do chimpanzee fingerprints for that matter.
5. Snails can sleep for 3 years.
If you thought bears had it good with hibernation, meet the snail. Snails can sleep rather than hibernate for 3 years at a time without needing food. Of course, this is with some snail species, not all of them. Meanwhile, bears usually hibernate for just 4-8 months.
6. Sloths need 2 weeks to digest food.
Sloths don’t only move in slow motion — even their insides move slowly, ostensibly to preserve energy, which is why a sloth’s digestive system takes 2 weeks to process the food it ate. Plus, most of what it eats is indigestible, giving it very little energy from each slowly chewed mouthful.
On the other end of the spectrum lies the shrew, whose digestion takes mere minutes and is done so fast, not much of it is fully digested. This is the reason why shrews eat their own feces. They can die of starvation in a matter of hours if they don’t eat.
7. Your brain ignores seeing your nose.
We can see our nose all the time, it’s just that the brain tends to ignore it because it’s a constant visual stimulus. It’s the same with people who wear glasses. After a while, they simply stop noticing them.
8. Your forearm is the same length as your foot.
If you don’t have the time to try on a shoe, measure it from your elbow crease to your wrist. If it fits or is just a little smaller, it would fit your foot because the length of your forearm is the same as your foot. And this is just one of many human body ratios that are a marvel in themselves, including the fact that your femur bone is one-quarter your height.
9. You can “see” your white blood cells.
If you look up at a cloudless, bright blue sky and see some wiggly things at the periphery of your vision, you’ve just experienced the blue field entoptic phenomenon. The wiggly things are white blood cells moving in the fine blood vessels moving in front of the retina, at the back of the eye.
10. Human beings have striped skin, but only cats can see it.
Human beings have stripes and patterns on the skin too, and they are called Lines of Blaschko, name eponymously by the scientist who discovered them, Dr. Alfred Blaschko. These are closer to tiger stripes, forming more of a V-pattern fanning out from the center to the extremities. These lines are visible under UV light, a spectrum that cats can see too, which is why cats can see you as a striped being as well.
Which of these facts turned out to be a revelation for you? Share your extreme nature facts with us and blow us away.
Preview photo credit Shutterstock.com, Shutterstock.com
My Parents Forbade Me from Moving Out — When I Discovered Their Real Reason, I Immediately Called the Police
Taylor’s excitement about moving into her dream apartment was shattered by a devastating betrayal. Her parents had secretly taken out a loan in her name, using her savings without her knowledge. Faced with this painful truth, she made a bold decision that changed her family’s future forever.
My name is Taylor, and I want to share a story that turned my life upside down. I never thought I’d experience such betrayal, let alone talk about it. But here I am.
I recently finished my third year of university and stumbled upon the cutest little apartment near campus. It had everything I ever wanted: huge windows, a cozy reading nook, and a charm that felt like home. I was over the moon and couldn’t wait to tell my parents.
One sunny afternoon, I sat down with them in our living room, unable to contain my excitement.
“Mom, Dad, guess what?”
I looked at him, tears filling my eyes. “I hope so. It just feels like everything is falling apart.”
“Maybe,” he said softly. “But sometimes things need to fall apart to fall back into place. This is a lot to handle, but you have me and Aunt Freya supporting you every step of the way.”
Aunt Freya nodded. “Jake is right. We’re here for you, Taylor. And you’re stronger than you think. Never forget that.”
The legal process was long and stressful, but eventually, justice was served. My parents were held accountable for their actions, and I felt a sense of closure.
Do I feel bad for them? Sometimes. They were my parents, after all. But I couldn’t let them ruin my future. I had to take a stand, even if it meant breaking the family apart.
They looked up from their newspapers, giving me a curious glance.
With the support of Aunt Freya and Jake, I slowly started to rebuild my life. I found a new job, saved up again, and eventually moved into my dream apartment. It wasn’t easy, but I knew I had made the right choice.
Leave a Reply