This collection will definitely broaden your horizons. Look!
Why do you need eyebrows?
This is a natural "headband" that we inherited from our ancestors. Eyebrows prevent caustic sweat and raindrops from rolling down your forehead right into your eyes. It is possible that the invention of umbrellas and hats, as well as relentless evolution over the coming millennia, will exclude eyebrows from the list of organs necessary for survival and procreation. Because of this, women of the fourth millennium will no longer need to track discounts for plucking and styling on beauty salons' Instagrams.How does dirt appear in the navel?
The accumulation of dirt in the navel is - no joke - the most mysterious physical process on the human body. Austrian chemist Georg Steinheiser investigated the formation and composition of "navel mud" and published his findings in 2010. It turns out that during the day, the hairs around the navel collect fibers from clothes and push them inside, where they mix with dust particles, sweat droplets and microscopic skin particles, falling into clumps. To fight this scourge, says Steinheiser, you can either shave off the hair around the problem area or make a piercing: the metal will repel dirt and there will be nothing to pick out in the shower in the evenings.
What does the subway smell like?
Creosote is a special chemical used to lubricate wooden sleepers and other subway parts. In the quantities in which it is in the air at the stations, it is not toxic and does not cause any unpleasant effects, except for allergic reactions. In the subways of other cities (New York, Tokyo, London and even the cities of the CIS - Minsk and Kyiv) this characteristic smell is not present.
If the mother of Russian cities is Kyiv, then who is the father?
First you need to figure out why Kyiv is still a “mother”, despite the masculine gender. The pre-revolutionary spelling of Kyiv is "Kiev". The hard sign at the end in the 19th century did not sound at all, but denoted the hardness of the previous consonant sound. But in IX it was pronounced as an unstressed "o" (for example, like the first two "o" in the word "milk"). During the reign of Prince Oleg, who called Kyiv "the mother of Russian cities", the word was read as "Kyeva" and belonged to the feminine gender. The pope of Russian cities, according to historians, is Novgorod. It was built before Kyiv, and served as an important trading hub - it was the beginning of the legendary route "From the Varangians to the Greeks."
Do penguins have knees?
Yes, there are two sets. The first is the so-called tarsus, which looks like a knee turned back, which almost all birds have, and a real functional knee that closes the thigh and lower leg.
The problem is that the penguin's tarsus is too close to the foot, and the knee itself is too close to the body. Therefore, the lower paws of penguins look like a solid rigid structure. 
Where do they put the dug earth after the construction of the subway?
She doesn't disappear without a trace. Depending on the quality of the soil obtained, the land is sent either for processing and disposal to technical enterprises, for example, to construction sites in Moscow and the region, or, if it is of good quality, for landscaping parks and forest areas.
What kind of dreams do blind people see?
Blind from birth do see dreams that do not have visual images. Dreams may contain sounds, smells and touches in various combinations, but they will not even have color or light elements. People who have lost their sight during their lifetime see ordinary dreams. Their brightness decreases year after year: colors disappear and images are blurred, until they fade to zero over time.
Why are the batons of the traffic police striped?
Contrasting black and white colors are equally noticeable in the city and in the field at any time of the day and in any weather. The traffic police came up with the idea to paint the wands black and white 77 years ago. Before that, at the beginning of the century, until traffic lights appeared, and the flow of cars did not grow to a modern endless traffic jam for the whole city, traffic controllers managed at first with completely white, and then with red-yellow batons, similar to lightsabers from Star Wars. Then a bold but unsuccessful experiment was launched in the USSR: for several years they managed with white gloves and a special set of gestures. It was after the fiasco of this venture that the traffic controllers were given the famous black and white sticks.
What is the most popular word in Russian?
A special organization of linguists that monitors the state of the Russian language found out in 2014 that the most popular word in Russian is the interjection "pancake", which is used in speech even more often than the pronouns "I" and "you". This says a lot about the state of modern Russian speech.
Will a gun fire in space?
It will definitely shoot once. A bullet devoid of air friction, gravity and other obstacles will fly for a very long time and very far (most likely millions of kilometers) until it enters the star's attraction zone or extinguishes inertia in some other way, but the shooter will need to fight with the recoil from shot, spinning around its axis and coping with nausea and disorientation. The second, third and other shots may well not happen: in order for some parts of the gun to work as required, they need an air gap to compensate for the friction of the parts. So every shot in space will render the gun unusable a thousand times faster than on Earth.
What causes "butterflies in the stomach"?
Adrenalin. For the brain, falling in love is very little different from other types of stress, like grief or danger. That is why lovers eat little and sleep poorly. As soon as a person sees a loved one, the brain recognizes this as a stress signal and begins to pump adrenaline through the vessels. Please note: you most likely experienced the same sensations in your stomach before an important exam or before a responsible interview.
Why don't people sneeze in their sleep?
First you need to figure out how people sneeze: the brain receives information about irritation, transmits a signal to the chest muscles to fill the lungs with air, closes the holes in the throat and gives a signal to exhale. The air is eventually expelled through the nasopharynx. It is impossible to sneeze in a dream, because problems occur at the very first stage: the brain receives a signal about irritations, but due to the fact that nervous system works in a suppressed "sleep" mode, nothing can be done about it, except to wake the owner if the irritation is strong enough. And then, sneezing immediately after getting up will not work: the nervous system will not yet enter the operating mode.
Why are some dreams so difficult to remember?
In a dream, norepinephrine is not released - a hormone that, among other duties, is responsible for fixing memories in long-term memory. An interesting detail: norepinephrine is released during lightning-fast stressful situations: injuries and burns, as well as during serious nervous shocks, states of anxiety and fear. That is why nightmares and disturbing dreams are remembered much more than good dreams.
Why do some drinks taste bad after brushing your teeth?
Toothpaste contains sodium lauryl sulfate. It is added as a foaming agent, which makes it easier to brush your teeth and distribute the paste more evenly throughout the mouth. The substance is not considered harmful, but may cause an allergic reaction or irritation. Another thing is that upon contact with the tongue, sodium lauryl sulfate suppresses the receptors responsible for sweetness. In addition, the component temporarily destroys the phospholipid layer, which suppresses the bitterness of food. So it turns out that the taste of food and drinks that a person consumes immediately after a thorough brushing of his teeth changes beyond recognition and not for the better.
Why does ice cream hurt my forehead?
The effect is called "brain freeze" and is observed in a third of people living on earth. Unpleasant pressing sensations in the forehead or behind the ears are caused by the fact that from the cold in the mouth (specifically in the area of the palate), the brain is "scared" that the cold will soon get to it, and begins to urgently pump warm blood towards itself. Because of this, the blood flow is disturbed for some time, and unpleasant sensations arise in the head. In science, the effect is called sphenopalatative ganglioneuralgia. You can make warning stickers and put them on ice cream in stores.
What happens to the pages of deceased people in social networks?
In most cases, nothing. Automatic deletion of a page after a certain period of inactivity in many in social networks still no. For example, pages on Facebook, Odnoklassniki and VKontakte remain forever. However, Twitter is deleting a profile that hasn't been updated for more than six months. In other cases, pages change status. Facebook allows you to turn a user profile into a "memorial". To do this, you need to send a copy of the death certificate to the network administration. The status of the page will change - the inscription "In the bright memory of ..." will appear, and it will be possible to continue to leave comments and entries on the wall. Access to personal correspondence when changing status is not transferred to relatives or other close people. Your secrets will definitely remain yours forever. Social networks have not yet developed a single solution to the problem, but in the coming years it is already worth having in reserve: around 2050, the number of pages of the dead will equalize with the number of profiles of the living, and then the ratio will change in favor of the dead.
Man is the most amazing creature on the planet. The study of man has always attracted researchers of all times and peoples. Origin, psyche, motivation - all this is aimed at getting to know a person and his stay on earth more.
Below is a selection the most amazing and incredible facts about a person.
Surprising Fact 1. The higher our IQ, the more we dream.
In addition to this surprising fact, a new study by the journal Intelligence has shown that there is a clear relationship between the level of intelligence and wanderlust.
Surprising Fact 2. Spending just 4 days in nature will increase your creativity by 50%.
Studies have revealed an amazing fact: in order to become one and a half times more creative, you need to reunite with nature for at least 4 days, putting aside smartphones, laptops and waving your TV. The creativity of the participants was assessed through a remote association test both before and after the trip, which, as you already understood, showed an increase in creativity of plus or minus 50%.
Surprising fact 3. Our endurance reserves are very high. We are just embarrassed when people look at us.
Human endurance reserves are much higher than you can imagine. People have always guessed about this for centuries, but it was only in our time that it was possible to scientifically confirm the exciting and incredible fact. The task was undertaken by specialists ... hypnosis. And the main tool was suggestion. So, having stepped over the limit of fatigue, under the suggestion of reducing the load, a person's working capacity was resumed "as good as new." Surprisingly, the fact is that the action could take place up to 11 repetitions. To interpret the clues to the inner treasures, scientists decided not to go far and put the natural design on the shelves in the following way: the preservation of hidden reserve capabilities allows a tired animal, if necessary, to flee from a pursuing enemy.
Surprising Fact 4. Human muscles are actually much more powerful than commonly thought.
This force is usually limited so that the person cannot injure the muscles and tendons. Barriers can be removed with the help of adrenaline - it is under its influence that people are able to lift boulders and even cars.
Surprising Fact 5: Humans are the best distance runners on the planet.
Yes, yes, better than any four-legged animals. If you are a typical inhabitant of the modern world, it is difficult for you to imagine this, but the amazing fact remains. It is due to the fact that man is the only creature whose body is equipped with a unique system of thermoregulation. Our skin allows perspiration to occur throughout the body. In fact, thousands of years ago we could drive prey until it died of exhaustion.
Surprising fact 6. Inside us is the universe.
The connected neurons of our brain are like the structure of the universe. Compare the upper (universe) and lower (brain neurons) squares on the right side of the figure. Incredible, isn't it? An amazing fact: in a sense, the human brain is created in the likeness of the universe.
Amazing Fact 7. Along with the five traditional senses of hearing, seeing, touching, smelling and tasting, humans also have 15 "other" senses.
These include balance, temperature, pain, time, as well as internal sensations of suffocation, thirst and satiety.
Surprising Fact 8. A condition called "synesthesia" allows a person to experience one feeling through another.
In other words, some people can taste sounds or hear colors.
Surprising fact 9. People are more sensitive and acutely perceive negative factors than positive ones.
To recognize negative factors, a person uses thousands of sensations and their shades, while for positive ones - tens and hundreds of times less. This is due to the instinct of self-preservation: over the centuries, man has learned to evade and defend himself from the dangers of the external environment. And although the threats modern world has become much less (you know, the misfortunes: witches, the wrath of the gods, curses ... and now: an armless hairdresser, a defective Chinese dolce-gabbana, dollar jumps, inflation), by nature, a person is still more scrupulous about negative information.
Surprising Fact 10. Human DNA is 50% identical to that of a banana.
Maybe this is due to the fact that our distant ancestors loved bananas?
Surprising Fact 11. About 90% of our cells make us not so human - we are mostly fungi and bacteria.
Perhaps our closer ancestors were hiding something from us?...
Surprising Fact 11. Humans are bioluminescent and glow in the dark.
The light we generate is 1000 times weaker than what our eyes can see. It can also be assumed that some people shine more than others. Or we simply begin to "understand" their light.
Surprising Fact 13. We tend to modify and transform our memories, as well as to nourish pseudo-memories.
Vivid impressions have many errors in our memories. When a person experiences dramatic or exciting events, we remember their details incorrectly, because the strong emotions that we experience at such moments affect memory, which leads to a serious distortion of memories. A well-known example proving this fact is the polls of people after the events associated with September 11, psychologists interviewed people immediately after the events and three years later, as a result, it turned out that 90% of the respondents, three years later, were able to describe everything in as much detail as possible, the only problem is that these memories were radically different from those that they voiced three years ago.
A person perceives memories as a kind of movies that, if desired, can be played again and again in the head. However, in each memory situation, the activation of neural pathways occurs differently each time. Details may be replaced by details from later events. The amazing fact is that we are accustomed to consider ourselves so smart that with a light hand we fill in the gaps with the help of logical conclusions. For example, you were at a meeting of relatives, but you don’t remember if your aunt was there. You understand that she most likely was there, and if you remember this event a few more times, you will include your aunt in your memory.
Surprising fact 16. The loss of excess weight in a person, in addition to the general improvement of the body, increases the amount of memory.
Studies of people with overweight showed that they have violations of episodic memory (this is the memory of events that occur throughout life). Observing older women who were overweight but lost it through diet, there were changes in the area of the brain that is responsible for memory. Simply put, there was a pattern between weight loss and improved episodic memory.
Surprising fact 15. Man is the most infantile creature on the planet (with the exception of dogs or cats spoiled by us).
Man is the only being who remains under the loving care of his parents for 18 years, and sometimes longer. This gives rise to a false idea of the "navel of the earth" - a person thinks that the world revolves around him.
Surprising Fact 16. Limited choices make people happier.
It is believed that to make a decision it would be nice to have more options. An interesting fact, but the fewer options we have, the happier we become when we make a choice. If there are many options, the choice will not bring much pleasure.
Surprising Fact 17. Human lungs are the size of a tennis court.
Everyone knows that the lungs provide us with air, but few people know the interesting fact that the surface area of the lungs can be compared to a tennis court.
Surprising fact 18. "Love" lives from 30 days to 3 years.
Scientists have discovered that when in love, hormones create a complex chemical cocktail that has an effect similar to drug intoxication or insanity. This interesting "cocktail" is active from 30 days to 3 years. But the habit, respect, friendship can be preserved until old age. (We put "love" in quotation marks, because scientists probably studied falling in love and passion, and love, based on centuries-old knowledge, for example, biblical, can turn out to be a more complex and higher concept - approx. site)
Surprising Fact 19. Young people are not dumber, but simply inexperienced.
From the moment of birth, 14 billion cells already exist in the human brain. By the age of 40 weeks, the brain is almost as tortuous as that of an adult. By the age of seven, the human brain is fully formed. Having reached the maximum development of ~ 100 billion (and according to some sources, 86 billion), this number, surprisingly, practically does not increase until death (and you do not become smarter). On the contrary, after 25 years it is reduced by 100 thousand per day. In the minute you spend reading a page, about 70 cells die. After 40 years, the degradation of the brain accelerates sharply, and after 50, neurons (nerve cells) dry out and the volume of the brain decreases. Hmm, that's an unfortunate fact. But there is also a certain hope (we read the following amazing fact).
Surprising fact 20. A special anti-aging hormone is produced by rich or active people.
DEA (dehydroepiandosterone) is a special hormone that has been studied since the 1950s. But it wasn't until 2004 that significant progress was made, thanks to a study of 10,000 people. This hormone is most produced in adolescents and children, but decreases significantly with age (up to 10% by the age of 80). An interesting fact is that if you lead an active full-fledged lifestyle, play sports, travel and have many friends and interests, then DEA increases. Another surprising fact: the same increase in DEA occurs with financial wealth.
A lot of the information that we pass through ourselves is erased over time. It's not because the person has a bad memory. No. It's just the way the human brain works. There are several types of human memory. But today is not about that. I would like to slightly update the information for those who have forgotten it, and convey it to those who simply do not know it yet. And so very the most amazing facts short and hopefully interesting.
Do you know that in one of the hottest and driest regions of the planet, in the Sahara, snow once fell. It happened in February 1979.
You won't find clocks in any of the famous Las Vegas casinos.
To produce 1 kilogram of honey, a bee must fly around 2 million flowers.
Oddly enough, a person's nose continues to grow throughout life.
A normal person, under no circumstances, will be able to bite his own elbow.
The most dangerous predator, the crocodile, cannot stick out its tongue.
Surprisingly, the heart of shrimp is in the head.
Horses don't know the feeling of vomiting.
Very surprising facts - if you happen to sneeze too loudly, you can break your rib. But when suppressing sneezing, serious harm is done to health. And the most interesting thing is that you will never be able to sneeze with your eyes open.
Does an ostrich hide its head in the sand when frightened? For almost 80 years, researchers have been observing ostriches. None of the 200,000 observed ostriches did this. I wonder where this legend came from?
Pigs are physically unable to raise their heads and look up at the sky.
Everyone knows what an echo is. But duck quacking does not echo. Very surprising - why?
Most lipstick contains fish scales.
Everyone knows that human fingerprints are purely individual characteristics. But the fact that the imprint of a person’s language is also unique is not known to everyone.
A person's hair grows twice as fast when flying in an airplane.
If you continuously shout at a glass of water for 80 years, then there will be enough energy to boil it.
A cockroach without a head can live for about 9 days, and then dies after that ... from hunger!
You won't be able to create a folder called "Con" in Windows because that's how Bill Gates himself was called as a child.
Coca Cola would have green color if the manufacturers did not tint it.
The cost of the film "Titanic" is more than the cost of the Titanic itself.
Lemon contains more sugar than the beloved strawberry.
The jury of the Chaplin doubles competition gave Chaplin himself the third place.
A cat's sleep is 70% of its life.
Clouds never move southwest.
If a person closes one nostril for 72 hours, he will slowly lose the ability to distinguish colors. Everything will instantly return to normal when the person releases the nostril.
There are more living organisms on the body of each person than there are people on the planet.
In English and Russian languages there is no word that means reverse side knee.
Venus is the only planet solar system, which rotates counterclockwise.
Any sheet of paper cannot be folded in half more than seven times.
Surprisingly, the flag of Alaska owes its creation to a 13-year-old boy.
A snail's sleep can last up to 3 years.
The vision of a frightened person improves significantly.
- are nearby, it's just that many people never think about it.
