10 famous "facts" about our body that only seem to be true

1. The character is determined by the greater activity of one of the hemispheres

In society, for some reason, it is believed that the warehouse of a person's personality depends on which hemisphere of his brain is more active - left or right. For example, this is tryingRight brain / left brain, right? to explain the tendency to different types of activity: supposedly, mathematicians have better developed left half of the brain, and artists have the right.

But this myth was long ago refuted by experts at the University of Utah. According to their researchAn Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right ‑ Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance Imaging, in people of various specialties, both the right and left hemispheres of the brain are involved in the same way. And there is no evidence that one of them is more active than the second.

2. The appendix is ​​useless

We all know that in our intestines there is an appendix - the appendix that extends from the cecum. Previously, he participated in the digestive process, but over time it has lost this function, so now it is rightly called a rudiment.

And many believe that a person does not need him now. Indeed, what is some appendage good for, which can also become inflamed? However, people who say that the appendix is ​​useless simply do not understand the meaningSome considerations from the field of general entomology that arose in the preparation for publication of the monograph "Phylogenetic System of Ephemeroptera" the word "rudiment" is not in the everyday, but in the scientific sense.

This organ has lost its main importance in the course of evolution, but at the same time it can continue to perform other functions.

For example, the appendix is ​​an important partComplementarity and redundancy of IL ‑ 22 ‑ producing innate lymphoid cells, The immunology of the vermiform appendix: a review of the literatureimmune human systems, helpsScientists may have found appendix's purpose keep the intestinal flora in order and serve as a habitatYour Appendix Could Save Your Life some of the beneficial bacteria needed for the intestines to function.

During infancy, the appendix also helps form white blood cells and some types of antibodies to fight infections. Surgeons useUrinary reconstruction using appendix as a urinary and catheterizable conduit in 12 patients parts of it to restore the urinary canal. And removing your appendix can increase your riskFive-Year Follow-up of Antibiotic Therapy for Uncomplicated Acute Appendicitis in the APPAC Randomized Clinical Trial Parkinson's disease. As you can see, this appendage is actually the right thing.

3. Different parts of the tongue perceive different tastes

This myth arose from the so-called language map, which was compiled by Harvard psychologist Dirk Hanig based on a German articleZur Psychophysik des Geschmackssinneswritten in 1901. It said that different areas of the tongue are equipped with different receptors and perceive tastes differently: bitter with the base, sweet with the tip, sour and salty with the edges.

But this is not the case. In 1974, University of Pittsburgh researcher Virginia Collings deniedHuman taste response as a function of locus of stimulation on the tongue and soft palate it's a delusion. Taste buds are scattered throughout the tongue, and you can perceive all tastes in any part of it.

If you don't believe it, try sticking the tip of your tongue into a salt shaker. If the tongue map had anything to do with truth, you would not get the taste salt.

4. Fingerprints are absolutely unique

Human fingerprints vary widely, which is why they are used as evidence in forensics. This was noticed by the Scottish scientist and physician Henry Folds, who in 1888 wrote an articlePersonal identification and description about the unique patterns at our fingertips.

But in fact, one cannot say that the prints are completely unique.

In 2005, Simon Cole, a criminologist at the University of California, Irvine, published a studyMore than Zero: Accounting for Error in Latent Fingerprint Identification, detailing 22 cases of errors in the history of the American legal system associated with similar fingerprints.

Mike Silverman, a UK medical examiner, claimsWhy your fingerprints may not be uniquethat it is impossible to prove the uniqueness of fingerprints and there are people who have them identical.

5. Clicking joints leads to arthritis

If a person clicks his knuckles all the time, he will certainly have arthritis - this is what others around scare those who like to stretch their hands. But researchKnuckle Cracking and Hand Osteoarthritis show that arthritis and clicking joints are not connected in any way and there will be no harm from this activity.

6. Height or length of legs and nose affects penis size

Stories that men with large feet or prominent noses also have impressive dignity are very common, although such "facts" have also long been refuted.

ResearchCan shoe size predict penile length?, Relationship between penile size and body measurements, Body Predictive Index of Penile Size, The Relationships Among Height, Penile Length, and Foot Size, Hand or Foot Size Predicts Size of Penis, published in the journals BJU International and Human Andrology Urology International, found no correlation between the size of the legs, nose and the height and length of the penis. So it will not work to determine how large a man's penis is without taking off his pants.

7. When you sneeze, your heart stops for a second

On the Internet you can find such a "fact": supposedly when a person sneezes, his heart stops beating for a moment, and then starts up again. Can you imagine? Every time you get something in your nose, you experience cardiac arrest! No, nothing like that.

The heart briefly loses its rhythm while sneezing.

Intrathoracic pressure at this point increases slightlyDoes Your Heart Stop for an Instant When You Sneeze?and this reduces blood flow. For a moment, the heart slows down a little, then it starts beating a little fasterWhat Causes Your Heart to Skip a Beat When You Sneeze, and Is It an Emergency?, Vagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain – Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disordersto normalize blood pressureand then returns to normal rhythm. But it doesn't stop.

8. The human body needs 8 glasses of water a day.

A popular thought of all HLS fans: "You need to drink more!" At the same time, for some reason, the norm is called eight glasses, or 2.5 liters. Supposedly, this is the required amount of pure water, which must be consumed per day to be healthy.

Perhaps this myth appearedEight glasses a day? due to the publication of the Food and Nutrition Committee of the National Research Council The United States in 1945, which stated that the daily fluid intake for a person is 2.5 liters.

True, in the very next sentence it was specified that a significant part of this water comes from food. You do not eat only dry concentrated foods?

Modern researchers have corrected this figure. Now for men, the recommended water rate is calledDIETARY REFERENCE INTAKES FOR Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate 3.7 liters, and for women - 2.7. It doesn't matter what you drink - tea, coffee or juices - the liquid that the body receives with them is no worse than plain water. If, of course, you do not overuse sugar and caffeine.

WHO generally recommendsWater Requirements, Impinging Factors, and Recommended Intakes, Water: How much should you drink every day? not bother counting glasses and just drink when you want, and not drink when you don't. That's all.

9. Sweat removes toxins from the body

When we are convinced that we need to consume more fluids, the following argument is often made: drinking helps to sweat, and with sweat various harmful substances are excreted from the body. But this is not at all the case.

People do not sweat in order to remove some muck from the body, but in order to cool downCan You Sweat Toxins out of Your Body?. Sweating is a thermoregulatory mechanism, not a cleaning mechanism. And no sweatA Preliminary Study of Biomonitoring for Bisphenol-A in Human Sweat, Can POPs be substantially popped out through sweat? no toxins. So don't expect sweating to help you heal faster from a cold or recover from poisoning or heavy drinking.

Accordingly, the stories that the bath helps to cleanse not only from the outside, but also from the inside, have no basis.Fact or Fiction: Can You Really Sweat Out Toxins?.

And yes, drinking plenty of fluids also doesn't help flush out toxins. ResearchEffect of Coaching to Increase Water Intake on Kidney Function Decline in Adults With Chronic Kidney Disease, The water myth Canadian doctors have shown that increased hydration does not provide any particular benefit in kidney function.

10. Shaving affects the thickness and rate of hair growth

There is such a misconception: the more you shave, the thicker and harder your new hair becomes. They also grow faster and become darker.

But this myth has been debunkedMedical myths clinical research back in 1928. Hair color, thickness, and hair growth rate do not change when shavingShaving Does Not Affect the Thickness or Rate of Hair Growth, The biggest myth about shaving hair is probably one you believe - here’s why. You can shave off the stubble without a doubt, wherever it is located: growing back, the cover will not become thicker.