Oddball Science: 11 Weird Health Facts You May or May Not Want to Know

Think you know what's going on in your body?

Maybe so ... and then again, maybe not. Check out these 11 oddball health facts:

1. No Pain in the Brain: Your brain can't feel pain, really! That's why they can do brain surgery while people are still awake!

2. About THE Finger (you know the one): The nail on your middle finger, the one you use to signal your displeasure in traffic, grows faster than all the other nails on your hand. Odd, ain't it?

3. The Tensile Tongue: The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue. French kiss, anyone?

4. Sneeze at the Speed of a Tennis Serve: A sneeze can travel as fast as 100 mph � almost fast enough for a Grand Slam tennis serve. Are we powerful or what?

5. Men Must Have Good Dreams: The average man has an erection once every hour to hour-and-a-half. Girls just wanna have fun but men ARE having fun while asleep! Oh, alas, men can also get breast cancer just like women.

6. Bye-Bye Taste Buds: Food should start tasting blander as you age. By age 60 most people have lost the use of half of their taste buds. No wonder they serve tapioca pudding to people in nursing homes!

7. Sizzling Stomach Acid: Your stomach acid is so powerful it can dissolve certain metals, like a razor blade. Yowza!

8. Smile More and Work Less: It takes only 17 muscles to produce a smile, but if you want to frown you need 43 muscles. Smile 'cause it takes less effort.

9. Why It's OK to Deck Someone: The jawbone is the hardest bone in the human body. Want to punch out someone's lights? Hit 'em in the jaw but be prepared for your knuckles to hurt!

10. Think You're Clean? Something like 32 million bacteria live on every square inch of your skin!

11. Bloodshot Eyes: Why do your eyes look red in some photos? Because the flash goes straight through your pupil, which is clear, and reflects off the blood vessels in the back of your eye.


Photo credit: Tongue