Funny "facts"

(taken from "Your Skin Weighs More Than Your Brain" by Barbara Seuling)

We have been taking little snippets from this book at bedtime - to stimulate fun for learning about the human body. It is always a great way to remind the kids that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made"

Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

1. The strongest bone in your body is your thigh bone, or femur. It is stronger than concrete. [struck a chord with us - we have been doing a lot of concrete]
   
2. Humans and giraffes have the same number of bones in their necks - seven. Giraffes' neck vertebrae are just much, much longer. [didn't know that - cool!]
3. A person in bare feet leaves such a strong scent in his or her footprints that it is possible for another person to follow his or her trail. [ummm - does that mean I have to *sniff* for them?]
4. The added stress of lots of physical activity causes bones to grow thicker and stronger. On the other hand, lack of physical activity results in bones getting thinner and weaker. [good arguing point for the wii fit or guitar hero :) side note on guitar hero ... do you like it if you have it? We were in Best B*uy the other night and it actually looks kind of fun. I would be ALL over the drums, though. The guitar doesn't even tempt me - should have been named drum hero.]
5. By the end of the day, a person has shrunk about 1 inch - temporarily. The next morning, a person is back to his or her old height again. [please measure me at night :)]
6. Your skin weighs more than twice as much as your brain. [that means that my brain weighs 1/2 of my skin = my brain is big!]
7. You use about 43 muscles to frown. You use just 17 to smile. [that's because it is hard to smile while you are exercising - see #4 above]
   
8. A 3-month-old fetus (in utero child) already has a distinctive set of fingerprints. [fearfully and wonderfully made]
9. No two sets of fingerprints are alike. Even identical twins have different fingerprints. [didn't know that either]
10. An average adult has more than 5 million hair follicles. About 100,000 of them are on the head. [If you are having trouble thinking of how HUGE God is ... just multiply that number by the number of adults ... and factor in Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.]
11. Pain signals travel to the brain more slowly than other touch signals do.
12. Your brain stops growing at about 15 years old. [maybe why teenagers think they know everything?]
13. Your brain is more active at night than during the day. [!!!! Go figure.]
14. You use 200 muscles to take one step. You use 300 to stand still. [now, how does that compute with #4 above? Wouldn't that stand to reason that standing still would make your muscles stronger?]
15. You use 72 muscles just to speak one word. [Now that explains a lot]
16. As you get older, you will lose your sense of smell before any of your other senses. [whew - can I get an amen!]
17. You will spend about 0ne-third of your life asleep.
18. Your eyes are the same size at birth as they are the rest of your life. [cool!]
19. Every person has a unique tongue print. [really?? Probably more convenient to do finger printing, huh?]
20. A 6-year-old laughs about 300 times per day. An adult laughs about 17 times per day. [ there's something wrong with us adults, y'all. This is a good reminder to not take life so seriously - to laugh more. Just this morning, John and I were talking about this and just did a half-hearted "HA" - that alone made us really laugh. It's easier to laugh than you think - try it!]

This book is a fun read - a lot of interesting things in it. I have always had an interest in biology and physiology, so it is right up my alley. The kids are enjoying it, too.