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Why People Breathe Into a Paper Bag When Hyperventilating
Hunter asks: Why do people breathe into a paper bag when they get really excited? It’s all about pH balance. No, not the skin pH that keeps some deodorants “strong enough for a man
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Myth or Fact: The Human Body Craves Foods That Have Nutrients It Currently is Short On
Rick A. asks: Is it true that your body craves foods that have things in it your body currently needs? Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and absolutely had
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Fingers Don’t Contain Muscles
We all have pet-peeves that occasionally happen around us- windshield wipers on when there isn’t enough rain to support lubrication, your husband leaving his dirty laundry on the floor, etc. One of mine is
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How Urine Can Be Used to Make Gunpowder (and Other Interesting Pee Facts)
It turns out that something that is (usually) flushed down the toilet can actually be recycled into a number of useful products. Comprised of water, calcium, chloride, potassium, sodium, magnesium, urea, creatinine, nitrogen, uric
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What Causes Will-o’-the-Wisps
Ron asks: What causes the “Will O the Wisps”? For those who don’t know, Will-o’-the-Wisps, also called “ignis fatuus,” Latin for “foolish fire”, are balls of light that are seen hovering over swamps at
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What Causes Acne
Jen asks: What causes pimples? Ah, acne! The facial blemish that powers many a pubescent date request rejection. Like millions of people worldwide, in my youth I waged a war with this aesthetic foe,
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How Erections Work
Amanda asks: How exactly do penises become erect? Well Amanda, the physical response causing a flaccid penis to become hard can be mediated by both physical stimulation (known as somatic) or autonomic (involuntary) processes
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Why Testosterone Affects Body Hair Growth
Michael S. asks: Why does testosterone cause more body hair? Testosterone is a steroid hormone from a group called androgen. Androgen affects many characteristics in our bodies, like the development of the male sex
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Fact or Myth: Sodium Raises Blood Pressure
Matt asks: Why does salt raise blood pressure? Well, Matt, it turns out a high sodium diet might not raise blood pressure, nor have any sort of adverse effect on cardiovascular health at all.
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Does Eye Black Actually Do Anything?
Steven asks: Does eye-black do anything or do people just think it does? For those that don’t know “eye black” is the substance used to make the dark markings athletes place under their eyes
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