Tag Archives: biology

The Effects of Scurvy

Yar me maties, today I found out what be causing scurvy. Like most people, I already knew that scurvy is caused by a lack of vitamin C and that it was a major problem aboard ships out to sea for a good length of time and is still somewhat of a problem in places where people are malnourished.  But I […]

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Why Poop Is Brown

Today I found out why poop is brown. Poop is brown due to bile from your gall bladder being metabolized by the bacteria in your intestines.  This results in a byproduct called stercobilin, which, in turn, makes poop look brown-ish. Without this stercobilin, your poop would typically look grey-ish/white.  Because of this, a sure sign you are having problems with […]

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The Guy Who Invented One of the First Artificial Hearts Was Also the Voice of Gargamel on the Smurfs, Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger Too

Paul Winchell

Today I found out the guy who invented one of the first artificial hearts was also the voice of Gargamel on the Smurfs; Mr. Owl on the Tootsie Pop commercials; Winnie the Pooh; and Tigger too. The man was Paul Winchell, who is perhaps best remembered for hosting the Winchell-Mahoney Time children’s show in the 1960s with his ventriloquist dummies […]

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Why It is Nearly Impossible to Tickle Yourself

tickling

Today I found out why it is nearly impossible to tickle yourself. It’s very hard to tickle yourself because your brain anticipates things going on around you in order to help speed up response times. More technically, the cerebellum monitors body movements and can also distinguish between expected sensations and unexpected ones, generally resulting in diminishing or completely discarding expected […]

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What Causes Muscle Soreness After Exercising (Note: It’s Not Lactic Acid)

Muscle Cell

Today I found out what causes muscle soreness after workouts. Since the early 20th century, this specific type of muscle soreness, called “delayed onset muscle soreness” (DOMS), was thought to be cause by lactic acid buildup in the muscles during strenuous workouts where your body’s oxygen supply is depleted.  Recent research has shown this is not the case at all […]

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How the Blind Dream

Today I found out how the completely blind dream. It turns out that if they went completely blind before around the age of 5-7 years old, they will typically dream without any visual experiences.  In the very few cases where some report having visual experiences in their dreams, these experiences are more in the abstract sense where they feel like […]

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