Brain Facts

Did you know:
A lungfish can live out of water in suspended animation for three years. This allows the lungfish to survive during periods of drought. By breathing air from the surface of stagnant or low oxygenated water, the lungfish is able to survive where some species would drown.

Did you know:
Blype is the name given to skin that peels off after sunburn.
It has been defined as a thin piece of skin or membrane [1], originating in the late 1700s.

[1] American Psychological Association (APA):
blype. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1).
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/blype

Did you know:
An average snail moves at a rate of 58cm (22.8 inches) per hour.

But how do they move? Snails move by sliding on their single foot. Specialized glands in the foot secrete mucus, which lubricates the path over which the snail crawls. Snails can only crawl. Even those that live in water can’t swim. As they crawl they secrete a slime to help themselves move across surfaces.

Snails don’t walk, they slide.

Did you know:
The intense heat of lightning forces nitrogen in the air to mix with oxygen, forming nitrogen oxides that are soluble in water and fall to the ground in rain. A plant will not grow well without nitrates.

Did you know:
Carrageenan is a common ingredient in ice cream and toothpaste. Carrageenan is seaweed. A purple, edible seaweed, also known as Irish moss, that’s found along the coasts of Northern Europe and North America. It’s used as a suspending agent in foods, pharmaceuticals and liquids, as a clarifying agent for beverages, and in controlling crystal growth in frozen confections.

Did you know:
An apple, onion, and potato all have the same taste. The differences in flavor are caused by their smell. To prove this – pinch your nose and take a bite from each. They will all taste sweet.

Did you know:
Many pharaohs of ancient Egypt wore garments made with thin threads of beaten gold. Some fabrics had up to 500 gold threads per one inch of cloth.

Did you know:
The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland was a symbolic character for the hat makers in towns of the late 1800’s. The large felt hats of the day had supports made out of lead. The lead caused an organic form of psychosis (brain damage) to develop in the hat makers causing them to be declared crazy.

Did you know:
Secretly crossing one’s fingers originally was a way in making the sign of the Cross.

It was started by early Christians to ask for divine assistance without attracting the attention of pagans.

Did you know:
People who laugh a lot are healthier than those who don’t.

Dr. Lee Berk at the Loma Linda School of Public Health in California has found that laughing lowers levels of stress hormones, and strengthens the immune system.
Six-year-olds have it best – they laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

Laughter is the Best Medicine for Your Heart