35 Things Major Organs Do That Science Class Didn't Teach

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35 Things Major Organs Do That Science Class Didn’t Teach

By Joe Burgett - August 1, 2019

13. You Can Turn Into A Zombie When Starving…Sorta

One of the coolest things about the human body is its ability to adapt. We’ve evolved to literally adapt to our environments as a species. This is the reason we look the way we do and operate as we do. However, one thing major organs do is adapt to starvation in some weird ways. We all know that the body will eat fat in cases of starvation, right?

However, you may also become a zombie somewhat. We don’t mean in the horror movie side of things but it’s not far off. After your body has eaten itself from the inside, your organs will begin to go next. In the case of extreme starvation, your brain will actually begin to eat itself to satisfy the body’s hunger. The saddest part is that there is nothing you can do about it, outside of getting food into your body.

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12. We’re Very Similar To Snakes When It Comes To Our Skin

You may have been out and about in the woods or forest, perhaps in a desert-like area. All a sudden, you came across what you thought was a snake except it was the skin the reptile shed and not the actual snake itself. After you gather yourself from nearly freaking out, you may find it to be odd that the snake shed its skin like that.

However, did you know humans did the same thing? While not as noticeable as snakes, our lovely organ known as our skin will actually shed and re-grow about every 27 days. Essentially, every month, you’re in a new skin technically. On a weirder note, around your home, you may see a lot of dust. About 70 to 80% of that dust is dead skin particles from our ever shedding skin. If that doesn’t make you want to clean, we don’t know what will!

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11. Hearing Is Better Than Eyesight, Technically

We are not going to just flat out say that you need to choose between seeing or hearing. Let’s be honest, both are so much better than just one. However, if you had to choose, which would you go with? Before you decide, you may want to know about one very key thing that hearing has over eyesight.

In one of the coolest things major organs can do that we found, scientists have concluded hearing has better recognition in speed than eyesight. Your ear will hear a sound and recognize it up to 10 times faster than the blink of a human eye. That said, yelling for someone is clearly better than just going to them. At least, that is our lazy 13-year-old ideology now having some credibility in science, finally!

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10. Third Eye-Lid, Not Blind

One of the weirdest things you were likely not taught in science class was about the human’s third eyelid. Mostly, we know of just two really. However, there is a third known as the nictitating membrane. This is a translucent eyelid that goes across the eye to help protect it and even moisten it while still allowing you to see.

While this membrane is more pronounced in reptiles, birds, and even sharks…most mammals do not really have much use for it. We have a small, vestigial portion of this still remaining that can be found in the corner of our eyes. We evolved over the centuries to not need this for our eyes the way reptiles and birds do. However, it’s still there and though it does not really do as much as it used to, it is still a useful asset to protecting our eyes.

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9. The Kidneys Adapt Incredibly Well

Most humans are born with two kidneys from birth. Many people may donate one to help save someone or they might have to remove it for another reason. Meanwhile, some are simply born without one of their kidneys. Whatever the reason for the solo kidney, they are incredible at adaptors.

If you have a solo kidney due to donation, the one remaining will adapt to do the job of both kidneys. However, if you were born with just one, the solo kidney will do the same thing. It’ll even grow to near the size of two kidneys and weigh the size of two as well. This happens, of course, due to the body growing as we get up in age. The fact that it grows to near the size of two normal kidneys just goes to show you the amazing things major organs can do when adapting to something.

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8. Stuff In Your Stomach Can Rip Through Metal

In our stomach, we have to digest the things we put in it. We are capable of doing this because of something known as stomach acid. This acid is incredibly efficient and has the capability to do much more than you might assume. While it is hard to get stomach acid outside of the body to see how impressive it is…we have been able to measure it well.

When studying how tremendous it was, we were able to find out that stomach acid can actually dissolve right through metal objects. In fact, if this acid touched your skin, it would actually burn right through it. Yet somehow, we’re able to have this stuff inside of our bodies. How amazing is that?

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7. Your Brain Knows How Important It Is

The human brain realizes how important a role it plays to the overall body. If you think about it, most things go through this area anyway. The way we feel, how we move, what we say and how we say it, and much more. All of it, in the end, happens because the brain allowed it to or forced it.

That said, when you eat and drink things, your brain uses up most of this. Your brain truly uses up a lot of calories in order to properly operate. No matter how much you eat or drink of something, the brain will take up to 20% of it. This means the brain takes up more nutrients from food and drink than any single organ in the body.

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6. Music Is Good For The Heart

They say when you do CPR to save a person’s life, you need to do it to the beat of Stayin Alive by the Bee Gees. This is compelling for a few different reasons. The first is, well, the obvious connection to “staying alive” during CPR but also that we use a song to manage this. Music makes humans do a lot of compelling things.

One of the most interesting things major organs can do is connect to music in their function but no other organ does this like the human heart. In fact, our hearts will actually change the pattern of their beat to sync up with the rhythm of the song you’re listening to at the time. Go ahead and put on a cool song you love and check your heartbeat about 1 minute in, you’ll notice the beats line up pretty well.

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5. The Diving Reflex

Have you ever wondered why your body feels or functions differently in the water as opposed to being outside of it? It’s true that when you’re in the water, the body works differently. The question is, why does it do this, and truly how? You may not feel different in the bathtub or shower, so why is the function different in a pool or at a lake, river, or ocean?

One of the most efficient things major organs do is something that we evolved to actually manage. The body has something scientists call the “diving reflex.” This reflex shuts down bodily functions when you’re submerged in water. This is happening in an effort to prevent drowning and it has been quite useful to us for thousands of years.

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4. Goosebumps Are Present For One Cool Reason

You know how when you get scared or find something to be amazing you’ll experience goosebumps? They usually pop up on your arms more than anywhere else. We at times will have different feelings that result in our body reacting this way, which leads to goosebumps coming about. However, when researching into things major organs do that we weren’t aware of, we came across the reason goosebumps exist.

Since skin is an organ, we found goosebumps to be compelling for human skin to experience. Our early ancestors had them to help battle the cold for their skin. During that time, they had far more hair on their body and the goosebumps would formulate the hair to a proper spot on their bodies to warm them up. This is a similar reason you might get something known as “chill bumps” on your arms when you’re cold too.

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3. The Liver Can Come Back From The Dead

The human liver is one of the most unique organs we have. While we can live without part of it, one of the coolest things about it is that it does so much for us. The liver performs a little over 500 functions for the human body, so its importance of it cannot possibly be overlooked. It seems something out there knew how important the liver would be for humanity.

Thus, we were given an amazing organ. The liver stores glucose, as well as creates bile, detoxifies the blood, produces antibodies, recycles hormones, and so much more. On top of this, it has the ability to grow back almost completely. That’s right, your liver can actually regenerate if part of it is damaged or removed. There are a lot of things major organs can do for the body, but no other organ can regenerate.

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2. Your Appendix Actually Does Something Incredibly Useful

For centuries, when it came to the appendix, we always thought it was useless to us. In fact, the appendix burst in people and ended up killing them as a result of the poison released into the body. For an organ to be useless yet possibly dangerous to us made most wonder why we never evolved to just not have it. Every organ plays a huge part in the body’s function, so why did we have this thing?

In just the last decade, we were able to find out. The appendix actually helps in the immune system, however, its most important role is the storing of good bacteria. This good bacteria helps to maintain proper gut flora, which is needed heavily for the efficient digesting of food. As mentioned above, proper gut flora also offers better moods. Your appendix helps more than you thought, huh?

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1. Your Major Organs Can Do So Much, You Don’t Always Need Them

It may seem kind of weird to believe but your organs are so incredible that you do not actually need them all to technically live. It might be problematic health-wise eventually, but it is possible. We know you can live without one kidney, without part of your liver, without part of your intestines, without a lot of your stomach, without your testicles/ovaries, and so much more.

The rest of the body can make up for the lost parts by merely adapting to the loss. They are all so amazing that losing large chunks of some or others completely just won’t matter. It’s like having a team of the best players in one sport on the same team. All are great to have but you could lose a few and still be successful as a team. Your body is literally made up of a Dream-Team of organs.

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