麻豆约拍

In The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry, science sleuths Adam and Hannah investigate everyday mysteries sent by listeners. Here are ten things they discovered about you and your body…

2. Why do I see faces in unusual places?

From birth we pick out patterns that resemble faces. Babies who are just nine minutes old will spend longer looking at patterns of dots and dashes which look like faces, compared with shapes that don’t resemble human features.

Your keen eye for faces leads to a strange phenomenon called pareidolia where you spot faces in some of the most unexpected places!

3. Why isn’t my leg hair as long as my head hair?

All the hairs on your body have a growth cycle – forming, growing and eventually falling out. In many hairy animals these cycles are synchronised, meaning they moult periodically, shedding their entire coat. But the five million hairs on your skin are shedding continuously.

Crying could have developed as a form of nonverbal communication

The time it takes for a hair to complete its cycle varies across your body, lasting from four weeks to seven years. So the hairs on your legs will never become as long as those on your head. Unless, of course, you are bald!

4. Why do I cry?

There are three different types of tears. “Basal” tears keep your eyes wet and nourished. “Reflex” tears are produced as a response to an irritant, designed to wash the invader away. Finally, “psychic” or crying tears are triggered by a range of emotions, but their purpose has puzzled scientists for hundreds of years.

Many psychologists think crying is about communication. If you cry through sadness, people might comfort you. And if you cry through joy, it’s a way of bonding with those around you.

Some studies have shown that having a good cry makes you feel better. It’s thought crying might also affect your perception of pain.

5. Why do I dream?

Some psychologists think you deal with threats and practise survival techniques inside your dreams.

The purpose of dreaming is still a scientific mystery. Some psychologists think you deal with threats and practise survival techniques inside your dreams, like running away from dangerous situations or people. Others believe that dreams help you form memories, or process emotions.

However, another school of thought claims that these nightly stories are just a by-product of your active, sleepy brain. If this is true, your dreams are simply a reflection of what’s going on in your mind and don’t have a specific purpose.

6. Why do I faint?

Standing upwards presents a bit of a problem for your brain. Your blood has to fight against the force of gravity to pump enough of the red stuff into your grey matter. Normally this is done by your nerves and heart working together to maintain the perfect blood pressure. This means you can get enough blood, and therefore oxygen, into your brain to keep everything ticking over perfectly.

Sometimes, especially when you exercise, blood is diverted from your brain to your muscles because they need a boost of oxygen to perform well. However, this bloody diversion can prevent enough oxygen reaching your brain. If this happens, your body pulls an emergency stop – fainting. Your heart slows down and your blood vessels dilate. This makes your blood pressure drop, you lose consciousness, and your body slumps downwards. Falling over is never pleasant, but when you faint it’s extremely useful. Because your body is nearer the ground, your brain and heart are now at a similar level. So your blood doesn’t have to work as hard against the force of gravity, flooding back into your brain quickly, and allowing you to make a speedy recovery.