10 Curiosities You Probably Didn’t Learn in Biology Class

The world is a big, wonderful place full of facts we never thought possible. For instance, if a pregnant mouse has a sudden medical issue, the fetus will send stem cells to heal the mother, increasing its chances of survival as well. Fetal stem cells have been found in human mothers as well, dubbed by science as microchimerism.

Bright Side dug up some more marvelous facts about nature and its creations, upholding our yearly resolutions to spread knowledge and joy.

1. The heart slows when your face touches water.

As mammals, we can’t breathe underwater, so as part of the mammalian dive reflex, our heart rate goes down in the water — more so if we go underwater. Even splashing the face with water makes the heart slow down, making it a great way to calm down.

2. Fungus can break down plastic in weeks.

It is said that in the future, there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish. This is why the plastic-eating fungus is great news, and there are around 50 new species of such fungi discovered already. One of the fungi discovered can digest plastic within 2 months, so there’s hope for us yet.

3. Newborn babies can support their own weight.

Newborn babies are strong — strong enough to be able to grasp things in their tiny fists and even support their weight as shown by an experiment done in the nineteenth centuryLouis Robinson witnessed babies able to hang from a walking stick, from 10 seconds to 2 minutes and 35 seconds.

4. Koala fingerprints have been mistaken for human ones.

We’ve been told that our fingerprints are unique, and they are. But the fact remains that even though we share a common ancestor with the koala that was alive 100 million years ago, koala fingerprints look very similar to human fingerprints, as do chimpanzee fingerprints for that matter.

5. Snails can sleep for 3 years.

If you thought bears had it good with hibernation, meet the snail. Snails can sleep rather than hibernate for 3 years at a time without needing food. Of course, this is with some snail species, not all of them. Meanwhile, bears usually hibernate for just 4-8 months.

6. Sloths need 2 weeks to digest food.

Sloths don’t only move in slow motion — even their insides move slowly, ostensibly to preserve energy, which is why a sloth’s digestive system takes 2 weeks to process the food it ate. Plus, most of what it eats is indigestible, giving it very little energy from each slowly chewed mouthful.

On the other end of the spectrum lies the shrew, whose digestion takes mere minutes and is done so fast, not much of it is fully digested. This is the reason why shrews eat their own feces. They can die of starvation in a matter of hours if they don’t eat.

7. Your brain ignores seeing your nose.

We can see our nose all the time, it’s just that the brain tends to ignore it because it’s a constant visual stimulus. It’s the same with people who wear glasses. After a while, they simply stop noticing them.

8. Your forearm is the same length as your foot.

If you don’t have the time to try on a shoe, measure it from your elbow crease to your wrist. If it fits or is just a little smaller, it would fit your foot because the length of your forearm is the same as your foot. And this is just one of many human body ratios that are a marvel in themselves, including the fact that your femur bone is one-quarter your height.

9. You can “see” your white blood cells.

If you look up at a cloudless, bright blue sky and see some wiggly things at the periphery of your vision, you’ve just experienced the blue field entoptic phenomenon. The wiggly things are white blood cells moving in the fine blood vessels moving in front of the retina, at the back of the eye.

10. Human beings have striped skin, but only cats can see it.

Human beings have stripes and patterns on the skin too, and they are called Lines of Blaschko, name eponymously by the scientist who discovered them, Dr. Alfred Blaschko. These are closer to tiger stripes, forming more of a V-pattern fanning out from the center to the extremities. These lines are visible under UV light, a spectrum that cats can see too, which is why cats can see you as a striped being as well.

Which of these facts turned out to be a revelation for you? Share your extreme nature facts with us and blow us away.

Preview photo credit Shutterstock.comShutterstock.com

My Wife Left Me and Our Son When He Was a Baby – She Ruined My Life Again, Now 10 Years Later

Ten years ago, I stood in the hospital, holding my newborn son, overwhelmed with joy and love. I had envisioned our future together, filled with laughter, milestones, and cherished moments. My wife seemed equally ecstatic, or so I thought. But beneath her smiles, she harbored a resentment that I failed to see.

It was only a few months later that she shattered our world. One evening, as our son slept peacefully in his crib, she dropped a bombshell. “I can’t do this  anymore,” she said with a coldness that froze my heart. She called our son a “burden” and spoke longingly of her “old life.” And then, without a second glance, she walked out on us. I stood there, numb, unable to process the abandonment. She never contacted us again, and honestly, I didn’t want her to.

Raising our son alone was the hardest challenge I ever faced. Every day was a struggle, but every smile from my son was a reminder of why I had to keep going. I vowed never to marry again, never to indulge in any vices. My sole focus was on raising this incredible boy. He became my hero, and I like to think I was his too.

A Shocking Revelation

Life moved forward, and we built a happy, albeit challenging, life together. Then, a few days ago, I received a message that turned my world upside down. It was from her, my wife who had vanished a decade ago. She claimed that my son was not biologically mine. The words were like a dagger to my heart. The universe seemed to collapse around me, the pain unlike anything I had ever felt before.

I was paralyzed with fear and disbelief, but I knew I had to find out the truth. The very next day, I took my son to a clinic for a DNA test. The wait for the results was agonizing. I kept replaying every moment of our life together, trying to make sense of her claim. My love for him never wavered, but I needed to know the truth. And if her words were true, I was prepared to fight back with everything I had.

The Unveiling of Truth

A week later, the results came. My hands trembled as I held the envelope. My heart pounded in my chest as I opened it. The truth was right there, in black and white. As I read the words, my eyes filled with tears.

He was not biologically mine. The ground seemed to vanish beneath my feet. I felt an overwhelming mix of sorrow, anger, and betrayal. But one thing remained clear – my love for my son was unshaken.

Determined to confront her, I reached out. We arranged to meet at a café. When she walked in, it felt surreal. She looked almost the same, but there was a hardness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. I confronted her with the DNA results, expecting some form of remorse. Instead, she smirked and shrugged it off. “I needed to find myself,” she said, as if that justified everything.

The Fight for Justice

Her indifference fueled my resolve. I decided to take legal action to ensure she couldn’t waltz back into our lives and disrupt the peace we had worked so hard to build. I sought advice from a lawyer and began the process of securing my parental rights and ensuring she had no claim over my son. The legal battle was draining, but I was determined to protect my son from further harm.

Throughout the ordeal, my son remained my anchor. He was aware something was wrong, but I shielded him from the worst of it. We continued our routines, finding solace in the small joys of daily life. His resilience inspired me to keep fighting. And slowly, the tide began to turn in our favor. The court granted me full custody, acknowledging the decade of love and care I had provided.

Moving Forward

The ordeal with my wife left scars, but it also strengthened the bond between my son and me. We emerged from the chaos with a renewed sense of purpose. I realized that biological ties were far less important than the love and commitment we shared. We continued to build our life together, cherishing every moment and facing challenges with unwavering determination.

Today, as I look back on those tumultuous years, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the journey we’ve been on. My son is thriving, a testament to the power of love and resilience. And though the pain of my wife’s betrayal lingers, it no longer defines us. We have created a life filled with love, hope, and endless possibilities. And that, I believe, is the greatest triumph of all.

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