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25 Common Body Myths – Here's the Truth!
- chelsie462
- 3 hours ago
- 12 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in December 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/8b5UMeAURU8
Mike: Today, we're going to dive into 25 common beliefs about the human body and discuss if they're actually fact or fiction.
Brad: Yeah, a little trivia here. So let's get right at it. We're going to show the first one. Does gum stay in your stomach, or what happens to it?
Mike: For seven years, it's the old saying. I heard that as a kid, you're not supposed to swallow your gum. Now, gum is not digested by the human body. That is very true. However, like most indigestible things we consume, it usually passes within a couple of days.
Brad: That's right.
Mike: So, although it's not advised to swallow gum, it will get out of your system.
Brad: I knew that one from experience. Next. "Do we only use 10% of our brain?" Now this study is a little weird because I'm thinking I only use 10%, but they're saying something different.
Mike: So we only use certain parts of our brain with certain activities. However, we use the whole brain throughout the day for different functions. When you're eating and breathing, you're using one function. When you're playing an instrument, when you're walking, you use different parts of your brain for different activities. So you may not be using the whole brain at once, but you do use it throughout the day.
Brad: There you go. And they have done brain scans that can literally see activity in the brain. So I guess it must be true.
Mike: It must be. Number three. "Does hair grow back thicker after cutting it?" I am a perfect example of this. No, it does not, because mine's pretty much gone.
Mike: So when you actually trim a hair, it does not become thicker or coarser afterwards. However, when you have a fine edge where everything's in one area, it looks like it may be thicker, but it actually isn't. The diameter of your hair follicles does not change.
Brad: I just kind of wonder about that, because I'm going to measure, you can measure hair, you know, with a micrometer.
Mike: Well, you get at it and let me know what you find.
Brad: Yeah, I might debunk that one, but that's what they're saying. Alright, let's go to the next one.
Mike: Number four, "Does reading and dim light actually damage your eyes?" Now it has said it may temporarily strain your eyes because you don't have as much light, but it's not going to do any long-term damage at all.
Brad: Right.
Mike: As you will notice, go and look in the mirror, turn the lights on in the bathroom, turn them off, your eyes dilate, and then they constrict more. It's natural, it happens. The body reacts.
Brad: Right, so actually now the big concern is blue light and not the looking at a screen before you go to bed for a couple of hours changes your sleep pattern, but your eyes are okay.
Mike: Number five, "Is it dangerous to swim after eating?" I remember this when going to the pool as a child.
Brad: How many minutes did you have to wait?
Mike: They said 30, at least.
Brad: That's right. 30, and we looked, you know, "29 minutes. Got one more minute mom!" And here we find out, we could have jumped in right away!
Mike: Yes.
Brad: So I'm a little concerned. My mother, well, she loved us.
Mike: So you'll be fine. What happens when you eat is that your body takes blood to digest the food, so it's not in your extremities. So could you possibly get a leg cramp or something?
Brad: Sure.
Mike: However, people eat and then exercise right away. Nothing negative normally happens. The other thing that may happen is if you're too aggressive, you may regurgitate your food later if you do too much too soon. But that's a different story.
Mie: Well, if it's in a lake, it's no big deal. But if you're in a pool, then everyone has to leave for 24 hours, and they have to shock it, so that is a big deal.
Mike: Number six: "Does sitting too close to the TV damage your vision?" I was told this as a child. Were you told this?
Brad: Absolutely, "You're too close to the TV, back up. You have to have six feet."
Mike: Now, this actually originated in the 1960s, and I guess back then TVs emitted radiation, I did not know that.
Brad: The tube TVs, yeah, that was a different story. Now, with the flat screen, everything is different.
Mike: So technically, it possibly could have. However, yeah, new TVs, that does not occur. So sit as close as you want. I don't know how much you're gonna be able to see, but your neck might get crunched too.
Brad: They do emit blue light. So remember not too much blue light exposure before you go to bed.
Mike: I guess it'll just keep you up longer. Number seven. "Does cracking your knuckles cause arthritis?" We did a whole video specifically on this.
Brad: And we've cited studies on it, and no, you can crack your knuckles all you want. It's not going to create arthritis in those joints. It's kind of psychologically relieving for a lot of people.
Mike: Yes, actually, you have synovial fluid in each joint, with little air bubbles, and that's the popping noise you hear. It's not your bones actually cracking. So, fun fact. Number eight. Do we lose most of our body heat through our head?
Brad: Yeah, my dad always said yes.
Mike: You know, I felt like this was true as well. However, they find out you lose the same amount of body heat throughout your body. It doesn't actually change; it's just that normally you wear clothes on most of your other body parts, and your head is normally exposed. So it will heat up more because the rest of your body is already covered and doesn't need as much heat.
Brad: I always wear a hat, though.
Mike: I do. I get cold.
Brad: Yeah.
Mike: Yeah, but it is trying to release the heat on the head.
Brad: You know, the thing that they're not taking into account is when you exhale, it's like blowing a lot of energy out through that breath. So I don't know about that one. They should study it a little bit more.
Mike: Apparently, the hypothesis came from a flawed military study. Fun fact.
Brad: And yeah, that's where my dad may have got that information from, because he was in the military.
Mike: Oh, he's a flawed military study man.
Brad: Oh, you're getting close to getting it. Oh, alright, let's go on before I lose it.
Mike: Number nine. "Does sugar cause hyperactivity in children?" I don't have children, but my nephews tend to get pretty excited after sugar.
Brad: Yeah. Yeah. What they're saying, I think they're saying no, but I'm-
Mike: They do not. The perception is that most of the time when kids consume sugary items, it's normally at a party, or an event where there's lots of things going on, they're excited, they're happy. So it's kind of, "Oh, I'm eating something yummy. And also, I am just wound up from playing with friends."
Brad: Right.
Mike: So you may have that preconceived notion hype. So I will admit it gives you a quick energy spike. But usually, an hour or two later, you do need a nap, and that has to do with insulin. So a little different.
Brad: Yeah, well, the kids don't know that.
Mike: They don't. They just know they're excited. Number 10.
Brad: Can I say one?
Mike: Sure!
Brad: "Is blood blue in your veins?"
Mike: Now, if you've seen any anatomy books, arteries take blood away from the heart. It's typically colored red, and veins are colored blue.
Brad: They look blue.
Mike: So what happens is when your blood comes from your heart, it is oxygenated, and the more oxygen you have is red. As it comes back, it's less oxygenated or deoxygenated, and it's more of a dark red. It's not actually blue because hemoglobin makes your blood red.
Brad: I think everyone knows that one.
Mike: Oh, they do!?
Brad: Except for the younger people, yeah.
Mike: Well, there you go. Fun fact.
Brad: "Are fingerprints truly unique?" Now, I know this has to be true because I've watched many, many episodes of "I Spy."
Mike: You mean "Law and Order"?
Brad: Yeah, "Law and Order", that too.
Mike: So fingerprints are definitely individualistic. However, many people have very common traits, and it can be hard to make them different. So although they are unique, they're not necessarily only your own, I guess. Which is interesting, because people go to jail for this stuff.
Brad: Right. Well, I think there's a little wiggle room in that one.
Mike: We're not in the criminal justice practice, so.
Brad: What are we at number 12? We have to get going.
Mike: "Can you get warts from touching toads?" I heard this as a child.
Brad: No, you can't. Let's just skip that one.
Mike: Warts are HPV, a human contracted virus. Those are not warts like in toads. They're actually their cell membrane.
Brad: They're ugly.
Mike: So fun fact. Sorry, they're bumps and glands.
Brad: "Does your heart stop when you sneeze?" Now, this one I've always said yes, it does.
Mike: It does not actually stop. It keeps beating; your blood pressure can change due to the influx of pressure. However, it can kind of throw you out of rhythm a little bit, but your heart doesn't actually stop.
Brad: Yeah, I know. Now this one, this next one. "Do your nails and hair grow after you're dead?" That's kind of creepy.
Mike: It is kind of creepy. However, they do not; your cells need nutrients to actually grow. They need living matter to grow. What happens is your body becomes dehydrated. As you become dehydrated, your skin tends to start retracting. So your nails aren't growing, your skin is actually retracting a bit.
Brad: And the same in your hair follicles?
Mike: Yeah, I mean, you don't have as much fluid. It gets tighter and wrinkly and then it starts pulling back.
Brad: Very good.
Mike: So it looks like it's growing, but it's not.
Brad: You know, if you did talk to anybody who takes the people after they die and gets them ready to go.
Mike: I can't remember what they're called either. The funeral home people.
Brad: Yeah.
Mike: Anyway, onto the next one. Bob made this list, but we'll read it because I thought this was funny. "Do you need to wait 24 hours to file a missing person report?" You do not. You can file it whenever. I don't know what that has to do with the human body, but it's a person. I guess there's a body involved.
Brad: Right. We'll just pretend that we didn't see that one. Let's go to this. This makes more sense. It relates to our previous one. "Does shaving make your hair grow back thicker?"
Mike: No. I shave my head too, so no, it does not. But this is what people normally people think of leg hair, or facial hair. Again, it does not make your hair coarser. It's just all one length, and it looks thicker by appearance. Diameter is still the same. Next one. "Does drinking coffee stunt your growth?" I hope not, but maybe that's what caused my shortness.
Brad: No, there's no real scientific correlation between that. It's more genetics than anything.
Mike: Yes. Next one. Number 18. "Does your tongue have specific taste zones?" I actually have heard this before.
Brad: Well, I did too. This is what I learned. I remember coloring it in grade school. The tip of the tongue was sweet or something.
Mike: Now, apparently it's not. Your tongue can taste all the different tastes. It's not one specific area that senses sweet, sour, and salty.
Brad: Yeah.
Mike: The whole tongue works together; it's not really a specific zone.
Brad: There you go.
Mike: Next one, number 19. "Do you need eight glasses of water a day?" This depends upon you, how active you are, how much you do, and how much food you consume that actually has water in it. Say, like fruits or vegetables tend to have water in them as well. So no, there's no scientific evidence that you actually need eight glasses of water.
Brad: And they're not even saying how many ounces per glass. So I think that statement is really vague. You know, eight ounces versus a 16 ounces. I drink out of 16-ounce glasses at my house.
Mike: And you probably run to the bathroom more. Anyway, next one. Number 20, "Does eating Turkey make you sleepy?" Now, there is a chemical called tryptophan in Turkey that's more prevalent than in other meats. However, most of the time we eat Turkey at Thanksgiving, we tend to eat too much food, and most people consume a high amount of carbohydrate foods, which again affects insulin, which normally makes you sleepy later.
Brad: So it doesn't,
Mike: No, not really.
Brad: No, that is a fallacy.
Mike: 21. "Is the appendix a useless organ?" Fun fact.
Brad: Well, I'm pretty sure I know it's not needed because I don't have one, my daughter doesn't have one, my dad doesn't have an appendix. They've all been pulled out of their bodies.
Mike: I have mine. Apparently, they are beneficial because they have bacteria, which help feed your gut microbiome. You do not need one to survive, but it can help lead to a healthier gut.
Brad: Yeah, well, anyway, as I said, a lot of people don't have them in my family.
Mike: Do you want to read the next one?
Brad: "Do humans only have five senses?" What kind of a question is this?
Mike: Well, we all know the five senses. Taste, touch, hear, well, I forgot the other one. See,
Brad: Sight, smell, taste, tactile.
Mike: Anyway, yes, we do, but we actually have more. Yeah, we have balance, which is your equilibrium. We have temperature sensation, we have pain sensation, and we also have proprioception, where your body is in space. So we have lots of senses.
Brad: Yeah, that was a therapy question.
Mike: Do you want to read the next one? Since winter is coming.
Brad: Yes. "Does cold weather cause colds?"
Mike: This is an old common wife's tale, shall I say?
Brad: Yeah, I think a lot of people know you don't get a cold from getting cold. There's more involved in it.
Mike: Typically, you contract a virus, it's an illness, it's not a cold temperature thing. So, myth debunked. Number 24. "Is it dangerous to wake a sleepwalker?" Apparently, it is not. It may concern them briefly, or they may be confused, but it's not going to cause them any harm. I mean, if they're walking into traffic, I'm going to go wake them up.
Brad: Yeah, if they're walking around the house, I don't know, I've got a friend who's done it, and his wife will not wake him up.
Mike: I've never met a sleepwalker. I've met a sleep talker, but it's a little different.
Brad: But anyway, supposedly it's okay. But I wouldn't do it too abruptly.
Mike: Don't scare them. Number 25, "Are personality traits determined by one side of the brain?" Personality traits? I guess not. No, both sides of your brain work together. Why is this personality traits?
Brad: Well, you know, this is for therapy above the neck. We really don't go get involved with it too much. But Bob thought he'd throw it in because a little challenge to the physical therapist, I guess.
Mike: No personality traits, does not work from one side. They work together. You do have two sides of the brain, right and left, you actually have more if you want to get nerdy, but they work together with all different activities. And that's 25 facts. Hopefully, that was under 10 minutes.
Brad: I don't think it was.
Mike: And if you want to check more videos on "Mythbusting", click the video on the screen, "Three Myths That Can Lead to Death." Scary.
Brad: Oh, really?
Mike: Yeah, we did that video a while ago.
Brad: Oh.
Mike: You forgot?
Brad: Yeah. That's a dark video, evidently. All right, have a good day. And just a little fun with this.
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