10 creepy facts about the human body

The human body is truly amazing, but also a little creepy. Check out the following facts:
1.  Creepy crawlies
There are mites in your eyelashes. These are called Demodex folliculorum and are parasites which live on hair follicles. Do you often have a twitchy eye? This is probably caused by eyelash mites.

2.  A very long organ
Your digestive tract is a system of connected organs, stretching from your mouth to your anus. The entire system is approximately nine metres long.


3. We develop from a butthole
When a human embryo cell starts developing, the anus develops first. Humans belong to a sub-classification of species called deuterostomes. When the embryo develops, these deuterostomes form a “mouth” called a blastospore. In humans, the blastospore ultimately becomes the anus.

4.  Waking up with a bang
Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up. It is not painful, but the sensation can be terrifying. It’s not clear what causes this, but according to the American Sleep Association, anxiety and stress may play a role.

5. Filthy bellies
Did your mom ever tell you to wash inside your belly button? She had good reason. The average bellybutton is filled with loads and loads of bacteria – up to 67 different species, to be exact!

6. That's a lot of spit!
We produce up to two litres of saliva every day. This is enough to fill two swimming pools over a lifetime.

7. Buttery brain
The substance your brain is made of is not like you might think. You probably imagine it to be a fairly solid mass, like wet clay or a sponge. But in fact, the brain is soft, like melting butter.

8.  A blood-filled balloon
When you die, your blood slowly pools towards the lower part of your body. This is called hypostasis, causing your body to swell and turn reddish-purple as the pressure builds up inside. Your body essentially becomes a blood-filled balloon, ready to pop.

9. One powerful pump
Speaking of blood, the average heart pumps blood at a pressure that's high enough for it to squirt nine metres across a room if an artery is ruptured.

10.  We all glow in the dark
Humans are bioluminescent. According to a 2009 Japanese study, humans give off light. We glow, but the glow is too faint for the human eye to see.