THE BODY

Why Do We Crave Chocolate?

If you’re like most people, you simply can’t pass up the opportunity to partake in a piece of chocolate (or five).

Are Carrots Really That Good For Your Eyes?

When I was a kid, my parents often tried to sell me on the idea that carrots were good for my eyes—and if I wanted to avoid vision correction in the future, I would eat them now. But after I was fitted for my first pair of glasses in fourth grade, they dr

Why Do We Have Fingerprints?

Though fingerprints are handy for identifying perps, biologically, scientists still aren't quite sure what our fingerprints are for. But as they test different hypotheses, they're getting closer to the answer—and learning some pretty cool stuff in the pro

Why Does Alcohol Cause the Spins?

You lie down to get some sleep after a long night of drinking, and the room seems to be spinning uncontrollably. Why does this happen?

Why Can You Taste Your Eye Drops?

A friend of mine recently got pinkeye. Whenever she put in her eye drops, she noticed a distinct and very unpleasant taste on the back of her tongue.

Why Does Bad Weather Aggravate Old Injuries?

Reader Jen wrote in to ask, “Why do old injuries ache during crummy ache during crummy weather?" The idea that certain aches and pains correspond with, and can even predict, the weather is widespread, and has been around since at least the days of ancient

How Does Aspirin Help During a Heart Attack?

The heart is the most important muscle in the body, so it seems like something of a marketing ploy by the folks at Bayer to suggest that something so simple as a humble aspirin tablet can be of any use when this life-sustaining organ goes into epic fail m

Does Peeing on a Jellyfish Sting Actually Help?

Whatever the variables, a sting is never exactly pleasant. Urine is often no good. Sure, urine contains salts, but it's just too variable.

What Causes Eye Floaters?

Eye floaters—or 'muscae volitantes,' Latin for 'hovering flies'—are those tiny, oddly shaped objects that sometimes appear in your vision, most often when you’re looking at the sky on a sunny day.

Why Does Getting Hit in the Testicles Hurt So Much?

More than any other bodily injury, getting hit in the testicles is probably what every man dreads most. Of all the soft, fleshy spots on the human body, none register the same kind of incapacitating, end-of-the-world pain as the family jewels.

Why Do People Feel Phantom Cellphone Vibrations?

Let’s picture a typical moment in my day: I’m minding my own business, with my iPhone in my back pocket. Suddenly, my left cheek is shaking as the phone vibrates and does the bzzt, bzzt, bzzt-ing dance of its people on my backside. I check the phone, and

Why Do Beans Make You Fart?

The sugars in beans are far too big to slip though the intestinal wall on their own, and our guts’ enzymatic tool kit doesn’t have the right stuff to break the big things apart into more manageable pieces.

Does Being Cold Make You More Susceptible to Getting a Cold?

Sledding image via Shutterstock“Put a jacket on if you’re going out there, or you’ll catch a cold.”It’s a common refrain of grandmothers all over the world. Are they right, though? Do low temperatures have anything to do with catching the common cold? Mos

If You Can’t Smell, Can You Taste?

Smelling image via ShutterstockI’m perfectly suited to answer the Big Question that reader Katie posed the other day, because I have anosmia, which means I can’t smell. At all. Every diaper my two-year-old has ever filled has been totally odorless to me.

Why Do Paper Cuts Hurt So Much?

Paper cut image via ShutterstockThere are a couple things at play here, some involving the paper, some involving your skin. For one thing, what part of your body comes in contact with paper the most?

What Do Chickens Have to Do With Chicken Pox?

The birds themselves? Not a whole lot. Chickens don’t even get infected by the virus — varicella zoster, a member of the herpes family — that causes the rash.

Could Humans Hibernate?

Some animals have it made. Their whole day revolves around eating and having sex (and, to be fair, trying not to get eaten themselves). And when winter arrives, they get to curl up somewhere and wait things out until the weather is nice again. Can humans

What is an Adam's Apple?

Adam's apple photo via ShutterstockTouch your fingers to the front of your throat and start humming. Feel around until you can feel vibration directly under your fingers. That’s your larynx, or voice box. It houses your vocal cords and is involved in brea

Why Does the Sound of Running Water Make You Have to Pee?

Reader Bill wrote in to ask, “Why does the sound of running water make me want to pee—and sometimes

Is it true what they say about guys in goofy socks?

Is It True What They Say About Guys With Big Feet?

We’ve all heard it before.

Why Do Spicy Foods Make Your Nose Run?

Hot sauces, curries, wasabi peas and other spicy treats turn you into a snot faucet. Why is that? Capsaicin is the chemical found concentrated in the placental tissue of chile peppers and allyl isothiocyanate is an oil contained in plants like mustard and

What Are Eye Boogers, Anyway?

You ever wake up and have lots of crust in the inner corner of your eye? What is this stuff, and where does it come from?

Should You Really Put a Steak on a Black Eye?

It depends. Are you a cartoon character?

What Causes Brain Freeze?

Reader Susann writes in to ask, "What exactly is the cause of a brain

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