30 Of The Most Disturbing Things About Human Bodies That Might Freak You Out

1. Your Bowels Can Just... Rearrange Themselves, No Biggie

Image Source / BrunetIf you've seen any sort of horror movie, you might have seen how loose and free guts can be, but you might have thought that inside the body, at least, they might be more organized. Apparently the bowels can rearrange themselves - discovered by one woman when she had abdominal surgery and turned over in bed to feel her guts move about.

2. The Collagen Produced In Your Body Is Like Superglue

Image Source / Bondrite AdhesivesWounds and broken bones are still held together by your body - and this is because the collagen that tries to keep everything together acts like a sort of glue. If your body doesn't produce enough collagen, such as if you're not eating the right vitamins or healthy food stuffs, old wounds can re-open or bones could even break again. Be right back, going to put some more veggies on my plate.

3. Period Cramps Mean Your Uterus Is Basically Being Suffocated

Image Source / Jean HailesYou'll already know how painful period cramps can be if you've experienced them (unless you're one of the very lucky few that barely feels them). The reason they're so horrifically painful is that when the uterus is contracting to push out the womb lining, it can sometimes contract so tightly that it's basically cutting off oxygen and suffocating itself.

4. If It's Between You Or Your Brain, The Brain Will Choose Itself

Image Source / WikipediaYour brain is there to work in harmony with you and your body, so you may have thought that would always be the case. But nope. If push comes to shove, the brain will choose itself over anybody else - including you. It reacts to any threat by protecting itself, which can often come at a risk to you. This could be fainting in the most inconvenient of places if the brain has little oxygen, or making you fall asleep when stuck in the middle of a dangerously cold place - and never waking up again.

5. You Could Get Trapped In Your Own Body

Image Source / RS ComponentsIf the part of your brain that's responsible for motor control shuts down, you can get a syndrome called "locked-in". This means you're aware of everything, but you can't move or speak. You're just stuck in your body, only able to move your eyes. You're literally trapped inside your own body and only able to blink.

6. After The Age Of 28, You're Basically Dying

Image Source / Business InsiderThink it's all downhill from 30? Try shaving off a couple of years. Or maybe you already thought the good times were over past 18. Either way, after 28, you're officially dying - albeit very slowly, of course. This is because your body replaces cells as they die, but around the age of 28, this can't be done as effectively anymore and continues to worsen.

7. We Were Once Nothing But A**holes

Image Source / Scientific AmericanYou may have been called one in your time - or maybe called someone else one - but it might be more true than you think. As embryos, the first thing a human develops is a small opening - which yep, you guessed it, will grow to be the a**hole. So at this stage, that's all you would have been. An a**hole.

8. 50% Of Your Hand Strength Comes From The Little Pinky

Image Source / WiktionaryYou might not have put in much thought to the way your fingers operate when you're holding or carrying things, or which fingers do what. But, actually, 50% of your hand strength comes from your little finger. Which means if you happened to lose it, you'd lose half the strength in your hand, even with 3 fingers and a thumb left.

9. Your Spine Was Built For Four Legs, Not Two

Image Source / Mocek SpineHad back pain recently? Yeah, me too.  Your spinal column and the relevant support system was originally made to support a creature on four legs. So that whole evolution of man thing from crawling on the floor to walking upright - apparently it wasn't the most effective idea where your back is concerned.

10. Over Half Of Cancerous Cells Form For Reasons Out Of Your Control

Image Source / Tebu-bioCancer doesn't discriminate, but you can be forgiven for thinking that a healthy lifestyle, healthy body and healthy mind are maybe going to give you the best chance at a long life. But an estimated 60% of cancerous cells form for reasons out of your control, meaning they aren't related to any lifestyle choices or anything you could have prevented.

11. You Actually Develop Cancerous Cells Every Day

Image Source / JHU HubThere are a lot of things going on in your body that you won't even be aware of, because your body is working hard to keep you healthy and to try and stop you from worrying about things you don't really need to. Every day cancerous cells are developed, but your immune system takes care of them - only when it can, sadly.

12. Fertilized Eggs Can Sometimes Be Expelled From The Body

Image Source / Indiatimes.comYou'd think that by the time the sperm reaches the egg and fertilizes it that that would be that, the process would be done and pregnancy would ensue. But, actually, some eggs which have been fertilized can still be eliminated from the body and fail to become an official pregnancy. A third to half of these fertilizations can be lost in a heavy period without the person knowing.

13. If Pregnant People Get Injured, Stem Cells Will Fight To Protect The Baby

Image Source / The New York TimesStem cells work damn hard, and when it comes to pregnancy, they work even harder. If a person becomes injured during pregnancy, then the stem cells within the womb will move to attend to damaged organs and work to rebuild them in order to protect the baby.

14. A Female Is Born With Every Egg They'll Ever Have

Image Source / Medical XpressA genetically female baby is born with every egg they're ever going to have in their lifetime. They won't release anymore from the ovaries. So from the moment they're born, a female baby will already be equipped with the eggs they need for their own children, if they should so choose.

15. Defibrillation Is Basically Rebooting The Heart (And Hoping It'll Turn Back On)

Image Source / AED SuperstoreAh, the age old "have you tried turning it off and back on again?". Usually always does the trick. But you might not have thought this applied to one of your most vital organs. The act of defibrillation is basically just turning off the heart - with the intention that it'll hopefully turn back on again and resume the correct rhythm.

16. Speaking Of The Heart: You Can Die From A Broken One

Image Source / OddArticulations, LLCSounds a bit dramatic, doesn't it? As much as heartbreak can be painful and as much as it can change your life, you might not have thought there was any physical danger alongside emotional and mental pain. But if you become so ill through your experience of heartbreak, your body can go into defensive mode and shut down.

17. There Are So Many Ways That Your Body Can Just... Decide To Die

Image Source / Gonville & Caius - University of CambridgeWe're all aware of our own mortality and know that every moment should be treasured. But there are just so many random ways your body can decide to quit, with no warning. So many things can go undetected and kill you: your heart can be stopped with a well-placed hit, or a temperamental reaction by your immune system can put your life on the line.

18. Stomach Acid Is So Powerful It Could Burn Right Through The Body

Image Source / WikipediaStomach acid is needed as part of the digestive process, to break down what you need, and it's so acidic that it could burn right through you. But it doesn't, obviously, and that's because of the body secreting enough mucus every few hours or so to keep it in check. But it's scary enough just knowing that it could

burn right through if it wasn't for the mucus, right?

19. The Head Can Be Twisted Around 3 And A Half Times Before Coming Off

Image Source / OwlcationI don't even want to know how this was discovered or what happens after even one twist, but apparently 3 and a half is the magic number to make your head twist off. No doubt some seriously messed up medieval execution method tried this one at some point. Please don't try this at home, folks.

20. The Connection Between Both Sides Of The Brain Can Be Cut For People Who Suffer Severe Epilepsy

Image Source / CourseraA procedure is possible to cut the corpus callosum, which connects the two sides of the brain, so that your image side can't communicate with the words side. For people who suffer severe epilepsy, this is a rare procedure, as medication has become more available for a solution these days. Phew.

21. No One Really Knows Why Sleep Is Needed

Image Source / Psych CentralClearly, it's needed. The body needs it to rest and recover, and we know that we feel absolutely awful when we've had a bad night tossing and turning. But there's no 100% agreed upon reason why sleep is actually needed - and needed for a third of our lives, at that. It's just something everyone knows they have to do, but no one really knows why.

22. A Pair Of Headphones Could Be Made Out Of The Amount Of Copper In Our Bodies

Image Source / Sony UKIn case you didn't already know, the body has a supply of copper, which is mainly found in the skeleton or muscles. The amount of copper stored in the body would be enough to make the equivalent of a pair of headphones. So there you go, you can save the money on your next pair of Airpods next time.

23. You Can Develop Tumors On Your Hair And Teeth

Image Source / PinterestThe human body is always at risk of a variety of tumors, but you might have though they were only reserved for your vital organs or at the very least inside of your body. But no - you can actually develop tumors with your hair, teeth and even your eyes. These types of tumors are called teratomas.

24. The Fingers And Toes Have No Muscles

Image Source / Medical Art Resources, Inc.You're holding up your hand now to take a look, aren't you? Your muscles are in your palms and feet, and the tendons controlling all the finger and toe wiggles are in your forearms/hands/lower legs/feet. The squishy bits on your finger and toes aren't muscles, even though you might have thought they were.

25. Allergies Or Intolerances Can Just Come And Go, With No Explanation

Image Source / NHSThey basically do what they want, when they want. Some people can go their whole lives without any allergies or intolerances, while others might have struggled their entire life with them. But they can also come and go - a person intolerant to one thing at the beginning of their life may suddenly find it's not the case anymore.

26. You Could Be Carrying Bacteria From A Whole Other Country... In Your Belly Button

Image Source / New ScientistOkay, this one is based on the specific experience of one man who had his belly button swabbed by scientists in order to study the bacteria that lived there. The American man was found to have bacteria known to exist only in Japan before then. And he'd never traveled outside America. Apparently the belly button is free real estate.

27. Your Brain Could Last A Thousand Years... If It Wasn't For The Body

Image Source / BBCOur damn meat sacks are letting us down again! The brain is out here trying to live its best life, but it's the body that spells our doom. The brain is capable of living for a thousand years if not afflicted with disease, but it would never be possible with the rest of the body having such a short life span.

28. Your Body Is Always Making Disgusting And Weird Noises - More Than You Realise

Image Source / Wikimedia CommonsOkay, obviously you already know about the tummy gurgles - and usually at the most inconvenient time - but your body is constantly a lot louder than you'd think. It's one of those things that is drowned out by all the other ambient noises around you that your ears don't focus on your internal goings-on.

29. Your Mouth Was First Formed From Your A**hole

Image Source / Tracie GilesA whole new meaning to people "talking from their a**". Your a**hole and your mouth were originally made from the same cell group when you were developing. As mentioned in the previous traumatic point further above, we were all simply a**holes first, and then the mouth cells formed from this. Yep.

30. Toothache Can Turn Fatal

Image Source / Wikipedia

How many of us have had bad toothache and thought nothing of it? Perhaps popped a few painkillers and made a note to ring the dentist at some point or another. For one woman who had toothache, she decided to wait over the weekend until Monday before contacting a dentist. On Sunday, she had died due to an infection from her tooth that had spread to her brain. So please don't miss your dental checkups, people!