The "George Costanza Effect" Story

It was an ordinary day. Looking at the Sunday News Parade insert story talking about "Your Body's Mysteries Solved." 16 snippets that try to explain our most curious quirks about our body. I read them and found them intriguing enough to share a few of them with you and let you know why your body reacts the way it does to certain situations. Here goes .........

(1) Why do our toes and fingers wrinkle in the water? Your skin's top layer absorbs more water than the layers beneath it, increasing its surface area. Since the new baggy skin is still attached to it's layers under it, it reveals the wrinkles that we see on the surface. Our fingers and toes are more prone to this phenomenon because of their thicker shell of outer surface skin. When I go to the beach and go for a dip in the ocean, I usually know it is time to get out of the water when my fingers start to shrivel.

(2) Why do I have gunk in my eyes when I wake up in the morning? That gooky stuff is really dried tears. Your tear glands constantly water to help flush out irritants. During waking hours, your blinking will help wipe the tears away, but during sleep you don't blink, so the dried tears accumulate in the corner of your eyes.

(3) Why do men, as the age, get more hair in some places and less in others? This is caused by dihydrotestosterone, a sex hormone. When men become sensitive to the hormone, it sometimes causes hair follicles on the head to shrink and follicles on the back, ears and nostrils to become stimulated. This is known as the "George Costanza effect." And, since I can't imagine that anyone never watched Seinfeld on TV, I don't think I need to explain why it's called that.

(4) Why does your nose run when you go out in the cold? Your nose performs temperature controls for your body so that the air you breathe will better match the air that is in your warm, moist lungs. Glands in your nose produce secretions that add moisture and blood vessels in the nose dilate to warm the incoming air. When the air you breathe is extremely cold, the excessive warming and moisturizing causes your nose to run. Another reason is that the cold air tends to be drier which causes the glands to produce more secretions and when you exhale warm, moist air out into the cold, some of the moisture condenses into droplets of water which collect at the tip of your noise.

(5) What is ear wax and why do we need it? It is made of moisturizing oils, infection-fighting enzymes and dead skin. And, we really should leave our earwax alone. Hey, no problem with that as far as I'm concerned. When you use a Q-tip or even your finger, it's like packing the wax in tighter and tighter. It eventually will harden and get stuck. Best way to get rid of it is while showering, tug on your earlobes, which straightens your ear canal and allows water to wash away excess wax.

(6) Why do I cry when I chop onions? Pretty important question for me, since I enjoy cooking and love to use plenty of onions in my cooking and I always cry when I peel onions. According to Harold McGee, food author, the tears are caused by the release of a chemical called a lacrimator which is expelled into the air when you cut into the onion. The chemical then enters your eyes and nose and breaks down into the irritating compounds that attack the nerve endings there. Your eyes will produce tears and your nose will run to rinse away the compounds. If you pre-chill the onion in ice water for half an hour before you cut it, it should eliminate most of the release of the offending chemical. That, or you could wear a snorkel and breathe through your mouth. That way you could taste the onions while you are chopping them.

(7) Why do fingernails grow faster than toenails? Fingernails grow three times faster than toenails and no one seems to know why. Also, your fingernails on your dominant hand grow faster than those on your non-dominate hand. Experts think that the reason may be that the body tries to repair whichever parts of the body that are undergoing the most "trauma" from activities as texting and digging for the car keys.

(8) Why is it impossible to tickle yourself? Answer lies within the brain's cerebellum, which helps to monitor body movement. Scientists have found that the cerebellum can predict how self-administered touches will fell and alerts other tickle-sensitive areas of the brain. Since a truly successful tickle requires an element of surprise, this early-warning system makes self-tickling an exercise in futility.

(9) Why do people ache more as they get older? Wow, if i could only find the answer to this before I age any more, it would be great. Osteoarthritis is the most common ailment that affects people as they age. It is caused when the cartilage, the connective tissue that cushions our joints, begins to break down. Without this protective padding, bones can rub together causing stiffness and pain. Another ailment that is associated with getting older is called bursitis, in which the bursa, the fluid-filled sacs that reduce friction where tendons slide over bones, becomes inflamed. They best way to help this condition is to increase your activity to help make your symptoms milder. Really is h#*l getting older!

Well, what do you think? Did you see yourself in any of the paragraphs? Help you with a problem of two that you may have. The snorkel and mask were my idea and really does work when you are chopping onions. May have to patent it. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.