Find some great and fun health facts all gathered right here under our health category. Once you have had your fill of fun facts about health head on over to our random fact generator to learn more random factoids!
A study found that when an empathetic partner holds the hand of a woman in pain, their heart and respiratory rates sync and her pain eases. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: When lovers touch, their breathing, heartbeat syncs, pain wanes, study shows — ScienceDaily
Your brain prevents your muscles from moving during normal REM sleep, resulting in temporary paralysis of your body and preventing you from physically acting out your dreams. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: REM sleep behavior disorder – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic
In the 1700s, pills made out of the element antimony were taken orally as a laxative to relieve constipation. Once they passed through, they were retrieved from the excrement to be used again. Some families passed down the same pill from one generation to the next. – WTF Fun Facts
During kidney transplant surgery, the existing kidneys generally aren’t taken out unless there is a medical reason to remove them. The donated kidney is placed into your lower abdomen, where it’s easiest to connect it to your important blood vessels and bladder. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: 20 Common Kidney Transplant Questions and Answers | National Kidney Foundation
In 2018, a 30-year-old woman in Canada was shot in her left breast. Her silicone breast implant deflected the bullet away from her vital organs and left her with only some broken ribs and damaged implants. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Woman’s breast implant deflects bullet, saving her life – CNN
Cotard’s syndrome (or walking corpse syndrome) is a rare mental disorder in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are dead, do not exist, are decaying, or have lost their blood or internal organs. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Cotard delusion – Wikipedia
“Deaf flights” were prescribed by doctors to cure hearing loss in the 1920’s and 30’s. Stunt pilots would take unsuspecting passengers up in planes and terrify them with loops, barrel rolls, and dives. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Doctors Once Prescribed Terrifying Plane Flights to “Cure” Deafness | History | Smithsonian Magazine
Those having received at least 1 shot of the Covid-19 vaccine were eligible for a free marijuana joint in New York City and Washington D.C. thanks to “Joints for Jabs.” The organization behind the 4/20 event hoped to help counter vaccine hesitancy. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: ‘Joints for jabs’: free marijuana for vaccinated New Yorkers – France 24
In 2020, 25.6% of 8th graders have consumed alcohol, 11.5% have smoked cigarettes, 14.8% have used marijuana, and 21.3% have used illicit drugs. – WTF Fun Facts
A Vietnamese man was hospitalized after drinking too much methanol. Doctors transfused 15 cans of beer into his body to revive him. The liver breaks down ethanol before methanol which gave doctors more time to do dialysis to remove the alcohol from his system. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Doctors Saved Man’s Life by Pumping 15 Cans of Beer Into His Body (newsweek.com)
Lipitor (Atorvastatin) is the best-selling drug of all time. Between when it was introduced in 1997 and its patent expiration in 2011, it generated ~$125 billion in sales for Pfizer. In 2018, it was the most commonly prescribed medication in the US, with more than 112 million prescriptions. – WTF Fun Facts
As part of a study, Facebook users, randomized to deactivate their accounts for 4 weeks in exchange for $102, freed up an average of 60 minutes a day, spent more time socializing offline, became less politically polarized, and reported improved subjective well-being relative to the control group. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Connected, but at what cost? | Science (sciencemag.org)
In a 2019 study, three beagles were trained to smell cancer from blood samples. They used their highly evolved sense of smell to pick out blood samples from people with lung cancer with nearly 97% percent accuracy. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Study shows dogs can accurately sniff out cancer in blood | EurekAlert! Science News
Bruce Bridgeman, a 67-year-old neuroscientist, had been “stereoblind” (unable to see depth) his entire life. However, in February 2012 it was permanently cured after he saw the movie “Hugo” in 3D at a movie theater. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: How a movie changed one man’s vision forever – BBC Future
The average person is more than five times as likely to die in an human-level extinction event as in a car crash. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: You’re More Likely to Die in a Human Extinction Event Than a Car Crash – The Atlantic
During the early 1800’s, ketchup was made of fish or mushrooms in the US. Then in 1834, Dr. John Cooke Bennett added tomatoes to ketchup and claimed it cured diarrhea, indigestion, rheumatism and jaundice. Dr. Bennett went on to work with salesman Archibald Miles to sell it in pill form. – WTF Fun Facts
In early 2020, George Hood, a 62-year-old ex-marine, set the world record for the longest abdominal plank, holding the position for 8 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: New planking world record set by 62-year-old former Marine – CNN
Humans, as well as all air-breathing vertebrates, have a “diving reflex” which preferentially distributes oxygen stores to the heart and brain, enabling submersion for an extended time. The reflex is triggered by wetting the nostrils and face while holding one’s breath. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Diving reflex – Wikipedia