10 Astonishing Facts About the Human Body You Didn't Know

The human body is a complex and intricate 'machine' with various systems such as digestion, circulation, and respiration. It includes 'levers' we call muscles and senses perfectly tuned to our life conditions. Together, they declare: "Hashem, who is like You!"

1. Human life begins from a single cell, which multiplies to form hundreds of different cells capable of creating approximately 50,000 proteins that make up human tissues. A few days later, these cells form layers, sheets, and tubes. In the initial weeks of pregnancy, they migrate precisely to their destined locations—a heart beats, and an eye will form right where needed. The pancreas will develop exactly where it should. This precise order results in the development of a fully functioning human body. Nine months post-conception, 25 trillion cells (a trillion equals a thousand billion) are complete, ready to jump, run, dance, sing, and cry—forming the greatest marvel of creation: a human being.

2. 80% of brain tissue is water. So next time you're feeling dehydrated, drink up to keep your brain hydrated.

3. Research shows that the human brain is more active at night than during the day. Scientists have yet to understand why.

4. Every square centimeter of skin houses about 15 million bacteria. There’s no need to worry, as most of these are harmless and help maintain our health.

5. The most winding organ in the body is the small intestine. Despite the name, it's about four times the length of an average person’s height—a coiled structure essential for fitting in the abdomen.

6. The average person blinks approximately 12 times per minute. Blinking helps protect and keep the eye moist and clean.

7. Each lung contains between 300 to 400 million air sacs. On an average day, we inhale and exhale about 20,000 times.

8. Fingerprints form in the third month of pregnancy and remarkably remain unchanged for most people throughout their lives. However, there have been cases where chemotherapy altered or erased them. Interestingly, fingerprints are among the last things to disappear after death.

9. The human knee bears most of the body’s weight, containing 15 ligaments crisscrossing each other. The femur is the strongest bone even though it’s hollow.

10. The human heart operates under tremendous pressure, powerful enough to squirt blood over 30 feet. The heart tirelessly beats, which is why there's no cancer in the heart. It pumps blood against gravity to the head and downwards to the rest of the body.

Rabbi Yigal Cohen – Discovering the Creator Through Your Body. Watch:

Hashem gave us this amazing gift, and asks that we remember Him and offer our thanks. Want to know more about thanking the Creator? Click here to learn about the "Asher Yatzar" blessing.

For more fascinating facts about the human body, click here.