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Inside Your Body

Twenty stories from the parts of your body you've never seen. Bones that glow. Cells that remember. A second brain in your gut.

22 discoveries ~88 min

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01
Your brain can miss a gorilla in the room
Life isn't a continuous movie but a series of snapshots stitched together by a brain that ignores almost everything. You are currently missing massive changes happening right in front of your face.
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02
Some people see millions of colors that don't exist for you
A rare genetic mutation allows a small group of people to see a hidden dimension of reality. You might be looking at the same sunset, but they see a different spectrum.
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03
The Frog That Hides Its Blood to Vanish
Glass frogs become invisible by stuffing their red blood cells into their liver, making their skin as clear as a window.
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04
You Are Only Half Human
There are roughly 38 trillion bacterial cells in your body, meaning you are technically more bacteria than you are 'you'.
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05
The Platypus Swallows Food Into Its Throat
The platypus has no stomach; its esophagus connects directly to its intestines, making digestion a total mystery.
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06
The Decapod Carrying a Pulse Behind Its Eyes
A shrimp’s chest is surprisingly empty because its life support system sits right behind its face.
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07
The Vertical Concrete Pillars Inside Your Legs
Human bone can resist more pressure than a bar of solid steel of the same weight.
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08
Your Brain is Hallucinating Most of What You See
Your eyes have a physical hole in their field of vision, but your brain lies to you about it.
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09
A toddler could swim through a whale's arteries
A blue whale heart is the size of a bumper car, and its primary blood vessels are wide enough for a human child to crawl through.
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10
The frog that turns into a living ice cube
The Alaskan wood frog survives winter by letting 65 percent of its body water freeze solid, stopping its heart entirely.
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11
Your immune system dies every three days
While red blood cells last for months, most white blood cells survive for only 1 to 3 days in your bloodstream.
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12
The deep sea predator with soccer ball eyes
The colossal squid has the largest eyes ever recorded, measuring 11 inches across to spot shadows in the dark.
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13
A Sloth Can Starve to Death on a Full Stomach
It takes thirty days for a sloth to process a single meal, making it the slowest digestive system on the planet.
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14
You sleep with millions of skin-eating mites every night
Microscopic dust mites survive entirely on the dead skin cells you shed every day.
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15
The Only Part of Your Body That Breathes Air Directly
Your cornea has zero blood vessels and must suck oxygen from the atmosphere to stay alive.
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16
The Bird That Survives 240 Mile Per Hour Winds
A Peregrine Falcon dives faster than a race car, but the real mystery is why its lungs don't explode from the air pressure.
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17
The Game That Rewires Your Sleeping Brain
Playing Tetris for too long causes your brain to keep playing the game even after you close your eyes.
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18
The Bird That Can See More Than It Can Think
An ostrich’s eye is larger than its brain, leaving very little room for complex thought while providing a panoramic view of potential predators.
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19
You have a tail. You're sitting on it right now.
Your tailbone is not a useless leftover; it provides the essential anchor point for the muscles that keep your organs in place.
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20
The Animal That Eats Anthrax For Breakfast
Vultures possess stomach acid so corrosive that it dissolves metal and kills the world's deadliest bacteria instantly.
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21
The acid in your belly melts steel
Your stomach produces a liquid so corrosive it can dissolve a stainless steel razor blade in less than half a day.
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22
The largest living thing is a silent killer
Deep in an Oregon forest lives a single organism that covers nearly four square miles and has been growing for 8,000 years.
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Inside Your Body

All discoveries

Your brain can miss a gorilla in the room

Some people see millions of colors that don't exist for you

The Frog That Hides Its Blood to Vanish

You Are Only Half Human

The Platypus Swallows Food Into Its Throat

The Decapod Carrying a Pulse Behind Its Eyes

The Vertical Concrete Pillars Inside Your Legs

Your Brain is Hallucinating Most of What You See

A toddler could swim through a whale's arteries

The frog that turns into a living ice cube

Your immune system dies every three days

The deep sea predator with soccer ball eyes

A Sloth Can Starve to Death on a Full Stomach

You sleep with millions of skin-eating mites every night

The Only Part of Your Body That Breathes Air Directly

The Bird That Survives 240 Mile Per Hour Winds

The Game That Rewires Your Sleeping Brain

The Bird That Can See More Than It Can Think

You have a tail. You're sitting on it right now.

The Animal That Eats Anthrax For Breakfast

The acid in your belly melts steel

The largest living thing is a silent killer