Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1903-08-22
PHYSICAL MYSTERIES.
Odd Things About Human Frames
Which Doctors Have Only Re-
Gently Discovered.

Are you aware that you are sort
of rerambulating metal mine! Man.
and, indeed, nearly all kinds OF living
animals-has in his system consider
able quantity OF iron 1t is found IN
the most important organs, and there
should also be a good deal in the blood'
says London Answers Babies possess
a fairly large stock Of iron, nearly
three times as much, comparatively
speaking, as adults. Then IN your
bones there is very large quantity
of that metallic base Of lime calico
calcium, while phosphorus is also pres
ent in the bones in SO large an amount
that they are the main source OF the
worlds supply of that valuable arCcle.
Stranger sall, there is in the human
body quite an appreciate amount OF
arsenic. What there is of this poison
is concentrated in the thyroid gland,
and small quantity is also to be
found in the skin, hair, nails and also
in the bones and brain.
There are lots of odd things about
our human frames which even doctors
and other men of science have only
lately discovered, and of which the
average person is quite unaware. Few
people know, for instance, that when
we go to sleep the whole body does
not sink into insensibility at the same
moment.
According to the research of the
French psychologist, Cabanis, it Is the
muscles of the legs and arms which
lose their power first. Next those
which support the head, and, thirdly,
the muscles which sustain the back.
So, too, with the senses. The sense
of sight sleeps first, then the sense OF
taste and next the sense of smell.
Hearing goes fourth, and last of all
the sense Of touch. Probably you i'm
agine that your pulse beats with the
same rapidity. This is quite a mis-
take. Your pulse varies with the tenn
perature. There is a regular, annual
rhythm which may be represented
of something like a regular curve.
Most curious of all, the annual rhythms
of the pulse in men and women are
quite different. A mans pulse beats
more strongly in winter and fades to
minimum in summer WOman's
pulse, on the contrary, displays a win
ter minimum and a summer maximum.
Behind the bridge of your nose is a
little cavity in the skull, the origin
of which appears to be unknown 1t
probably was a gland consisting of two
tiny lobes joined together, and Is
named the sella turcica
Psychologists believe that this is the
remains of a sixth sense which was of
practical value to our antediiuvian an
cestors. But whether it enabled them
to see in the dark in the days before
they possessed fire, or helped them
to fnd their way through trackless
forests as wild beasts can to-day, or
what other purpose it may have served,
we do not and probably never shall
know. There is an unsolved mystery
in the ear of every human being. The
functions of certain portions Of the
inner ear are not understood. but
merely guessed at.
Within the ear are three small globe
shaped protuberances. These have
their inner sides covered with small
cells, each of which contains a tiny
hair surrounded by fluid When you
move sharply the hair follows the mo-
ton, while the lymph naturally follows
less rapidly Thus, the hairs are bent
in direction opposite that of the
movement, and by means of delicate
nerves the irritation thus produced is
telegraphed direct to the brain. 1t is
supposed that by means of these Hairs
swimming in lymph the sensation we
call dizziness is caused when we ro-
tate rapidly, as in dancing. 1t is also
believed that seasickness has some
thing to do with the same phenom-
enon. 1t has been noticed that some
persons, when suffering from ear dis
eases that have destroyed parts Of the
inner ear, have found it difficult or
impossible to maintain their balance
when standing upright with eyes
closed. 1t is, therefore, possible that
these peculiar ear organs contain
some inexplicable sense not generally
classified as such-the static sense, or
the sense of balance