Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1905-02-08
WE ARE STRANGELY MADE.
Many Odd Things About Us that Even
Doctors Do Not Understand

Doctors Do Not Understand
Are you aware that you are sort
Of perambulating metal mine? Man
and, indeed, nearly all kinds of living
animals-has in his system a consid-
cradle quantity Of iron. 1t is found in
the more important organs, and there
should also be a good deal in the
blood. Babies possess a fairly large
stock Of iron, nearly three times as
much, comparatively speaking, as
adults.
Then in your bones there is a very
large quantity Of that metallic base
OF lime called calcium, while pros
phOrus is also present in bones in so
large an amount that they are the
main source Of the worlds supply
Of that valuable article.
Stranger still, 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 doc
tors 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, says London Answers.
According to the researches 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.
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 imagine that your
pulse always beats with the same ra-
pidity. This is quite mistake. Your
pulse varies with the temperature.
There is regular, annual rhythm
which may be represented by some
thing like regular curve. Most curl
GUS 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 a min
imum In summer. WOman's pulse, on
the contrary, displays winter min
imum and 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 gland consisting of
two tiny lobes joined together, and is
named the sella turcica. Psychologists
believe that this Is the remains Of q
sixth sense which was of practical
value to our antediluvian ancestors
But whether it enabled them to see in
the dark in days before they possessed
fire, or helped them to find their way
through trackless forests as wild
beasts can to-day, or what other pur-
pose 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 func-
ton Of certain portions of the inner
ear is not understood, but merely
guessed at.
Within the ear are three small globe
shoped 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 hairs follow the mo-
ton, while the lymph naturally moves
less rapidly. Thus the hairs are bent
in direction opposite to 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 rotate rapidly, as In dancing.
1t Is also believed. that seasickness has
something to do with the same phe-
nomenOn. 1t has been noticed that
some persons, when suffering from ear
diseases that have destroyed parts Of
the inner car, 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 classi-
fed as such-the static sense, or sense
Of balance.