Many phenomena affect humans on a daily basis without really knowing why.

This post aims to give some explanations to these phenomena of everyday life.

1. The sensation of falling
2. The creaking joints
3. The goosebumps
4. The skin frippée in the bath
5. Tears during the peeling of an onion
6. hiccups

1 – The sensation of falling

When we sleep, it is not uncommon to wake up suddenly burst, having had the strange impression of imminent collapse. Almost three quarters of people have this strange feeling at one time or another.

Science has studied this phenomenon called “hypnagogic hallucination”. The most likely explanation is that when the muscles relax much, the body enters a sort of temporary paralysis. Sometimes, the brain interprets the information badly enough for that as numbness and sends a signal to restart the muscle machine. This event is more frequent in patients who accumulate a lot of fatigue and stress.

2. The creaking joint

Some people are specialists to make crack in their joints, especially fingers. What causes that noise?

This noise comes from the synovial fluid that lubricates the joint. Under pressure, bubbles can form and implode. It is difficult to repeat because the gas must Redissolve in the liquid first. For the knees and hips, the crunch comes from the tendons that go back up quickly. In this case, noise can be repeated.

3. The goosebumps

Draughts, fear, or even excitement can give rise to this skin with the roughcast hairs. This phenomenon, common in most mammals, is called horripilation, piloerection, or the pilomotor reflex.

There are individual small muscles at the base of each hair. It is by the contraction of these muscles the hairs recover. The reflex is related to sympathetic nervous system that usually takes care of decisions such as “fight or flight”. It seems to serve to increase the volume of air trapped by the hairs.

4. The skin frippée in the bath

You might have see the skin of your fingers and your toes crumple after remaining long in the bath or pool. How does this happen?

Our skin is composed of three connected layers. One is well known: the skin surface. This ultimately absorb water after a long immersion, particularly on the hands and feet. During absorption, the top layer is therefore wrinkles because it is located over a rigid layer.

5. Tears during the peeling of an onion

Almost all people end up crying peeling onions.

These tears are due to the emission of volatile molecules,resulting from the encounter between a molecule called “propenyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide” and an enzyme in the pulp of onion called “allinase”. he result of the mixture, as well as the presence of another enzyme, will irritate the eyes. To avoid this nuisance, the simplest is to proceed with the cutting of the onion in water.

6. Hiccups

The hiccup is triggered by uncontrolled impulses of the nervous system that causes unpleasant spasms of the diaphragm. Because of these contractions of the diaphragm, the subject inspires air involuntarily.

Most often, this normally benign phenomenon starts while eating or drinking too quickly, and also because of spicy foods, cold or the ingestion of alcohol. Laughter, coughing or sneezing may also be the cause. The phenomenon is also sometimes spontaneous. The cause of hiccups is still a mystery in the life of mammals.  How to stop hiccups? The best remedy is still holding the breath, and to do so, drinking a glass of water remains the most effective method in general. If hiccups persist longer, consult a doctor as this may be a symptom of a more serious illness.