Random Thought #1: Can you actually bite off your finger?
So, while I was sitting at my desk, wishing that I was back in elementary school, a random flashback came to my mind. I remember reading an article in those TIME kid magazines that they would give you back in elementary school about how your brain prevents you from biting off your fingers. As far I can remember, apparently when you try to bite your finger, your brain makes your jaw stiff so that you can't actually do it. But when you try to eat a carrot, you brain gives your jaw permission to chomp away. I thought it was the coolest thing back then that your brain could like immediately tell the difference between your finger and a carrot. I mean, they're both pretty similar anyway, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference if I wasn't looking. So I decided to bite my finger just for kicks to see if something were to happen. Nothing. My finger was still intact. Imagine if you could actually could bite your finger off though. Like maybe you're just eating some chips while watching a movie and then whoops, you just bit your finger off. There would no doubt be so many specific rules on how to eat with your hands and how to avoid severing your finger off. Ugh, that would be the worst, you probably would have to take a whole entire course on it like how we have to do when we want to drive. That would just be wild, man.
Anyway, since I'm always looking for a way to waste my time, I decided to figure out if this was actually true or not. Turns out TIME kids magazine just gave me the dumbed- down version. Your brain will try to stop you from biting your finger because it's getting signals that you're physically hurting your own body, but it can't actually stop you. With that being said though, it's also very very hard to accidentally bite you finger off because it requires a lot of force to do so, more than our bodies can exert. A carrot on the other hand, requires minimal force. The exact statistic is that our maximum biting force range is from about 520-1,178 newtons and it only takes less than 200 newtons to bite through a carrot. It takes 1,485 newtons to fracture (not break or sever) your bone. Imagine how much force it would take if you tried to bite your finger off. A lot. So, unless you have some kind of superpower, you just don't have enough strength to completely bite your finger off. I personally consider this is a blessing because I know for a fact I've accidentally bitten my finger when I eat a couple times, and so if I did have the ability to actually bite my finger off completely, well I probably would've gone to the hospital more times than I can count.
So that's all I found out! I now have to go study for physics because I don't get anything and I have a quiz soon!!! Bye!
P.S: Here is where I got my info from lol: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-we-could-bite-through-our-thumb-as-easily-as-a-carrot-but-our-brain-stops-us
Anyway, since I'm always looking for a way to waste my time, I decided to figure out if this was actually true or not. Turns out TIME kids magazine just gave me the dumbed- down version. Your brain will try to stop you from biting your finger because it's getting signals that you're physically hurting your own body, but it can't actually stop you. With that being said though, it's also very very hard to accidentally bite you finger off because it requires a lot of force to do so, more than our bodies can exert. A carrot on the other hand, requires minimal force. The exact statistic is that our maximum biting force range is from about 520-1,178 newtons and it only takes less than 200 newtons to bite through a carrot. It takes 1,485 newtons to fracture (not break or sever) your bone. Imagine how much force it would take if you tried to bite your finger off. A lot. So, unless you have some kind of superpower, you just don't have enough strength to completely bite your finger off. I personally consider this is a blessing because I know for a fact I've accidentally bitten my finger when I eat a couple times, and so if I did have the ability to actually bite my finger off completely, well I probably would've gone to the hospital more times than I can count.
So that's all I found out! I now have to go study for physics because I don't get anything and I have a quiz soon!!! Bye!
P.S: Here is where I got my info from lol: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-we-could-bite-through-our-thumb-as-easily-as-a-carrot-but-our-brain-stops-us
I really enjoyed reading this post. I have done similar things in the past; I remember looking up random things spontaneously while trying to work on an assignment or project, but I have never thought about biting my finger off. But hey, you learn something new everyday right?
ReplyDeleteYou have successfully provided a short, concise analysis of an age old question that has baffled humanity since the beginning of the 20th century. The casual tone aided the silly nature of your blog. Furthermore, it was refreshing to read a blog about something completely random.
ReplyDeleteI remember those magazines! We used to have homework from them too, did you? I liked your post because I was both reminded of my childhood and all that I read and questioned from then while also learning something. Now I can have an educated fun fact, should the need ever arise. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYeah I did! I'm so glad someone else remembers them too, I thought I was the only one who had them :)
DeleteReally great post, it's always fun to have a couple extra fun facts like this just in case, ya know. I feel like probably everyone has tried to bite off their finger at some point just because we've heard that it's like biting into a carrot but more dangerous. It's good to know that even if I accidentally bit my finger without knowing it was my finger I would be safe!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! The way that you break down a very intriguing question into a very personable tone made it fun to read! I also have thought a lot about this and went through a similar experience reading about how you could theoretically bite off your finger. It's an interesting thing to think about, and makes you also think about just how amazing our bodies are (at least I do). Just the mere fact that we could bite off our fingers (the strength of our jaws!) and then how our nervous system stops us from doing so (what a brain!), it's just kinda crazy and awesome when you think about it.
ReplyDeleteWe had a very heated argument on this. I still don't know where I stand but I really enjoyed your blog post. Your blog post was interesting because it is something everyone can argue and talk about. I can't believe you remembered this from those magazines.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! I have actually never (somewhat surprisingly) thought about if it was possible to bit off my own finger. Your post grabbed my attention very quickly and your cool, conversational tone complimented the topic nicely.
ReplyDeleteWow this is so interesting! I never knew about this, but now that I think about it, if this weren't true I probably would be missing a lot of fingers by now lol. I love that you actually did some research and gave us some stats, it really enhanced your post. Also, this is a really interesting random thought to have, and I'm sure you have many others, so please keep sharing them!
ReplyDeleteFascinating. I will admit I've never wondered about this before, but now I know! Also, the second you started talking about Newtons, my mind went into panic mode. Physics has scarred me.
ReplyDeleteHahah I actually think about this all the time (is that concerning?) and I'm so glad you took the initiative to look up the real facts and educate us! Tbh I'm a little bit disappointed that it's not humanly possible to bite off a finger since it probably would've been at least interesting to see (yes this is getting concerning). I have also wondered if we can actually bite our own tongue off. I feel like I've heard of that happening before, and honestly I'm not sure if I want to look it up... So if anyone knows, let me know without any overly gory details haha!!
ReplyDeleteI love little fake facts like this! The whole story strongly reminds me of the whole eating 7 spiders in your sleep per year myth. As a kid I totally believed it and it fascinated ant terrified me. Thanks for debunking another myth that I still believed! :)
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