Monthly Archives: August 2008
- August 31, 2008
- Can deodorant really cause breast cancer?
For several years rumors have circulated, primarily on the Internet, claiming that the use of antiperspirant deodorants can cause breast cancer. But no clear scientific basis has been found to substantiate these rumors.
According to the National Cancer Institute, “researchers at the NCI are not aware of any conclusive evidence linking the use of underarm antiperspirants [...]
- August 30, 2008
- What are those dust particles you sometimes see floating in front of your eyes?
In our last book, we called one of Billy’s smartest friends for the composition of eye boogers. This Proust-reading, NPR-listening, Ivy League-educated retina surgeon came up empty, but we decided to give him another chance. This time, not only did we get an answer, but we also got a quote from ol’ Marcel Proust:
“…we feel [...]
- August 28, 2008
- Why do I sneeze when I pluck my eyebrows?
Duh… that’s so obvious. Just kidding. What could possibly be the connection between a tweezed eyebrow hair and a sneeze?
The sneezing reflex is a complex, almost Rube Goldbergian sequence of physiological events. It typically starts with an irritation to your nasal passages that excites your trigeminal nerve. (No, it doesn’t take much to get a [...]
- August 25, 2008
- Why do women’s toes curl after years of wearing high heels?
The torments women will endure in the name of glamour! Never mind the fact that when you’re wearing high heels, you actually have to realign your spine so you don’t fall over. Or the fact that a research team at Harvard University found a link between high heels and knee osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease. [...]
- August 23, 2008
- Is there a treatment for severe PMS?
This is no joke (but it probably won’t stop us from making one later). PMS is real dan it can be severe.
Here is something from the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), where a severe form of PMS is listed as a Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified:
“Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: in most menstrual cycles [...]
- August 20, 2008
- What causes ingrown hairs?
Oh, you must mean pseudofolliculitis barbae. C’mon, wouldn’t you rather have pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) than “ingrown hairs” or “razor bumps”? (If this reminds you of a traditional Italian song, you’re thinking of “Funiculi, Funicula,” which refers to a funicular railway, a kind of mountainside cable car, and has nothing to do with ingrown hairs or [...]
- August 18, 2008
- When water is stuck in your ears, where is it? How do you get it out?
People have this strange idea that if water gets in your ear it will somehow find its way to the inside of your skull. The truth is that if your eardrum is intact, the water will remain in your outer ear canal. But, besides being uncomfortable, this water creates an environment where infections can develop.
Swimmer’s [...]
- August 16, 2008
- What purpose do freckles serve?
I don’t know… What “purpose” does your butt serve?
Sorry, that was uncalled for. It’s just tricky sometimes to discuss things in terms of their “purpose.” It becomes a very philosophical question-the teleology of freckles. We can be fairly certain about the evolutionary development of certain traits (like prehensile digits) and discern the advantages and benefits [...]
- August 15, 2008
- Why Do Women Live Longer Than Men?
One important reason is the big delay — and advantage — women have over men in terms of cardiovascular disease, like heart attack and stroke. Women develop these problems usually in their 70s and 80s, about 10 years later than men, who develop them in their 50s and 60s. For a long time, doctors thought [...]
- August 13, 2008
- When you pull out a gray hair, do two come back in its place?
Back in the day, old wives (and old husbands, for that matter) were far too busy eluding predators, fleeing barbarian hordes, and prostrating themselves on the ground in the face of seemingly inexplicable natural phenomena like lightning and eclipses, to come up with patently erroneous tales like this. But today, with your modern conveniences like [...]
- August 10, 2008
- What is that thing hanging down in the back of your throat, and what is it for?
We mentioned that lovely fleshy thing in the back of your throat earlier when we described how milk comes flying from your nose when you laugh. It’s called the uvula, from the Latin word uva, which means grape. If you take a look in the mirror, you will notice that this skin flap is shaped [...]
- August 8, 2008
- Why don’t you get goose bumps on your face?
There seems to be implicit in this question, a kind of longing, a yearning…
Although most of us only get goose bumps on our bodies-primarily our forearms, legs, and backs-some of us actually do get them on our faces.
The language of the goose bump world is rich and poetic. Goose bumps themselves are also known as [...]
- August 5, 2008
- Why do some women go bald?
Alopecia-hair loss or baldness-affects some 30 million women in the United States, young and old, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. But hair loss in women is different from male pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia). For years, scientists believed that the same process was at work in female pattern baldness as in the male version-a [...]
- August 2, 2008
- Does thumb sucking cause buckteeth?
Thumb sucking is a normal behavior. Well, sucking your own thumb is normal. If you are sucking someone else’s, that’s a little weird! Thumb sucking only becomes a problem if it continues for too long. It can begin during the fetal period, but should be curtailed by the time that permanent teeth come in. permanent [...]
- August 1, 2008
- Does smoking help you lose weight?
There is ample evidence that nicotine does cause an increase in metabolism, and smoking cigarettes may act as an appetite suppressant. The main reason, though, that we tend to associate smoking with weight loss is that people who quit smoking often report gaining some weight. But addiction specialists point out that this is simply because, [...]
- August 1, 2008
- Do women have wet dreams?
Sorry, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus, but women can have wet dreams or, more specifically, nocturnal orgasms-and that may be better than finding a new cashmere sweater under your tree.
Alfred Kinsey, the famous sex researcher, found that nocturnal orgasms were reported by 90 percent of the men, but by less than 40 percent [...]
- August 1, 2008
- Why do women always get urinary tract infections?
Many women are familiar with the symptoms of a urinary tract infection or UTI. It usually starts with a persistent urge to urinate or a burning sensation when you pee. You also can have blood in the urine, cloudy, strong-smelling urine, or pain in the lower part of your abdomen. About 50 percent of women [...]
