Found: The Human Body
Clean skin. The human body contains enough fat to create seven bars of soap
Between death and birth, the human body goes from having 300 bones to just 206
When listening to music, your heartbeat syncs with the lyric of those you have lost
Calendar. According to German researchers, the risk of having heart attack is higher on Monday than on any other day of the week
Red. When you blush, the inside of your stomach blushes too
Multiplicity. Certain kinds of tumors can grow their own teeth and hair
We are made of light / that isn’t perceptible / to the human eye
The heights. You are taller in the morning than you are at night
Astronauts can grow two inches higher in space
Appetite. In cases of extreme starvation, the brain begins to eat itself
Scale. The small intestine is roughly 23 feet long, the equivalent of the largest saltwater crocodile on record
Cows. Humans can’t digest grass
Stomach acid can dissolve metal
Multi-tasking. You can’t breathe and swallow at the same time
There are more bones in your feet than the rest of your body
Resilience. Ounce for ounce, bone is stronger than steel
Relationships. Every organ you have two of, you only need one of to survive
Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people
Trust. Your ears and your nose never stop growing
The average human body contains enough sulphur to kill all the fleas on the average dog
The average person produces enough saliva in their lifetime to fill two swimming pools
Forensic. Tongue prints are as unique as fingerprints
Speech. The jaw is the strongest muscle in the body
Location. Testicles hang below their bodies because sperm dies at body temperature
Workout. Sex only burns 3.6 calories per minute
On average, a person needs seven minutes to fall asleep
Ray Bradbury. The highest recorded fever ever was 115 degrees Fahrenheit
Sugar. Cornflakes have more genes than people
Human beings are the only animals which can draw straight lines
Childhood. The human body contains enough potassium to fire a toy cannon
Women’s hearts beat faster than men’s hearts
Average. On average, men think about sex every seven minutes
Stare. Women blink about two times less often than men
Submit. We are the only living thing which sleeps on its back
During their lifetime, a person will on average accidentally swallow eight small spiders
Loss. During a person’s lifetime, they will spend only two weeks kissing
Seasons. Children grow faster in the spring
Traits. Ingrown toenails are hereditary
Stats. The average person forgets 90% of their dreams
Hearts can beat outside of bodies / a body cannot beat without a heart
Illustration by Eddy Burger
David Stavanger is a poet, performer, cultural producer, editor and lapsed psychologist. His poetry collection The Special (UQP, 2014) won several awards and he is the co-editor of SOLID AIR: Collected Australian & New Zealand Spoken Word (UQP, 2019.) His new collection is Case Notes (UWAP, 2020.) David is sometimes known as Green Room-nominated spoken weird artist Ghostboy. These days he lives between the stage and the page.