10 Strange Facts About Tears
- 10 years ago
Check out 10 not-so-common facts about tears.
Go ahead, grab a tissue and let's go through the 10 not-so-common facts about tears.
Number 10 – Tears actually help you see. Even when you're not bawling, some tears descend from your lacrimal glands every time you blink. That helps to flush out foreign matter and deliver moisture to your eyes.
Number 9 – Tears don’t only come in one form. Emotional tears are in a league of their own. Basal tears are another kind and they’re in our eyes all the time with the purpose of lubricating them. Reflex tears, which are chemically different from basal ones, offer protection against irritants.
Number 8 – Have you ever wondered why your nose runs too during a fit of blubbering? Well it’s because some of the tears end up in the nasal passage. At that point, they can be swallowed or left to drip straight from your nostrils.
Number 7 – Everyone knows raw onions inflict a few tears. But why doesn't that happen with cooked onions? When an onion’s skin is sliced, enzymes mix with sulfenic acids to create propanethiol S-oxide. Once the scent wafts up to noses, our eyes water. After the onion is cooked, however, the irritating enzyme is deactivated leaving eyes tear free.
Number 6 – Where do 'crocodile tears' from come? Crocs really do cry. They tear up the most when eating, however they seem to have a habit of shedding them on a regular basis. It’s speculated that the reason why they cry so much is because crocs need extra lubrication for their third eyelid.
Number 5 – As men get older, they have a tendency to cry more. It may be due to a decrease in testosterone levels or issues of morality, but noone knows for sure why that happens.
Number 4 – When in need of a good sob, pack your bags and head to Japan. In 2007, a trend was born in the country involving crying events. Clubs began popping up, allowing people to come in, watch a sad film and cry their eyes out in the company of fellow sad companions.
Number 3 – Men and women are not equals when it comes to crying. They bawl very differently. The male tear duct is actually larger than a female’s, so when crying is on the verge, the lady’s tears will pool onto her cheeks much quicker than the man’s.
Number 2 - Some animals feed off of other species' tears. Butterflies enjoy drinking the tears of yellow-spotted river turtles. And certain moths choose to feed on elephant tears.
Number 1 – Consider yourself lucky as long as your tears are clear. There have been 10 documented cases of bloody crying in humans. One such individual, Michael Spann of Antioch, Tennessee, started bleeding from his eyes when he was 22 years of age.
Go ahead, grab a tissue and let's go through the 10 not-so-common facts about tears.
Number 10 – Tears actually help you see. Even when you're not bawling, some tears descend from your lacrimal glands every time you blink. That helps to flush out foreign matter and deliver moisture to your eyes.
Number 9 – Tears don’t only come in one form. Emotional tears are in a league of their own. Basal tears are another kind and they’re in our eyes all the time with the purpose of lubricating them. Reflex tears, which are chemically different from basal ones, offer protection against irritants.
Number 8 – Have you ever wondered why your nose runs too during a fit of blubbering? Well it’s because some of the tears end up in the nasal passage. At that point, they can be swallowed or left to drip straight from your nostrils.
Number 7 – Everyone knows raw onions inflict a few tears. But why doesn't that happen with cooked onions? When an onion’s skin is sliced, enzymes mix with sulfenic acids to create propanethiol S-oxide. Once the scent wafts up to noses, our eyes water. After the onion is cooked, however, the irritating enzyme is deactivated leaving eyes tear free.
Number 6 – Where do 'crocodile tears' from come? Crocs really do cry. They tear up the most when eating, however they seem to have a habit of shedding them on a regular basis. It’s speculated that the reason why they cry so much is because crocs need extra lubrication for their third eyelid.
Number 5 – As men get older, they have a tendency to cry more. It may be due to a decrease in testosterone levels or issues of morality, but noone knows for sure why that happens.
Number 4 – When in need of a good sob, pack your bags and head to Japan. In 2007, a trend was born in the country involving crying events. Clubs began popping up, allowing people to come in, watch a sad film and cry their eyes out in the company of fellow sad companions.
Number 3 – Men and women are not equals when it comes to crying. They bawl very differently. The male tear duct is actually larger than a female’s, so when crying is on the verge, the lady’s tears will pool onto her cheeks much quicker than the man’s.
Number 2 - Some animals feed off of other species' tears. Butterflies enjoy drinking the tears of yellow-spotted river turtles. And certain moths choose to feed on elephant tears.
Number 1 – Consider yourself lucky as long as your tears are clear. There have been 10 documented cases of bloody crying in humans. One such individual, Michael Spann of Antioch, Tennessee, started bleeding from his eyes when he was 22 years of age.