THE BODY

If You Can’t Smell, Can You Taste?

Smelling image via ShutterstockI’m perfectly suited to answer the Big Question that reader Katie posed the other day, because I have anosmia, which means I can’t smell. At all. Every diaper my two-year-old has ever filled has been totally odorless to me.

Why Do Paper Cuts Hurt So Much?

Paper cut image via ShutterstockThere are a couple things at play here, some involving the paper, some involving your skin. For one thing, what part of your body comes in contact with paper the most?

What Do Chickens Have to Do With Chicken Pox?

The birds themselves? Not a whole lot. Chickens don’t even get infected by the virus — varicella zoster, a member of the herpes family — that causes the rash.

Could Humans Hibernate?

Some animals have it made. Their whole day revolves around eating and having sex (and, to be fair, trying not to get eaten themselves). And when winter arrives, they get to curl up somewhere and wait things out until the weather is nice again. Can humans

What is an Adam's Apple?

Adam's apple photo via ShutterstockTouch your fingers to the front of your throat and start humming. Feel around until you can feel vibration directly under your fingers. That’s your larynx, or voice box. It houses your vocal cords and is involved in brea

Why Does the Sound of Running Water Make You Have to Pee?

Reader Bill wrote in to ask, “Why does the sound of running water make me want to pee—and sometimes

Is it true what they say about guys in goofy socks?

Is It True What They Say About Guys With Big Feet?

We’ve all heard it before.

Could You Really Send Chicken Pox Through the Mail on a Lollipop?

Volodymyr Krasyuk / Shutterstock.comIn the last few weeks, media outlets have reported on parents using Facebook and other social networking sites to trade lollipops and other items infected by children who have chicken pox. These parents are trying to ex

Why Do Spicy Foods Make Your Nose Run?

Hot sauces, curries, wasabi peas and other spicy treats turn you into a snot faucet. Why is that? Capsaicin is the chemical found concentrated in the placental tissue of chile peppers and allyl isothiocyanate is an oil contained in plants like mustard and

What Are Eye Boogers, Anyway?

You ever wake up and have lots of crust in the inner corner of your eye? What is this stuff, and where does it come from?

Should You Really Put a Steak on a Black Eye?

It depends. Are you a cartoon character?

What Causes Brain Freeze?

Reader Susann writes in to ask, "What exactly is the cause of a brain

Why Does Hot Water Sometimes Feel Cold?

Home experiment time! Go run some hot water, either in a sink or tub, and stick your hand under it.Some of you might be mad at me—the water was hot and you have no idea why I asked you to scald yourself. (We'll work through this.) Some of you, thoug