Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow? Curious Questions Kids Ask About the Human Body

by Ditkoff, Beth Ann

• ISBN13: 9781583333235
• ISBN10: 1583333231
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-10-02
• Publisher: Avery Trade

Summary

Ever wondered what that small dewdrop thing is in the back of your throat? Or why you hiccup? Why Don’t Your Eyelashes Grow? addresses every weird question about your body that you could think of—or didn’t even think to ask. Prompted by the brain stumpers her own children and patients have asked her over the years, Dr. Beth Ann Ditkoff compiled a list of curious medical questions. In this book, she reveals the mysteries of the human body (gross, funny, or ugly!) to children andadults. With eye-opening questions, like Why do toenails grow slower than fingernails?” and Why do you have earwax?” to weird oddities, like Why do some people have dimples?” and Why do you get a headache when you eat ice cream too quickly?” Ditkoff also explains hilarious and bizarre anatomy situations” that every curious kid wonders, from If you put a pea up your nose, will it go into your brain?” to If you eat Pop Rocks candy and drink soda at the same time, will your stomach explode?” With expert explanations throughout, Why Don’t Your Eyelashes Grow? is an entertaining potpourri of fun factoids packed with real information.

Author Biography

Beth Ann Ditkoff, M.D., is a former surgeon at New York- Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center in New York and coauthor ofThe Thyroid Guide.

Andrea Ditkoff is twelve years old and in the seventh grade and Julia Ditkoff is ten years old and in the fifth grade. They provided all the questions for this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xv
Your Body 101
Why do you have bumps on your tongue?	p. 3
Why do you have earwax?	p. 4
What is that dewdrop thing in the back of your mouth?	p. 5
Why can't human beings breathe underwater?	p. 6
Why is your eye color blue, brown, or green?	p. 7
Why do you have eyebrows?	p. 8
Why do you hiccup?	p. 9
Why are the ends of your nails white and the other part pink?	p. 10
Why do you have wisdom teeth?	p. 11
Why can't your skin be purple, green, or blue?	p. 12
Why do you have an appendix?	p. 13
Why do you have baby teeth when you're a child?	p. 14
Why are your lips red?	p. 15
What happens when your legs or arms "fall asleep"?	p. 16
What is the difference between identical and fraternal twins?	p. 17
Why does your stomach growl?	p. 18
Why do people snore?	p. 19
Why are you left-handed or right-handed?	p. 20
Why do we get cavities?	p. 21
Why are we ticklish?	p. 22
Why do some people have straight hair and some people have curly hair?	p. 23
Why do we blush?	p. 24
Why do we yawn?	p. 25
What is your Adam's apple?	p. 26
Why do we get scabs?	p. 27
Why do some people have crooked teeth and others have naturally straight teeth?	p. 28
Why do you get goose bumps when you are cold?	p. 29
What is the black circle in your eye?	p. 30
Why is blood red?	p. 31
What is your ear made of?	p. 32
Why does your blood look blue when it is in your body?	p. 33
Why do I laugh when I think something is funny?	p. 34
Why do human beings cry?	p. 35
What are moles?	p. 36
Why do we form scars?	p. 37
What do your tonsils do?	p. 38
How does food give you energy?	p. 39
Why do you have a belly button?	p. 41
Why does your mouth make spit?	p. 42
What's a concussion?	p. 43
Why does your heart make a "lub-dub" sound when it beats?	p. 44
What is a charley horse?	p. 45
What is a cell?	p. 46
Why is a bruise black and blue?	p. 47
Why do some people have freckles?	p. 48
Why do some people have dimples?	p. 49
What are genes?	p. 50
What happens when you break a bone?	p. 51
The Weird, the Ugly, and the Downright Gross
Why don't your eyelashes grow?	p. 55
Why doesn't it hurt when you get a haircut?	p. 56
Why do some people have "innie" belly buttons and some people have "outies"?	p. 57
Why do you see fireworks when you close your eyes and press on them?	p. 58
Why do we get wrinkles as we get older?	p. 59
Why do we burp?	p. 60
Why is your poop brown?	p. 61
Why do we get gray hair?	p. 62
Why do we sometimes feel nauseated while in a car or on a bus?	p. 63
What are lice?	p. 64
Why do we have nightmares?	p. 65
Why do toenails grow slower than fingernails?	p. 66
Why do people get pimples?	p. 67
Why do we have boogers?	p. 68
Why do people have hair in their nose?	p. 69
Why do farts smell?	p. 70
Why do you get bad breath?	p. 71
What are warts?	p. 72
Can someone really have six toes on one foot?	p. 73
Why don't human beings have tails?	p. 74
Why do your teeth turn yellow?	p. 75
Why do some people have bad body odor?	p. 76
Why do your fingers and toes look like prunes when you come out of the pool?	p. 78
Why are some people able to wiggle their ears?	p. 79
Why is pee yellow?	p. 80
What are bedbugs?	p. 81
Why do some women have mustaches?	p. 82
Why do some men have boobs?	p. 83
Why do some people have fat that shakes like Jell-O?	p. 84
Why do people vomit?	p. 85
What does it mean to be double-jointed?	p. 86
Why do people bite their nails?	p. 88
Why do tears taste salty?	p. 89
What are growing pains?	p. 90
Why do babies have a "soft spot" on their head?	p. 91
Why can't one eye move up while the other eye moves down?	p. 92
Why do your eyes close when you sneeze?	p. 93
Why do men pee standing up and women pee sitting down?	p. 94
Why can't men become pregnant?	p. 95
Why do some men go bald?	p. 96
What does it mean to be tongue-tied?	p. 97
Why do people get dandruff?	p. 98
Body Afflictions and Everyday Strange Things That Can Happen
Why are some people color-blind?	p. 101
What makes some people stutter?	p. 102
Why do some people need to wear eyeglasses?	p. 103
Why do some people have food allergies?	p. 104
Why, when I'm asleep at night, do I sometimes startle myself awake?	p. 105
Why do your ears pop when you're on a plane?	p. 106
Why do you get sunburned?	p. 107
Why do you sometimes get a stitch in your side when you run or walk fast?	p. 108
Why do people sleepwalk?	p. 109
Why does blond hair turn green in a pool?	p. 111
Why does your heart beat faster when you exercise?	p. 112
What is athlete's foot?	p. 113
Why do your lips turn blue when you swim in cold water?	p. 114
Why do mosquito bites itch?	p. 115
Why do some people grind their teeth at night?	p. 116
Why does your face pucker when you suck on a lemon?	p. 117
Can your contact lens get lost in your eye and float into your brain?	p. 118
Why do some people get fat?	p. 119
Why do mosquitoes bite some people and not others?	p. 120
What is a hangnail?	p. 121
Why can't I get rid of this song that is stuck in my head?	p. 122
Why does poison ivy make us itch?	p. 124
Urban Myth and What If?
Is it really bad to crack your knuckles?	p. 127
What happens if you swallow a penny?	p. 128
What happens if you eat dog food?	p. 129
Can you tell your fortune by reading your palm?	p. 130
Why do you get a headache if you eat ice cream too quickly?	p. 131
Can you really get rabies from a dog bite? What is rabies, anyway?	p. 132
What happens if you swallow gum?	p. 133
If you put a pea up your nose, will it go into your brain?	p. 134
Can you catch a cold if you don't wear a coat in winter?	p. 135
Can your MP3 player really cause you to go deaf?	p. 136
What would happen if I never brushed my hair?	p. 137
If you drop food on the floor, is it still safe to eat if it doesn't touch the floor for more than five seconds?	p. 138
Is it true that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's?	p. 139
If you eat Pop Rocks candy and drink soda at the same time, will your stomach explode?	p. 141
If you eat carrots, will you see better?	p. 142
Is eating raw cookie dough really bad for you?	p. 143
Is it true that if you swallow a watermelon seed, you will grow a watermelon in your stomach?	p. 144
Do twins have the same fingerprints?	p. 145
Can you get lead poisoning from a pencil?	p. 146
Can you be allergic to jewelry?	p. 147
Are green bananas bad for you?	p. 148
Do you really need to drink eight 8-ounce glasses (8 x 8) of water a day to be healthy?	p. 149
Can you get frostbite in just a few minutes if it's really cold outside?	p. 150
Will you go blind if you sit too close to the TV?	p. 151
Why is breakfast the most important meal?	p. 152
Does a tongue piercing hurt?	p. 153
If you cross your eyes will they get stuck?	p. 155
Is caffeine bad for you?	p. 156
Can eating chicken soup really cure a cold?	p. 157
Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away?	p. 158
Do you really need to wait an hour after eating before going swimming?	p. 160
Bonus Body Trivia
How does an X-ray work?	p. 163
What does an IQ test measure?	p. 164
How much does your brain weigh?	p. 165
How many bones are in your body?	p. 166
What is the smallest bone in your body?	p. 167
What is the smallest muscle in your body?	p. 168
What is the longest muscle in your body?	p. 169
How many times a day do you blink?	p. 170
How many times a day does your heart beat?	p. 171
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.