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Fact You have about as many bacterial cells as human ones The famous ten-to-one figure was wrong, and the truth is stranger. 1 min read Fact Wisdom teeth are vanishing from the species A growing share of people are simply born without them. 1 min read Fact There is a cloud of alcohol in space Billions of kilometres across, and mostly the kind you should not drink. 1 min read Fact The tongue map is completely made up Sweet at the tip, bitter at the back. It was a mistranslation, and it has been in textbooks for a century. 1 min read Fact Bone is stronger than steel by weight Not in absolute terms. Pound for pound, it is a remarkable material. 1 min read Fact Hair and nails do not keep growing after death The appearance is real. The explanation is not. 1 min read Fact You shed enough skin in a lifetime to fill several pillows And a good share of household dust is you. 1 min read Fact Red blood cells throw away their own nucleus They give up the ability to divide, repair, or make anything, in exchange for room to carry oxygen. 1 min read Fact Your gut has its own nervous system Hundreds of millions of neurons, capable of operating without the brain entirely. 1 min read Fact Some people taste words and see sounds in colour For a small share of the population, Tuesday is green, and it always has been. 1 min read