Category Archives: WHY?
260.WHY ARE PEOPLE AFFECTED BY COFFEE?
When coffee was first introduced in Europe during the second part of the seventeenth century, there was a great deal of controversy about it. Many “learned doctors” announced that coffee was a strong poison and should be prohibited. Others insisted it was a good thing to drink coffee, and “coffee-houses” sprang up everywhere.
Coffee can actually act as a poison when it is given in large doses to animals in laboratory tests. It can also produce toxic effects in small children. But for adults who drink it in moderation, it is definitely not a poison.
245.WHY DO WE BLINK OUR EYES?
When we drive a motor-vehicle in bad weather, it is very important to have the windscreen wiper working efficiently. Yet the best windscreen wiper ever made for any car can’t compare with the “windscreen wiper” nature has given us for our eyes!
The lids of our eyes, which move up and down when we blink, are our built-in windscreen wipers. The lids are made up of folds of skin, and they can be raised and lowered by certain muscles. But they move so rapidly that they don’t disturb our vision in any way.
236.WHAT IS AN ANTIBODY?
Bacteria are the most widespread creatures in the world. Everything we touch, every breath of air contains millions of them. About 80 per cent of all bacteria are harmless. A small percentage is actually useful to us, and a small group of them are harmful to human beings.
Since man is constantly taking in bacteria of all kinds, it is obvious that our body and these bacteria form a kind of “working” relationship. Our body supports colonies of bacteria and in turn these bacteria may perform useful functions, such as helping to decompose food.
