176.WHAT ARE CAPILLARIES?
There are all kinds of big roads and highways connecting big cities so that food and other necessary materials can reach them. But what about the small towns and little villages? They need food and supplies, too.
The little roads and byways that reach the small towns and villages are like the capillaries in the human body. As we know, blood is pumped out of the heart to all parts of the body and the big vessels through which this blood flows are known as the arteries.
175.WHY IS OUR BLOOD RED?
The blood which flows through the arteries, capillaries, and veins of your body contains many different materials and cells. Each part of the blood has its own special work and importance.
There is, first of all, the liquid part of the blood. This is called the plasma, and makes up a little more than half the blood. It is light yellow and a little thicker than water because many substances are dissolved in it.
174.WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE MIDGETS?
Dwarfs, or midgets, as people sometimes call them, have fascinated people since ancient times. Many royal courts kept dwarfs for the amusement of the royal family. And one of the most famous dwarfs of all time, General Tom Thumb, was seen by millions of people. His real name was Charles Stratton, and he was less than 100 centimeters tall and weighed 11 kilograms at the age of 25!
People may be very tall or very short and still be of normal height. Too much or too little growth is usually caused by disease or by the way certain glands do, or do not, work.
