Category: Medical

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Worst Fully-Functional Human Brain

A mathematics major with a higher than average IQ estimated at 126, and seemingly normal in every other way, was referred to a brain specialist because his head seemed a bit larger than normal. The brain specialist was amazed to find that the student had an extreme case of hydrocephalitis, also known as “water on the brain.” His brain cavity was mostly filled with fluid, not neurons. The cortex, the main thinking part of his brain, was merely a coating one twenty-fifth of an inch thick on the inside of his skull!

The case was documented in the late 1970s by Dr. John Lorber, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Sheffield in the UK, and was featured in a renowned 1980 Science article titled “Is Your Brain Really Necessary?”

Here is how the details break down:

The Student: A 26-year-old student at the University of Sheffield was referred to the campus doctor because his head was slightly larger than average. Despite having no neurological issues or symptoms, he had a tested IQ of 126, held a first-class honors degree in mathematics, and was socially normal.

The Brain Scan: When Dr. Lorber performed a CAT scan, he discovered that the student had severe hydrocephalus (excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain). Instead of normal brain tissue filling the skull cavity, fluid-filled ventricles occupied over 90% to 95% of the space.

The Cortex: The student’s cerebral cortex was compressed into a thin layer measuring roughly 1 millimeter thick (approximately 1/25 of an inch) lining the inside of his skull, rather than the normal thickness of 4.5 centimeters (1.75 inches).

How Is This Possible?

While the case sounds unbelievable, researchers attribute it to neuroplasticity. Because the fluid build-up occurred very slowly during the student’s early childhood development, his brain was able to adapt. The thin layer of remaining cortical tissue reorganized itself and compensated, taking over the functions that a normal-sized brain typically performs.

Current Status of the Student

Because Dr. John Lorber maintained strict patient confidentiality, the student’s identity was never publicly revealed, so there are no public updates on his current personal life or career.

However, medical history does tell us a few key details about how his story unfolded:

  • Shunt Treatment: After the initial brain scan revealed his severe hydrocephalus in the late 1970s, Lorber installed a shunt (a small valve and tube system) to drain the excess fluid from his skull, relieving the pressure on his brain.
  • Follow-up Health: Reports from the time indicated that he tolerated the procedure well, maintained his high intellectual ability, and went on to live a normal, healthy life.
  • Ongoing Academic Debate: The student’s case became a classic textbook case study in neurology regarding neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to compress, adapt, and reorganize itself when tissue damage or pressure occurs slowly over time.

While the individual stepped out of the spotlight to live a quiet life, his case remains one of the most famous examples in modern medicine of how remarkably adaptable the human brain can be.

Shown above: More common degrees of hydrocephalus

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Worst Food

Sugar Cane

Julie Andrews sang in Mary Poppins, “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” In fact, for one minor ailment, sugar is the medicine. According to one doctor who set up carefully controlled laboratory tests, swallowing a teaspoonful of dry sugar is the best way to stop hiccups. Note: In the case of many other, serious ailments, sugar is the cause.

10 Surprising Facts About How Sugar Affects Your Health

  1. It Triggers the Same Reward Pathways as Addictive Substances
    Eating added sugar triggers a massive release of dopamine in the brain’s reward center (the nucleus accumbens). Over time, frequent high-sugar intake can downregulate dopamine receptors, requiring larger amounts of sugar to achieve the same feeling—a key hallmark of chemical tolerance and craving loops.
  2. It Causes a Specific Type of Fat Accumulation Around the Liver
    Unlike glucose, which every cell in the body can use for fuel, fructose (a major component of table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup) is processed almost exclusively by the liver. Excess fructose gets converted directly into fat, which accumulates in liver cells and can lead to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
  3. It Accelerates Skin Aging via “Glycation”
    When excess sugar circulates in the blood, it attaches to proteins and fats in a process called advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs damage collagen and elastin—the structural proteins that keep skin firm and springy—causing premature wrinkles and sagging.
  4. It Increases Heart Disease Risk Independent of Body Weight
    Even in individuals who are not overweight, a high-sugar diet significantly increases cardiovascular mortality. A landmark 15-year study showed that people who consumed 17% to 21% of their daily calories from added sugar had a 38% higher risk of dying from heart disease compared to those keeping it under 10%.
  5. It Suppresses the Hormone That Signals You Are Full
    High consumption of added fructose can lead to resistance to leptin, the hormone produced by fat cells that tells your brain when you are full. Leptin resistance tricks the brain into thinking the body is starving, leading to overeating and continuous hunger.
  6. It Silently Promotes Systemic Low-Grade Inflammation
    Excessive sugar intake drives the production of inflammatory cytokines and increases C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the blood. Chronic internal inflammation is an underlying driver for autoimmune conditions, joint degeneration, and arterial wall damage.
  7. It Starves Beneficial Gut Microbes
    Diets heavy in refined sugars feed pathogenic bacteria and yeasts (such as Candida) in the gut while starving beneficial microbes that thrive on fiber. This dysbiosis damages the intestinal mucosa, impairs nutrient absorption, and negatively impacts gut-brain communication.
  8. It Accelerates Cellular Aging (Telomere Shortening)
    Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with shorter telomeres—the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes. Shorter telomeres indicate faster biological aging at a cellular level, similar to the cellular damage caused by smoking.
  9. It Increases Risk of Kidney Stones and Chronic Kidney Disease
    Excess fructose raises uric acid levels in the blood, which can crystallize into painful kidney stones. High blood sugar also stresses the glomeruli (tiny filtering units in the kidneys), increasing the risk of chronic kidney damage over time.
  10. It Triggers Highs and Lows in Daily Energy and Mood
    Simple sugars break down rapidly into glucose, causing a rapid spike in blood sugar followed by an overproduction of insulin. This creates a dramatic blood sugar “crash” (reactive hypoglycemia), which frequently causes brain fog, irritability, fatigue, and anxiety within hours of consumption.

Reducing sugar, and starch which is turned into sugar by digestion, has been known to cure many ailments including diabetes and high blood pressure.

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Worst Advice for the Preservation of Health

From a book written in 1858:

Of course this advice is mostly wrong but some is surprisingly accurate.

“Rules for the preservation of health: Pure atmospheric air is composed of nitrogen, oxygen, and a very small proportion of carbonic acid gas. Air once breathed has lost the chief part of its oxygen, and acquired a proportionate increase of carbonic acid gas. Therefore, health requires that we breath the same air once only.

The solid part of our bodies are continually wasting, and requires Continue reading Worst Advice for the Preservation of Health

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Worst Advice for Drowning

From a book written in 1858:

(This is no longer considered correct)

“Drowning: Attend to the following essential rules:

1. Lose no time.

2. Handle the body gently.

3. Carry the body with the head gently raised, and never hold it up by the feet.

4. Send for medical assistance immediately, and in the meantime act as follows:

1. Strip the body, rub it dry: then rub it in hot blankets, and place it in a warm bed in a warm room.

2. Cleanse away the froth and mucus from the nose and mouth.

3. Apply warm bricks, bottles, bags of sand, &c. to the arm-pits, between the thighs and soles of the feet.

4. Rub the surface of the body with the hands enclosed in warm dry worsted socks.

5. If possible, put the body into a warm bath.

6. To restore breathing, put the pipe of a common bellows into one nostril, carefully closing the other and the mouth; at the same time drawing downwards, and pushing gently backwards the upper part of the windpipe, to allow a more free admission of air; blow the bellows gently, in order to inflate the lungs, till the breast be raised a little; then set the mouth and nostrils free, and press gently on the chest; repeat this until signs of life appear. When the patient revives, apply smelling-salts to the nose, give warm wine or brandy and water.

Cautions:

1. Never rub the body with salt or spirits.

2. Never roll the body on casks.

3. Continue the remedies for twelve hours without ceasing.

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Worst Thing to do with Clocks

Daylight Savings Time, an American phenomenon has been debated for years. Springing ahead can be dangerous. The number of people who suffer strokes during the two days following moving the clock ahead is eight percent higher.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is practiced in dozens of countries around the world, yet it remains one of the most debated and misunderstood seasonal traditions. Here are 10 fascinating facts about its history, impact, and origins.

Here’s more about DST

  1. Benjamin Franklin Did Not Invent It
    While Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical 1784 essay suggesting Parisians wake up earlier to save on candle wax—even proposing firing cannons at dawn—he never suggested changing the clock. The modern idea was actually conceived in 1895 by George Hudson, a New Zealand entomologist who wanted extra evening sunlight after work to collect bugs.
  2. It Was First Adopted to Save Coal During WWI
    The German Empire was the first nation to officially adopt Daylight Saving Time on April 30, 1916, as a wartime measure to conserve coal. The United Kingdom and other European nations followed weeks later, and the United States introduced its own version in 1918.
  3. Farmers Are Not Fans
    A widespread myth claims DST was created to help farmers, but agricultural workers were actually its fiercest opponents. Disrupted animal schedules—like cows refusing to produce milk an hour earlier—and misaligned supply chains led farmers to lobby heavily against it. In the US, farmers led the push to repeal DST after WWI.
  4. It Costs More Energy Than It Saves in Some Places
    While created for energy conservation, modern studies show DST has a negligible effect on energy usage and can even increase it. A famous 2006 study in Indiana found that while DST reduced lighting demand, it increased home air conditioning and heating use, raising total electricity bills across the state by $9 million annually.
  5. It Triggers Measurable Health Risks
    The spring shift forward causes a collective loss of one hour of sleep, which leads to notable spikes in public health issues. Epidemiological studies show a ~24% increase in heart attack risk on the Monday immediately following the spring shift, alongside spikes in workplace injuries, fatal traffic accidents, and miscarriages among IVF patients.
  6. Not All of the United States Observes It
    In the US, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe DST (Arizona opted out in 1968 due to its extreme summer heat, as residents preferred earlier nightfall). US territories—including Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands—also do not observe DST.
  7. The US Tried Year-Round DST in 1974 (and Hated It)
    During the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, President Richard Nixon signed a bill instituting year-round DST starting in January 1974. Public support plummeted when winter arrived, as children were forced to commute to school in total darkness, leading to high-profile traffic accidents. Congress repealed the law just eight months later.
  8. A Two-Minute Window Helped a Draft-Dodger
    During the Vietnam War, an American born on November 2, 1963, at 1:10 AM local time used DST to dodge the draft. His home state was undergoing the standard fall clock shift on that date. When his birth time occurred, the clock turned back to 1:00 AM, making his official standard time 12:10 AM—which shifted his birthdate back to November 1 and altered his draft lottery number.
  9. It Drives Retail and Commerce Politics
    The golf, outdoor recreation, and candy industries have historically been major lobbyists for extended DST. Extra daylight in the evening encourages consumers to shop, play golf, and spend money outside. In 1986, the US extended DST by a month largely through lobbying efforts by golf and barbecue equipment manufacturers.
  10. A Chaos-Causing Period Known as “Chaos Time”
    Before the US Uniform Time Act of 1966, states, towns, and cities could choose whether or not to observe DST and when to start it. This created total logistical chaos; a 35-mile bus ride between Steubenville, Ohio, and Moundsville, West Virginia, passed through seven different time changes in less than an hour.