Here are some funny facts to distract you

It’s really time to take our mind off our troubles. I read somewhere that if you are in a panic or extremely stressed about a situation, one of the most effective things you can do to distract your mind from that problem is to count backwards in 3s from 100. I think they believe that the mere effort of counting backwards in 3s from 100 makes you forget whatever was causing you to be panicky or in extreme stress mode. I also read somewhere that you should carry around with you a pack of very sour sweets. They have to be extremely sour to be effective.

Apparently sucking on one of these sweets when in panic mode immediately resets your brain because it’s now focussing on that very sour and tangy sweet which is popping all over your taste buds. Another person suggested having a small tub of Vicks on hand. Apparently rubbing it on certain points on your neck during a stressful moment, again distracts you because you are now more focussed on the cold, tingling sensation you are now experiencing. Some people say that the sour sweets and the Vicks are as powerful as taking a pill and much safer.

To be honest, I’ve tried the sour sweet trick but it didn’t work for me. Mind you, I do seem to remember that the post was about a specific brand of sour sweet which is apparently very extreme and the one I found in the local supermarket was probably a little mild in comparison. I’m sure there are other ways to take your mind off your troubles, though. Maybe actively distracting your thoughts with other thoughts might be one way. So here are a few mind-boggling facts that you could consider mulling over.

For example, did you know that you can never count the hairs on your head? Or that you can’t really feel your eyes unless there’s something in them like dust or an eyelash? Nor can you actually see them move. Other people can but you can’t, not even in a mirror. You can, however, take a video of your eyes moving. Also, is it not odd that you’ve never really seen your face but other people have? I mean, you see yourself in photographs and in mirrors but that is not really your true face and by that I mean that it’s been inverted.

And did you know that when you accidentally knock the ‘funny’ bone on your elbow you’re not actually hitting a bone but the ulnar nerve which reacts by tingling and burning, and hurting very badly? And did you also know that there is one section of skin on your body that seems to feel no pain at all? That is also at the corner of your elbow. Try pinching it as hard as you can and it won’t hurt. The danger is, of course, that if you cut it, you may not notice.

Now, try to feel your tongue when it’s not touching any part of your mouth. You can’t, can you, unless it touches the insides of your cheeks or the roof of our mouth or your teeth, unless, of course, you accidentally bite on it while you’re eating. Likewise you can’t really feel your teeth nor can you bite your teeth. You can bite on them but not into them; it’s anatomically impossible.

But can you ever stop thinking, I mean at all? Try to and you’ll find that you can’t and all you end up doing is thinking about trying not to think. Nor can your brain focus on more than one thought at the same time. Several thoughts can, however, cross your mind but only in succession; two or more thoughts can never occur at precisely the same time.

And here’s a really funny and weird phenomenon. Your nose sits right in the middle of your face. Normally when something comes into your line of vision it’s an annoying interference, yet we don’t notice it. That’s how our brain works. It’s learnt to ignore it as we should our problems if we are able to. I think we all need to.