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What are some commonly known facts that are too bizarre for you to believe to be true? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago by zirzedolta@lemm.ee to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

487 comments fedilink hide all child comments

For me it is the fact that our blood contains iron. I earlier used to believe the word stood for some 'organic element' since I couldn't accept we had metal flowing through our supposed carbon-based bodies, till I realized that is where the taste and smell of blood comes from.

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[–] beteljuice@lemmy.ml 35 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Your bones are made of calcium, which is also a metal. You've got a metal frame inside your body.

[–] niels@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Hate to burst your bubble, but the calcium inside your bones is not in a metallic form but as calciumphosphate. So no metal frame but one made of a salt I guess.

[–] beteljuice@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The thing that started this conversation is hemoglobin, which is also not metallic but a protein. I don't think anyone was confused and thought that there's actually shiney silvery elemental metallic calcium in our body.

[–] fubo@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Your bones are not dead rocks! They are living organs that happen to have a lot of sturdy calcium structures in them. They do a lot of other stuff besides hold your body up. They store minerals for all the other stuff your body needs minerals for; that's why osteoporosis is even a possible failure mode. Your bone marrow produces white blood cells for your immune system, too.

[–] RoabeArt@hexbear.net 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The fact that calcium is a metal is the reason why bones can be detected in X-rays.

(I'm pulling this out of my ass and I'm too lazy to look it up to see if it's actually true.)

[–] TheGreenGolem@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

It's true!

Source: my ass too!