Our brain uses roughly 20 watts of energy, which is more than enough energy for human brains to light bulbs, among other things.

A human brain accounts for about two percent of a person’s body weight, while elephants’ and sperm whales’ brains are just 0.2 percent of their massive bodies. So, pound for pound, we’re brainier.

A mouse’s brain-to-body weight ratio is two percent, nearly identical to that of humans. Some birds’ ratio is eight percent and ants can be up to 15 percent brain by weight.

Signals can move through our brain at up to 268 miles per hour (431 kph). That rivals wind gusts in an EF-5 tornado, or the regular service speed of the Transrapid maglev train in Shanghai. No wonder it’s so easy to lose a train of thought!

You also have a ‘second brain’ in your gut, formally known as the enteric nervous system, that holds surprisingly large numbers of neurons. Ranging from the esophagus to the intestines, its neuron population can reach up to 600 million.

The tiny brain region has a gigantic job, monitoring your body’s various needs like a thermostat and using hormones to trigger responses. About the size of an almond, it regulates an array of things like hunger, thirst and mood.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 8th, 2018