Medexigence

15/06/2026

15/06/2026

Ongelukkig kom winter soms met meer as nét koue. ’n Gevriesde of gebarste pyp kan groot skade beteken - veral as niemand tuis is nie.

Doen die nodige en maak seker jou huis bly veilig hierdie winter!

03/06/2026

Movie deaths that are scientifically impossible - Nr 2
Being eaten alive by piranhas

Piranhas are mean little creatures with very sharp teeth, but the idea that they can kill a human by attacking and eating their body in record time is another Hollywood myth. While piranhas can eat human flesh, records of attacks often show that a piranha will only bite once, and it does so because it feels threatened, not to feast. So, they are nowhere near as vicious or persistent as movies have us believe. In fact, piranhas are more likely to flee in the presence of a human than to attack it. So, piranhas eating a person to the bone is pretty much a myth.

02/06/2026

Movie deaths that are scientifically impossible

Quicksand gets a bad rep in movies. This is not to say it’s not dangerous, but the idea that you can get sucked under the surface and die by quicksand is only a reality in Hollywood. Because of the density of quicksand, you will sink in, but only to a certain extent. The water in it will eventually settle, and you will stop sinking. So, while one might not die swallowed by quicksand, it’s very much possible to become stuck and eventually die of hypothermia, dehydration, and starvation.

01/06/2026

NR 10
Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis

Cracking your joints isn’t going to increase your risk of suffering from arthritis. The noise we hear is created by the popping of bubbles in your synovial fluid, a substance found in your joints that, among other things, reduces friction between the bones.

31/05/2026

NR 9
Green mucus is a sign of infection

Of course, green-looking mucus would seem to signify a more serious illness then yellow or clear mucus. In fact, the colour of your mucus mainly depends on the number of immune-system cells involved in fighting infection and not the severity of your condition. Someone battling a simple cold might, therefore, have green mucus.

30/05/2026

NR 8
You lose 80% of your body heat through your head

“Put on a hat or you’ll lose all your body heat!” We all heard this as children. However, it is actually scientifically impossible to lose 80% of our body heat through our heads. We lose heat through our heads when we go outside in the cold simply because the rest of our body is covered in clothing. The same thing would be true if we went out in winter without shoes and socks.

29/05/2026

NR 7
If you swallow gum it will stay in your stomach for 7 years

We all swallowed gum at some point as kids, after which we were told that it would stay in our bodies for 7 years. For many of us, this was enough to put us off ever swallowing gum again. After all, who wants to have a piece of gum stuck to the inside of their stomach for seven years? In fact, although it does take a bit longer to make its way through our digestive system, gum is expelled pretty quickly. The only reason it might remain stuck in the digestive tract is if it is swallowed along with a foreign body, such as a coin or sunflower seeds.