Anyone who hangs out here at More Cowbell knows that I’m kind of a “dude.” I don’t know if it’s because I was influenced by my big brother (the Bag Whore) or if it’s just because my mama was kind of a tomboy.
But I dig males. I find them fun and fascinating, and refreshingly straightforward. In honor of all my man pals, today’s #AtoZChallenge post is 13 random Man Facts.
(I will confess that I deleted most of the negative facts on murder, suicide rates, etc. It’s Monday…we like happy facts!)
- The brains of adult men are about 10% larger in total size than the brains of women. Because men generally have a larger stature and more muscle mass than women, their brains require more neurons to control the body.
- Scientists have further discovered than men’s and women’s brains actually function somewhat differently. When focused on a task, men tend to use only one side of their brain at a time, devoting all of their attention and concentration to the task at hand. Women, on the other hand, tend to use both sides of the brain at the same time, making them more adept at “multi-tasking.”
- The “Adam’s apple,” or laryngeal prominence in the neck, is a feature primarily unique to adult men and is a result of the growth of the larynx during puberty. The term is derived from the Biblical account of Adam eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
- For approximately the first six weeks after conception, all human embryos develop as a default female child, primarily taking genetic information from the mother’s DNA. After the sixth week of development, if the embryo is male, the SRY gene on the Y chromosome will begin to produce androgens, primarily testosterone, that encourage the development of male characteristics and inhibit the further development of female characteristics.
- Here’s one the guys will like: In terms of absolute size and in proportion to overall body mass, the human penis is longer and thicker than that of any other primate.
- In most cultures throughout the world, boys historically experienced a rite of passage that marked their transition into the lives of adult men. Examples of traditional rites of passage include the Bar Mitzvah in Judaism, the “vision quest” in many American Indian tribes, and circumcision rites in many African cultures. (Holy crap! They do that to teens?? Ouch!)
- Teenage boys are four times more likely than girls to drop out of school and represent more than 75% of the children referred to special education in the U.S.
- While men currently represent an even 50% of the U.S. workforce, they account for 94% of all on-the-job fatalities. (Wowzers.)
- Prior to the 1900s, male nurses were far more common than female nurses in nearly every country in the world. In current times, men now make up only 5.4% of registered nurses in the U.S. and only 13% of new nursing students in the now-female-dominated field.
- The average adult male has about 50% more muscle mass and 50% less body fat than the average adult female. (This explains why hubby is kicking my a$$ on the Crossfit weight loss.)
- The word “dad” entered the English language in the sixteenth century and is believed to have originated from the Welsh word tad, meaning father. The word “father” comes from the Old English term faeder and was first used in the 1500s.
- According to a 2008 estimate, there are approximately 140,000 stay-at-home fathers in the U.S. who are the primary caretakers for their children while their wives work outside the home. (Awesome!!)
- The first Father’s Day celebration in the U.S. was held on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington, and was conceived of by Sondra Dodd. After listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, Dodd wished to have a day of recognition for her father as well. (Love this!) Father’s Day became a nationally celebrated holiday in 1972 when the third Sunday in June was designated by public law as a day of recognition for fathers.
Look how fascinating you men are! If you need more, these facts came from RandomHistory.com and here’s the full list.
What facts about men did I miss ? Which of the above is your favorite? Who is the most interesting man you know? Who was the most pivotal man in your life? Enquiring mind always want to know these things here at More Cowbell!
Jenny
Facts! About men! Great way to start my Monday. 😀 Fave fact would be #4, in regards to the embryo. That kind of information always gets my mind going about how the human body develops and works. Fascinating stuff. 🙂
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I know…I love that fact too, Ellen. My husband knew all of the biological facts already, which was kind of a trip to me. But men are just FASCINATING.
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This is refreshing–most attempts to “celebrate men” come out (to me) as something between very ill-conceived and horribly sexist comparisons to what the author perceives as deficiencies in women. Not that I thought there was any chance that would happen here, just nice to confirm that there’s another way to do it. 🙂
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Nope, you won’t get sexist stuff here. Potty humor? Yes. Laughing at both sexes? Of course. But, I just really love men as human beings. 🙂
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A missing fact:
All men know the best time to expel gas or fart is right before their significant other is getting under the covers.
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And the second best time is in the car with the windows rolled up.
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Your husband is evil, Juli. Evil!!!
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That game is called “turtle boxing.” As in, whoever pushes their head out of the covers first is the Box Turtle. And all I can say is THANK GOD my husband doesn’t play any sort of fart games!!!
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What, you never experienced the “Dutch Oven” before? LOL!
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*snort*
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Interesting facts for us Ms. Hansen. I liked the ones about Father’s Day and the growing number of stay at home dads! My brother was a stay at home dad for awhile and I was really proud of him. My niece and nephew are great kids!
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I know, isn’t it nifty that so many men are getting to embrace fatherhood in such an up close and personal manner these days? It’s one of the only up sides I’ve seen to this economic downturn. There’s nothing like a great dad. 🙂
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I bet guys are really into fun fact #5!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hell yes! I have heard that myseld many times! 🙂
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Susie, fact #5 shocked me! I had no idea. 🙂
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Hi Jenny, #4 hit me. If grown men retained some of that we wouldn’t have the recent spate of crimes against young women, #5 I didn’t get the memo.
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LOL on #5 Tom. *giggling*
I think some of the current crimes against young women have everything to do with both parenting and the current economic hardship. It’s also dreadful that today’s teens never get “away” due to social media and cell phones.
I agree that it’s tragic, especially to see some of the young girls that feel so hopeless they take their own lives.
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Nice list here and a cool way of celebrating us guys a bit without totally embarrassing us. As for #5, well, I have been told that before!
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You’re welcome, Phil. Obviously, I adore the men in my life. 🙂
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Women blink twice as often as men. Why? Maybe because men like to really stare at women, or perhaps because women are responding to that number #5. You know I really enjoyed #11–love that etymology!
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Julie, I specifically left #11 in for YOU. 🙂 And I had no idea that women blinked twice as much. That explains why i always lost those staring contests with my brother!
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Plus, I bet he played dirty, that bag whore. 😉
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You know he did, Julie!
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Wow, Jenny, lots of cool facts here! I’m especially amazed that there wasn’t an official father’s day until after I was born! I thought I gave him a crappy tie EVERY year of my existence! Or maybe it was a crappy lopsided homemade pottery bowl, LOL. 😉
Thanks for the cool post!
Kathy
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LOL, Kathy. What is it with socks and ties for our dads? Really, all they want is a round of golf or some cool gadget. Perhaps a cute picture…. If it makes you feel better, it became an observed holiday after I was born too. 🙂
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Men have speech centers in the left hemisphere of the brain. Women have speech centers in both hemispheres and have a significantly higher proportion of the brain devoted to speech. Girls talk earlier and make fewer errors in speech than men (generally). Girls also develop fine motor coordination earlier than boys. The corpus collosum that connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain is more developed in women making them more adept at multitasking. Conversely men can focus on spatial relationships better than women and have (generally) an easier time driving through a narrow space than women. Note the best men and women at doing these tasks are essentially equal but the overall distribution of these traits goes along gender lines.
Women also see significant improvements in intelligence, in certain areas, after having children. It’s not understood why., It probably is another adaptation to help women keep their offspring alive.
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I really need some sleep so I decided to wrestle my inner smartass to the ground, slap my hand over her mouth and just say…fun article, Jenny! 🙂
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Given that #4 was very techie Jenny, it could have arrived on Tuesday and I would only be one day late instead of two. lol. But I did find that interesting. A default female embryo from the mother’s DNA. Who knew? Ah men. Gotta love them! Fun facts girl. 🙂
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