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THE HEADLINER |
| Heritage Christian High School | Friday, March 12, 2004 |
| It
All Makes Sense Did you know that we have a pair of built-in windshield wipers? Have you heard about the little hairs that are present on our tongues? Is it news to you that when we smell an object we are actually taking in dissolved molecules of the substance we are smelling? I’ll bet you didn’t know that the bigger your ears are, the better! Smelling, a.k.a., olfaction, is an in-depth procedure. Little olfactory organs in the nasal cavity make it all happen. Olfactory glands produce a continuous stream of mucus. It may sound gross, but this mucus is necessary for our sense of smell. The mucus keeps our noses moist and helps remove dust and debris from entering our respiratory systems. Also, molecules from the substance we wish to smell dissolve in mucus. When these odorants, or dissolved molecules, bind to receptors in the nose, an impulse is created and sent to the brain, thus initiating our sense of smell. Taste, or gustation, is quite complicated as well. We have around 10,000 different taste buds that detect sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastes. Two other tastes that aren’t as familiar are umami (in oriental cooking) and the water taste. “Taste hairs” on our tongue are present on our taste receptors. I’ve never imagined my tongue to be hairy! Vision isn’t simple either, but it is extremely amazing! Our eyelids act as windshield wipers, swishing away debris and dust, keeping our eyes moist and protecting our eyes from damage. Eyebrows also aid in our sight; they prevent sweat from running down our foreheads and entering our eyes. Contrary to fashion trends, bushier brows might be better! Tears are also vital for vision. They keep the eye from drying out, wash away debris, reduce the friction caused by blinking, and deliver important nutrients and oxygen. Sometimes crying is a good thing! Hearing is complex too. Sound waves that are funneled into our ears by our earlobes, or auricles, move throughout the external auditory canal until reaching the tympanic membrane. This membrane, commonly known as the eardrum, vibrates and allows us to hear sound vibrations. If something is hard to hear, try cupping your ears with your hand. That increases the surface area of the earlobe and funnels in more sound waves! The sense of touch includes many divisions: pain, temperature, pressure, position, and vibration. These aid in the protection of our bodies. We can adapt to different temperatures, realize our position in the environment, and find ways to reduce or remove our pain. Our senses
are definitely not things to be taken lightly. They are complex
and very important for the health of our bodies and for our enjoyment.
Next time you sniff a rose, lick an ice-cream cone, or shed a tear,
just remember how amazing our God-given senses really are! Make
‘sense’? |
Pointillism
Paintings When one enters Mr. Medema’s room after lunch, he or she might hear the distinct sound of tapping. If one would listen closer he or she would realize that obviously more than one person is making that tapping. Are all the students in the room tapping their pencils in boredom? In anxiety? In excitement? What is that tapping?! For the past two weeks the juniors and seniors in art class have been doing pointillism paintings. Pointillism is a style of painting made entirely of dots, both small and large. In order to make those dots the art students have been using Q-tips that they dip in paint and then go on to make dots of a certain color in a certain order. The students have made pictures of flowers, trees, fruit bowls, fruit, and even people. Each picture is unique due to the size of the dots, the mixing of the colors, and the size of the object itself. All of the pictures are turning out very well, and most of the art students are pleased with their work. As the year goes on each student looks forward to working on new and exciting projects.
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