Bodily Feats are extraordinary human phenomena or achievements. Topics include firewalking, supernumerary body parts, and unusual facts about the human body.
Sword swallowing is an extremely dangerous trick that doesn't involve illusions. How can it be real? We'll show you -- with explanations and diagrams of the interactions between swords and the upper GI tract. But don't try this at home! See more »
Some call it body piercing. Some call it acupuncture. Some call it absurd. But could a piercing help you lose weight?
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How can an ordinary person lift a 3,500-pound car? Find out what gives people strength in times of emergency.
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Unfortunately for him, Humpty Dumpty was not blessed with the human skeletal system. Why can your skeleton do what all the king's horses and all the king's men can't?
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Fire breathing is one of the most dangerous performance arts out there. To get an inside look at how fire breathing works, HowStuffWorks interviewed two fire breathers, including Mike Garner -- a juggler and vaudevillian performer who started breathing fire in 1993.
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Ever seen anyone putting on a show of walking barefoot across a bed of hot coals. Are they for real, or is it a trick? They are, in fact, walking barefoot on red-hot, glowing coals. Find out how it's done.
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Sword swallowing is an extremely dangerous trick that doesn't involve illusions. How can it be real? We'll show you -- with explanations and diagrams of the interactions between swords and the upper GI tract. But don't try this at home!
See more »
The human blockhead act involves a performer hammering a nail into their nostril. Learn about the human blockhead and how the human blockhead avoids injury.
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About 65 percent of Americans are either obese or overweight, and the CDC has classified obesity as an epidemic, yet recent studies have shown that obese people with chronic diseases have a better chance of survival than normal-weight individuals do. What gives?
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What if you were the only person in the world with a disease, and scientists used your name to classify it? How would doctors know what was wrong?
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Exoskeletons normally cover insects, not humans. Why would a human ever want one? Is the possibility of an exoskeleton for humans just around the corner?
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In the movie "WaterWorld," Kevin Costner's character has a mutation that gives him gills behind the ears. Could a mutation allow people to swim in the water just like fish --without having to use any sort of scuba equipment?
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Try saying "toy boat" three times fast. By the time you're done, the words will be all distorted. It's a classic tongue twister, but is it your tongue or your brain that's really tangled up?
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Next time you're bored at work, remember you could be doing a job that is life-threatening. Learn about the 10 most dangerous jobs in America, including being a logger, roofer, or farmer.
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Our list of 16 unusual facts about the human body will both shock and enlighten. Did you know that everyone has a unique tongue print or that we shed skin cells the same way a dog sheds hair?
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In circuses, sideshows and other venues, lying on a bed of nails is an expression of a performer's stamina, bravery and imperviousness to pain. In reality, it's a matter of pressure transference and has been practiced for years around the world.
See more »Extra body parts can occur more often than people might think. Doctors call the extra appendages "supernumerary" body parts and these can be found on some famous people in history. Find out more about 13 people who were born with an extra body part.
See more »A magician or street performer walking barefooted across broken glass is a dramatic spectacle. Find out how people can walk across glass without hurting themselves.
See more »People expel gas by either burping or flatulating. Although it's an embarrassing thing to have happen, it's also a necessity. But what would happen if you just couldn't pass the gas?
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