A few weeks ago I wrote the first article in a new series called The Key To Captivating.

It was about interesting and often unknown facts that will make you a more captivating conversationalist.

Remember Birds and Bones?

Birds

What type of bird can fly backwards and even upside down?  The hummingbird. 

What special wing characteristic allows for this aerobatic flight?  180 degree ball and socket joints.  

How far can the hummingbird fly nonstop during migration?  500 miles.

Bones

Which two body parts contain over half the bones in our body?  Hands and feet.

How many bones do we have in our adult body?  206.

How many bones do babies have at birth?  270.

How do we lose 64 bones by adulthood? They fuse as we grow.

Newborns don’t have kneecaps 

That was a recap on Birds and Bones. Now let’s talk about babies.

Did you know that newborns don’t have kneecaps?

Why? If they did it could cause injuries during delivery. 

That’s why kneecaps start as soft cartilage. 

Between the ages of 2 and 6, the cartilage ossifies (turns into bone). 

Infants won’t shed a tear

While most come out wailing, they won’t turn on the waterworks until a few weeks after birth. That’s when the glands become developed. 

Babies are buff

Babies instinctively grasp whatever touches their palms with surprising grip strength. 

This “palmar grasp reflex” is strong enough to hold a baby’s entire body weight. 

Could you hang from a pull-up bar one handed? A baby could. 

Here come the humans

Homo sapiens (that’s us) have been around for about 200,000 years. Since that time, it’s estimated that 108 billion of us have existed. 

Human population hit 1 billion in 1804. Today earth is home to 7.8 billion people…a staggering increase in just over 200 years. 

You can actually watch the number go up in real time at a site called WorldOMeter.

According to the yearly markers below, we’re multiplying at warp speed:

1804 – 1 billion

1927 – 2 billion

1960 – 3 billion

1974 – 4 billion

1987 – 5 billion

1999 – 6 billion

2012 – 7 billion

2027 – 8 billion

2046 – 9 billion

Of the 7.8 billion people living today, youngsters outnumber oldies – 52% are under the age of 30.

Fuel for fascinating

I believe the more interesting you are, the more entertaining you can be. The more entertaining you become, the more people will enjoy being with you. 

Robin Williams was one of the most captivating entertainers of our time. He once said:

“What drives me to perform is the need for that primal connection. When I was little, my mother was funny with me, and I started to be charming and funny for her, and I learned that by being entertaining, you make a connection with another person.”

Four more

4 babies are born every second. 

That equates to about 140 million newborns a year. 

One theory is that world population will stabilize at 11 billion by 2150 since fertility rates have steadily declined since 1960. 

Another theory is that fertility rates will trend up again in the decades to come, which could exponentially increase global population to a projected 250 billion by 2150!

Stay at home orders and legalized marijuana. 

If those both happen, we could well see babies by the billions.