Gestures are a crucial and irreplaceable part of how we communicate with each other, whether it’s serious conversations that have to be ended with the “talk to the hand” sign or casual occasions like asking the waiter how much the drink costs in a crowded bar. It’s not just a substitute for the spoken word, either. In many cases, gestures help get the point across much more effectively than any string of words ever could.

As any traveler will tell you, though, gestures aren’t universal even if you think they are. In many countries, signs that you may have grown up with may mean something completely—and bafflingly—different elsewhere. These are some of the most confusing gestures that you either never knew existed or know to mean something completely opposite of what they do in these places.

10 Shaking Hands Over A Threshold

We understand that shaking hands isn’t a globally recognized form of greeting like it is in most of the Western world. Many countries do it differently, like folding your hands and doing the namaste in India or bowing to each other in Japan.

Even in those countries, however, handshakes aren’t considered to be offensive or inauspicious. They just think that their way of greeting is better than the handshake, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

In Russia, though, shaking hands over a threshold (for example, while entering the house) is considered to be incredibly bad luck as the threshold is where the ghost of the house is believed to reside. While that’s also something we have no problems with, it does raise the important question of why the spirit of the house is choosing to stay in such a cramped space in the first place.

Nevertheless, when you’re in Russia, always wait to step inside a house to offer the handshake.^[1]

9 Toasting

One of the best parts of traveling around the world is exploring the drinking cultures of various countries, something you’d never be able to do just sitting at your local bar. The first thing you’d notice is how different places do toasts.

While some countries don’t toast at all and just get busy drinking as soon as the drink is poured, other places like to do it with the classic “cheers” to give the whole thing a communal vibe. Not in Hungary, though. There, saying “cheers” and banging your beer glasses together brings back some horrific memories from the country’s past, which is a strict no-no.

You see, back when Hungary was under the Austrian Empire and tried to revolt, the rebellion was brutally crushed by the empire’s forces. To celebrate the victory, the Austrians did the whole cheers routine right before executing captured Hungarian leaders.

This lingers in the psyche of the nation to this day. They even outright banned the practice for 150 years. Even when the ban was lifted, the Hungarians just never took to the practice like other parts of the world.^[2]

8 Patting On The Head

Patting on the head is usually reserved for rewarding a kid for an accomplishment that isn’t good enough for an actual physical gift or in postcoital situations where cuddling after the act isn’t a desirable option. It definitely doesn’t carry any negative connotation, even though it doesn’t fit most situations other than those specific ones.

That’s not true for many parts of Asia, though, where it’s considered extremely rude to even touch the head, let alone outright pat it.

In many Asian countries, the head is considered to be the most important part of the body. Touching it in any way is strictly off-limits without proper consent. It’s mainly restricted to countries with large Buddhist populations like China and Thailand, though we’d suggest just not doing it in any Asian country to be on the safe side of things.^[3]

7 Devil’s Horns

If you’ve ever been to a rock concert, you’re familiar with the devil’s horns. Made by keeping the index and the little finger upright with the two middle fingers held down with the thumb, this is a universally accepted gesture for calling something “metal,” so to speak.

Originally made popular by Ronnie James Dio, once a vocalist for Black Sabbath, the gesture is generally understood to carry a positive tone, though not in Italy.

Making the devil’s horns in Italy means something completely different and can land you in a verbal argument at best and a full-blown bar brawl at worst. It simply depends on whom you point it toward and how drunk the person is. In Italy, devil’s horns imply that a man’s wife is unfaithful, though more as an insult to him than his wife.^[4]

6 Shake And Nod

If you’re the adventurous kind and regularly find yourself in places with a completely different language and culture, you know that it’s not easy. Other than being ripped off all the time for basic day-to-day commodities, navigation can be a problem, too, as you never know where to go next the whole time you’re there.

Despite the language barrier, there’s one form of communication you can count on to work across the world—nodding your head for “yes” and shaking it for “no.” Universally understood, it’s one of the things that everyone in the world shares no matter where they’re from. Well, except in the Balkans, where it means the complete opposite.

In countries like Albania and Bulgaria, the shake is used to say “yes” and the nod means “no.”^[5]

5 The OK Sign

The OK sign—made by forming an “O” with your index finger and thumb and a “K” with the other three fingers—is another gesture that’s universally recognized. While the intensity of its meaning may vary from place to place, it’s generally taken to mean that everything is okay (as its name suggests).

It’s also an important communication tool if you’re learning how to dive. It usually signals from far away that all the equipment is working as intended.

However, none of this extends to Brazil as well as many other Latin American countries. In those places, the A-OK sign means “screw you,” to put it politely. When Richard Nixon landed in Brazil in the 1950s and made the sign with both hands, the reactions he got from the crowd were exactly what you’d expect them to be.^[6]

4 Thumbs Up

Closing your fingers in a fist with the thumb sticking out is a common gesture to indicate that you’re perfectly fine with whatever you’re pointing toward. It may sound like a strictly American thing. But if you travel around, you’ll know that it’s also intuitively understood in other parts of the world without an explanation.

In Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, however, the classic thumbs up carries a more negative connotation. In essence, pointing it at someone suggests that you’re asking them to shove it up theirs, as the advancing US soldiers experienced firsthand from the crowd during the Iraq War.

In Roman history, the thumbs up was used by the generals to signal “kill them.” We’re not entirely sure why or when it started being seen as the positive gesture that it is today.^[7]

3 Shaking Head At An Angle

As we mentioned above, nodding and shaking your head to indicate approval or disapproval, respectively, is understood around the world except in the Balkans. It’s one of the few things that is common among humans, and you can count on it to get you around if you’re in a foreign country.

If you go to India, though, you’d come across an additional gesture that’s somewhere between a nod and a shake. If you see it but don’t know how it works, it can be a bit confusing as anyone doing a half-nod-half-shake by tilting the head from side to side is supposed to be. While it’s highly contextual and can even convey sarcasm, it generally indicates a less enthusiastic agreement than an all-out nod.^[8]

2 Three-Finger Salute

Depending on what type of a gig you’re attending, raising a certain number of fingers in the air and grooving is considered to be perfectly normal behavior almost everywhere in the world. Of course, it becomes a bit murkier outside concerts.

For example, doing it with two fingers in the wrong circumstances (like when the other person is drunk and angry) can be taken to mean mimicking a gunshot and could lead to a brawl. However, doing it with three fingers is just a harmless reference to The Hunger Games except when you’re in Thailand. There, it’s outlawed.

Possibly taken from the movie and possibly chosen because of how cool it looks, quite a few people in Thailand had taken to doing the three-finger salute to protest the military rule, which ticked off the government enough to make it illegal.

So unless you’re planning to make a particularly strong political stand the first time you visit Thailand and go to jail for it, we’d recommend staying away from The Hunger Games salute when you’re there.^[9]

1 Cutis

If you don’t know what the Cutis sign is, just make a fist, put your thumbnail under your front teeth, and flick. It sounds like a random thing you can do with your hands at best and a fairly bad attempt at amusing a child at worst. However, if you’re in India or Pakistan, this gesture carries a specific and offensive meaning.

Essentially, the sign is a nonverbal way to say “screw you” in the Indian subcontinent. It can also involve keeping your fingers outstretched instead of curling them into a fist. It’s not widely recognized across the country and would possibly only work in the northern parts. Even so, we’d advise against doing it wherever you are in the region just to be safe.^[10]

You can check out Himanshu’s stuff at Cracked and Screen Rant, get in touch with him for writing gigs here, or just say hello to him on Twitter.

We all admire and respect medical experts for their knowledge and ability to help us overcome various sicknesses and diseases. We forget, however, that doctors are only human and as capable of mistakes as the rest of us. This was especially true in the past, when the diseases that afflicted the human race led doctors and medical experts to some truly bizarre theories and explanations.

10Spread Of Diseases Caused By Night Air

In the Middle Ages, the theory of miasma was born. According to this theory, “bad air,” which emanated from decaying organic matter, caused diseases such as cholera, Chlamydia and the Black Death. It seemed to worsen around swamps and during the night. Thus most people avoided the night air by going indoors and keeping their windows tightly shut.

When John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, two prominent American figures, were traveling together in 1776, they were forced to share a room in a crowded inn. Adams later noted in his autobiography that “the window was open and I, who was an invalid and afraid of the Air in the night (blowing upon me) shut it close.” However, Franklin objected and convinced Adams to reopen the window. The fact that a highly educated man like Adams, who later went on to become president, believed that nighttime air was noxious, shows us that the miasma theory was widespread and not solely limited to the poorer, uneducated classes. Indeed, doctors and other highly educated men supported the miasma theory for over a century.

Though the reasoning was flawed, closed windows did have some good health effects. Closed windows helped the prevention of malaria or the poison which produces autumnal fever and the exclusion of moisture, which often chills the body.

In the second half of the 19th century, the miasma theory was replaced by the germ theory.

9Epilepsy Caused By Divine Visitation

The early Greeks thought that epilepsy (a word which originated from the Greek verb epilambaneim, meaning “to seize, possess, or afflict”) was caused by “divine” visitation. Epilepsy was also known as a “sacred disease,” and it went by more than just one name. Some other names for epilepsy in Ancient Greece were “seliniasmos,” “Herculian disease” (because it affected the demigod Hercules), and “demonism.”

Epilepsy was considered to be a miasma—pollution or noxious form of “bad air”—that was cast upon the human soul. Thus epilepsy was regarded as divine punishment for sinners and was connected with Selene, the goddess of the Moon, since it was believed that those who offended her were afflicted with the disease.

The Ancient Greeks attributed the disease to different deities depending on the different symptoms that occurred during an epileptic fit. Thus, if the fit included teeth gnashing, epilepsy was ascribed to the goddess Cybele (goddess of nature). If the victim of epilepsy screamed like a horse, the disease was ascribed to the god Poseidon (god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses). The cure for epilepsy included a process of ritual purification as well as well as the recital of healing chants.

8Leprosy Caused By Divine Retribution

In the Middle Ages, leprosy was thought to have been caused by divine retribution. Victims of leprosy were believed to be suffering from the disease as a result of their wickedness and personal sin. This explanation for the disease was especially popularized by several biblical accounts, in which leprosy is sent to sinners as a divine punishment. Leprosy was seen both as a disease of the body and a disease of the soul. Thus, lepers were seen as a threat to society not only because of their physical condition but also because of their moral decay which the morally upright were terrified of catching.

As a result, lepers were treated horribly during the Middle Ages—they were shunned by society, were often forced to wear bells to warn people of their approach, and sometimes had to attend their own funeral mass during which they were declared officially dead to the community.

7Colds Caused By Waste Matter

The ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates is often considered as the father of medicine. He was the first person to dispel the myth that diseases were caused by angry gods and insisted that illnesses were caused by nothing more but outside factors on Earth. In fact, his influence and teachings were so influential that in the past, physicians took a Hippocratic Oath, swearing to uphold specific ethical standards.

However, in a time when the most absurd explanations for diseases were born, Hippocrates was no exception and contributed some crazy theories of his own, such as his belief that colds were caused by waste matter buildup on the brain. According to Hippocrates, when this waste matter overflowed, it resulted in a runny nose. This is where the Greek word for the common cold, catarrh originated. In Greek, catarrh means “flow,” and the Greek word is in fact still used in English today.

6Mental Illness Caused By Witchcraft

In the Middle Ages, people who suffered from mental disorders were thought to be either under the curse of witches or wizards or possessed by the devil. The most common medieval treatment of mental illness was exorcism. During the Renaissance, burning the body and saving the captive soul was the preferred method of “treating” the mentally ill.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, all the tragedies of humanity fell on witches and diabolical possession. Women were condemned as witches far more frequently than men because it was widely believed that women were more likely to be afflicted by demonic possession due to their weaker and more imperfect nature. It was thought that a woman’s reproductive system was the proof of this, with the uterus being the source of evil. Supposedly, during their menstruation cycle, women were full of venom that contaminated them and gave them power to contaminate others.

It was also believed that through imagination one could produce physical changes in the body, and thus imagination was seen as another form of witchcraft. It was thought that the uterus received pathological images that could not be subdued. However the principal process of imagination originated in the spleen. Thus, because two organs—the uterus and the spleen—which could produce pathological images existed, women had two sources of evil and were more powerful than men, since men could only practice evil through their spleen.

5Hysteria Caused By A Wandering Womb

In Ancient Greece, women who suffered from any type of mental illness were considered to be victims of hysteria. And hysteria, according to the ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates, was caused by a wandering womb. According to the Ancient Greek physician Aretaeus, the womb could move upward and downward as well as left and right. So for example, if the womb moved up, it caused sluggishness, lack of strength, and vertigo. If the womb moved down, it caused a sense of choking as well as a loss of speech and sensibility. The womb moving downward could also cause a sudden, incredible death.

To cure a wandering womb, physicians applied pleasant scents, such as honey, to the vagina because the womb advanced toward them. Alternatively, the womb could also be driven away from the upper body to where it belonged through the application foul scents. Other prescriptions for a wandering womb included constantly chewing on cloves of garlic, hot and cold baths, consistent sex, as well as frequent pregnancy to keep the bored womb occupied and less likely to migrate around the female body.

4Porphyria Explained As Vampirism

Many myths surrounding vampirism emerged during the Middle Ages. However, it is now believed that a rare genetic disease called porphyria may have actually started the bizarre tales concerning “creatures of the night” and not just the easily excitable minds of Middle Age peasantry.

Scientific and medical knowledge was highly limited during the Middle Ages and thus the effects of porphyria could have easily been misconstrued as something of a supernatural nature. Patients with porphyria are extremely sensitive to sunlight and thus may rarely go outside. If they do dare wander outside, the Sun may cause terrible disfigurements to the patient’s hands, feet, or face. In worst case scenarios, their face may seem mutilated or distorted. Their noses, ears, or lips could recede or fall off, and excessive hair growth may occur, making them seem like a wolf or an animal (hence the werewolf myth, another popular tale during the Middle Ages).

Porphyria can also cause erythrodontia (the red discoloration of teeth) as well as receding gums that could have created the illusion of fangs. As for garlic (we all know those blood-suckers hate it), its consumption results in the worsening of porphyria symptoms and might actually inflict pain and cause the patient to become sick.

Today, porphyria is sometimes treated with the injection of a blood product called “heme.” Of course, treatment like that did not exist in the Middle Ages so if we get a little creative with our imaginations, victims might have been instinctively seeking heme by biting human victims and drinking their blood. Brothers and sisters could have unknowingly shared the defective gene that caused porphyria, so a victim of the disease biting their sibling for blood might have triggered an attack of the disease in the bitten sibling, creating a new “vampire” (hence the myth that a vampire’s bite resulted in the victim becoming a vampire as well).

3Ulcers Caused By Stress

William Brinton was one of the first few doctors to describe a stomach ulcer in 1857, but the lack of diagnostic tools made ulcer detection incredibly difficult. As well as that, no causative agent of ulcers could be found, and no single associated germ existed. Thus, doctors worldwide turned to the study of psychic and environmental factors to explain the appearance of ulcers. Eventually, it was agreed that poor diet, smoking, and stress caused high acid levels and so were the cause of ulcers. Doctors Arvey Rogers and Donna Hoel even wrote that “a peptic ulcer used to be a badge of success. Up-and-coming professionals were expected to earn one, and if they didn’t maybe they weren’t working and worrying hard enough.” The medical advice dispensed by doctors worldwide was to take antacids and modify your lifestyle.

However, patients with serious ulcer problems fell so ill that they had to have their stomachs removed and sometimes bled until they died. Shocked by all this atrocity, a physician named Barry Marshall and a pathologist named Robin Warren began working together in 1981, determined to get to the bottom of what really caused ulcers. Two years earlier, Warren discovered that the gut could be overrun by bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. Through biopsying ulcer patients and culturing organisms in the lab, Marshall traced ulcers (and stomach cancer) to this gut infection. The cure was antibiotics.

The world stayed skeptical until Marshall (who was unable to make his study with mice and who was not allowed to experiment on people) drank the Helicobacter pylori himself. Within days, he developed gastritis, the precursor to an ulcer. He felt sick and exhausted and started to vomit. Back in the lab, he biopsied his own gut, culturing the Helicobacter pylori and proving to the whole world that it was not stress but bacteria that was the cause of ulcers.

2Autism Caused By The Lack Of Maternal Warmth

The syndrome of autism was first identified by a child psychiatrist, Leo Kanner, in a 1943 paper. However, he went further than simply describing the schizophrenia-like features of children by focusing profoundly on their parents and their role in contributing to the syndrome.

Kanner had observed a small sampling of children from educated families and concluded that the parents of autistic children tended to be highly intelligent but at the same time coldhearted and formal. He claimed that autistic children were raised in isolation with no warmth emanating from their mothers or fathers. In fact, he went as far as to say that the parents of autistic children were “just happening to defrost enough to produce a child.” Kanner was not the only one to blame the parents. Numerous other psychoanalysts and child development specialists such as Bruno Bettelheim stressed the role of the parents in causing autism which gave rise to the “refrigerator mother” theory. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, “refrigerator mothers” (and fathers) not only had to deal with their autistic children but also had to bear the guilt of turning them autistic in the first place.

In early 1960s, however, the refrigerator theory came under fire as parents of autistic children began to fight back. Kanner eventually abandoned his original position, although other specialists such as Bruno Bettelheim continued to defend it. The bizarre refrigerator theory was mostly abandoned in the 1970s, but small numbers of its supporters are still scattered across Europe and places such as South Korea to this day.

1Birth Defects Caused By Maternal Impressions

According to the theory of maternal impressions, any fears, desires or strong emotions a woman experiences during her pregnancy months could have a significant effects on her child’s physical appearance. This theory was extremely popular in the 18th century and was often used to explain birth defects. Thus, if a child was born deaf, for example, this was the result of the mother having been shocked by a loud sound during her pregnancy. As a consequence, it was advised that pregnant women exposed themselves solely to pleasant stimulation and were advised to visit galleries and concerts to ensure that their child was cultured and healthy.

However, the theory of maternal impressions was not confined to the 18th century only and in fact goes back centuries. In ancient Greece, the Greek physician Galen believed that if a pregnant woman looked at an image of someone, her child could resemble that individual. So the practice of looking at statutes the mother admired was encouraged to produce attractive children.

It was also believed that a pregnant woman’s mental state not only caused vascular birthmarks but also influence their shape and location. Thus, if a woman craved or ate a lot of strawberries during her pregnancy, she could have a child who had a birthmark that resembled a strawberry.

The maternal impressions theory thrived through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the 18th century. It was eventually challenged by the physician and anatomist William Hunter in mid-18th century, but most people still believed that maternal impressions had an impact on infants and thus this rather bizarre theory continued right into the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, however, the maternal impressions theory was dismissed completely.

Laura is a student from Ireland in love with books, writing, coffee, and cats.

Ever heard a doctor use terms like “tracheotomy,” “dysphagia,” or “haematopoiesis” and thought, “What in the world does that even mean, and how did they remember it?” You aren’t alone. Even medical professionals themselves can struggle to learn these terms at first. However, once you understand how these words are made, learning them gets a whole lot easier.

Medical language is built almost entirely on affixes, additions to a word that gives it a specific meaning. For example, in regular language, you often hear “anti-,” which you probably know means “opposed to.” When a product comes out on the market called “antifreeze,” you go, “Hey! That must stop or prevent freezing.” These cues help us navigate the language, and it does the exact same thing in medicine.

10The Dreaded Captain ‘-Itis’

This fun-loving word means “inflammation.” Inflammation of course sounds like fire, and it also feels like fire because it kind of is. It is the process by which a part of your body swells, gets all red and puffy, and usually burns like you got on the wrong side of a hornet nest (in fact, that may be exactly what happened to you). This is due to your body sending tons of fluids with all manner of healing properties to the affected site, and as more fluids arrive, the pressure increases, the area swells, and things get all hot and bothered.

Now you know that if your general practitioner tacks “-itis” onto another word, you can discern that something is inflamed (which, in all honesty, you’d probably already know because it burns like an SOB). You most likely have heard “-itis” preceded by “bronch-” or “derma-,” which mean “bronchioles” (those branch-like tubes that stretch down into your lungs) and “skin” respectively. So if your skin is all red and swollen, it is dermatitis. If your coughing has irritated the bronchioles and it feels like your lungs are burning, it is bronchitis.

Here is the tricky business with “-itis”: While it may tell you that something is inflamed, it won’t tell you why or how it got that way. Bronchitis is a symptom, not a cause. It could be caused by anything. A cold might make you cough, which injures the bronchioles, which makes them inflamed—or maybe you are a heavy smoker and have done some damage—or maybe you are a maniac who drank bleach. “-Itis” tells you none of those things.

9From The Greek Word “Haima,” Meaning Blood

This one has a lot of variations like “hemat-,” “haemato-,” “haem-,” and “hem-,” which all refer to blood, and “hema-” and “hemo-,” which specifically mean “blood.” If you are an alien and are unaware, we humans are big on blood. We need it big time. So when a doctor says “hee-muh” or “hee-moh,” you know that something is up with your blood.

One “hema-” disorder to watch out for is hematemesis. This is when you vomit blood or there is some blood in your vomit. There are a multitude of reasons one could vomit blood, and the bad news is most of them are very dangerous. These include but are not limited to: bleeding ulcers (holes in your stomach), tumors in the stomach or esophagus, hemorraghic fever (your brain is bleeding due to an infection causing a fever), and my personal favorite: severe radiation exposure. Hematemesis is a sign of some very dangerous conditions, and if you’re thinking, “Hey! I just vomited blood this morning after eating some Frosted Flakes,” please stop reading this and go to the hospital.

8You Are What You Eat

Here is a fun one. “-Phagy” refers to the act of feeding upon whatever word precedes. This term is used widely in biology to describe the diets of many animals and insects. For example, coprophagy is a nasty habit that plagues fuzzy little rabbits and involves them eating their own feces.

Hopefully you recognize the prefix on “hematophagy.” Hematophagy is the act pf consuming blood, the pastime of some of our favorite novel, TV, and movie characters. In animal biology, this crops up with unfortunate frequency, from Desmodus rotundus the vampire bat, which laps up the blood of sleeping mammals after cutting them with razor sharp fangs, to the ire of every human ever, Culicidae. the mosquito.

7No Job? You Have An-Income

The prefix “a/an-” is one of those things that’s everywhere, but you never noticed it.

A good example of this is “anaerobic” and “aerobic,” which you’ve probably heard mentioned. This specifically relates to work done by cells that require oxygen. Aerobic processes require oxygen. Anaerobic exercises, which don’t require oxygen, are of a higher intensity and will lead you to fatigue more quickly. If your doctor prescribes some exercise of either type, you will know what he or she is talking about.

6Try A Junk Food-Ectomy

The suffix “-ectomy” is attached to what is being cut out of you. A common way you may have heard this is an appendectomy, which involves removing an appendix, usually due to appendicitis. “What’s appendicitis?” you ask. Really, you forgot already? Go back to the start of the article.

Another good example, and one that makes a man like me cringe, is a vasectomy. This procedure involves the clamping of a tube called the vas deferens that connects the testicles to the urethra and allows the passage of sperm. Once it’s clamped, it’s “goodbye, swimmers.” However, semen will continue to be produced and released during ejaculation. It is possible that trace sperm are still kicking it in the urethra after the procedure, so patients must still use contraceptives until there is no sperm detected in their urine.

Fun fact: The body still produces sperm despite the cutting of the vas deferens, but it is simply reabsorbed by the body. You can decide for yourself if that is cool or creepy.

5A Pumpkin Pie-Otomy Is My Favorite

Related to the “-ectomy” is the suffix “-otomy.” Instead of cutting out, an “-otomy”cuts into. A perfect example of this might be something you would see in a hospital soap opera. When someone has an allergic reaction and can’t breathe, the trachea (commonly referred to as the “windpipe”) would be cut open to clear the airway. This procedure is called a tracheotomy.

Another one you might have heard of is a gastrotomy. If you can figure out what is being cut into here, 10 points to Gryffindor! (Just kidding. If anyone is going to cut into your stomach it would be Ravenclaw; they seem to be the scientifically minded ones.) Note that a gastrostomy, however, is the insertion of a feeding tube through the abdomen, so mind the “s.”

4A Whole New Meaning For Cold-Hearted

“Cry(o)-” translates to “cold” in Greek and is used in procedures and for afflictions. One such example of this is a cryoablation, which involves destroying tissue for the benefit of the patient.

This is one I’ve actually experienced, when my super ventricular tachycardia was limiting my quality of life. For some background information, this is a condition in which the highest ventricular chamber of the heart produces an abnormally fast heart rate. (“Cardia” means heart and “tachy” means rapid—those are a couple bonus affixes for you.) To fix this, I went under for a procedure called a catheter ablation, in which a tiny tube with a camera is inserted into a major artery and reaches the heart. Once it’s there, the problem cells are destroyed with cold or heat (in my case, cold).

3Dys-Pepsi, The Discomfort In Drinking Pepsi

One word you are bound to hear in your life is “dyspepsia.” The prefix “dys” means anything bad, difficult, abnormal, or defective. The other half, “-pepsia,” means digestion. So this term ends up being used for a host of problems relating to digestive discomfort. This can encompass a range of problems like nausea, heartburn, indigestion, and upset stomach (though not diarrhea, which would complete Pepto-Bismol’s famous symptom list).

2This Is Bound To Be Epi-C

“Epi-” refers to something being on or upon. There are many examples of this and generally are involved in treatments. An epidural, for example, is often performed on women giving birth. It is an injection of painkillers through the lower back onto the nerves, which then become desensitized. These nerves carry signals from the uterus to the brain, and by deadening the nerves before they complete their path, voila, no pain.

Note that an epi-pen is not an example of this prefix as “epi” here refers to epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, a hormone produced naturally. In the case of an epinephrine injection, the hormone is concentrated.

1Just Drink Water

“Hepat-” and “hepatic-” mean “of or pertaining to the liver.” The study of the liver is hepatology, and the most famous medical term with this prefix is hepatitis.

Please tell me you remember what “-itis” means—oh good, you do. Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. Types A, B, and C are the most common of the infectious types and the ones everyone should be vaccinated for at some point in their life. Many causes of non-viral hepatitis have also been discovered, such as toxic hepatitis caused by chemicals and autoimmune hepatitis, in which the body’s immune system attacks the liver. There’s also my preferred method, alcoholic hepatitis, caused by overconsumption of alcohol. All of these can temporarily or permanently damage the liver, causing scarring labeled as cirrhosis. Other consequences can include liver cancer, liver failure, and of course no medical warning is complete without death.

Next time you see your friends, throw a few of these terms around. Then you can seem smart and sophisticated. Your secret’s safe with me. However, if you attempt to do this with your doctor, symptoms may include scorning, stink eye, and loss of physician.

My name is Rick Loxton. I am a 21-year-old small town guy with a penchant for writing and a bad habit of spending far too much time on the Internet. I can be reached socially on my twitter account @RG_Loxton. Thanks for your time.

Many of us have heard of cryptids; seen the internet posts and forums proclaiming their existence or simply joking about them, there have been highly produced television series and even a few scientific projects to explain the countless, ever-growing amount of sightings of these unproven and often strange myths of creatures, searching for an answer and an explanation that may have been there all along.

Many of these sightings of alleged beings that range from incredibly widespread to shockingly obscure have very real animals and stories behind them, ones inflated by exaggerations or simply outside circumstances that made them look more mythical than they actually are, scarier in the dark or simply coloured by the human imagination.

10 Real-Life Explanations For Famous Myths And Cryptids

10 Bigfoot – Bears

Bigfoot, sasquatch, yeti, many different names for one very similar being; a large, hairy primate with, yes, big feet and an allegedly elusive and intelligent nature, certainly one of the most famous – or infamous, depending on who you’re asking – cryptids ever, with possibly the most prominence in pop-culture or simply American culture itself, other than UFO-s.

Many sightings occur every single year, with many proven hoaxes and cases of misidentification but still a sense of true mystery when it comes to this proclaimed relative of ours. So, you may ask, what could be behind it? The answer, a lot of the time, is extremely simple; bears. Or, alternatively, bears with mange.

Mange, alongside other medical conditions that vastly alter an animal’s appearance are often the culprit of cryptid sightings and with a lot of bigfoot evidence turning out to be ones left by bears and multiple cases of sightings in which the caught “bigfoot” was actually a bear that lost parts of its fur and acted strangely due to mange, there hasn’t really been anything in the way of “real” evidence that suggests anything different.

Some people, however, still believe that bigfoot is out there, or, more specifically, that bigfoot-like sightings can be explained by remaining populations of Gigantopithecus, a large ape thought to be extinct that may still remain in select groups in certain parts of the world.^[1]

9 Chupacabra – Dog with mange

Another notorious cryptid, the Chupacabra, has been part of mainly Puerto Rican, Mexican, and general Mesoamerican folklore and legends, with a name that means “goat sucker” in Spanish, it’s gained more than a little attention and controversy over its many years of popularity.

The solution with this one, however, is even simpler and more provable than the one with bigfoot, yet it’s largely the same; mange. Yep, mange, dogs with mange, to be specific.

While there have been many stories of farmers losing goats to this creature, most sightings turn out to just be dogs or coyotes with a condition that causes them to look quite a bit like monsters – patchy, partially removed fur, strange appearance, increased activity at night due to skin sensitivity, and weight loss from decreased functionality arising from the condition make these poor animals seem a lot like monsters when you encounter one in the dark.^[2]

8 Jackalope – Rabbits, Shope papilloma virus

While not treated as seriously as some other beings of folklore, the jackalope has been around longer than most. A simple concept; a rabbit-like being with antlers is certainly a fairly simple concept to grasp, and one people out in fields may have seen plenty of times.

And really, they may have; as, again, an appearance-altering disease is the culprit.

Known as the Shope papilloma virus, or SPV, it sadly causes leporids, as in, rabbits and hares to grow keratinous, cancerous tumours on their outer body, sometimes resembling horns, small antlers, or even other strange, paranormal-seeming looks.

With the infection generally being more prominent in areas around the head, it’s no surprise that certain people have caught sight of rabbits with this condition and, not understanding the cause of it, attributed it to a different species or perhaps entirely different being entirely, however, the answer is a disappointing no, and jackalopes are sadly another sick animal.^[3]

7 Kraken – Giant Squid

Another extraordinarily old legend, the Kraken and other, similar beings, that is, massive squid- or octopus-like creatures that destroy ships and lurk in the depths have been subjects of tales almost as long as sailing has been around, and turns out, while the tales were coloured more than a bit, they were based on something entirely real and almost as incredible.

The Colossal squid is a lot like what the legends describe, a massive sea creature that, while doesn’t typically destroy ships, looks like it might as well be able to, and there have still been accounts of it doing just that, though they’re typically unverified.

These massive animals are estimated to be able to grow as large as 14 metres and weigh 700 kilograms, that’s 46 feet and 1,500 pounds, which makes the attributed tales quite unsurprising in hindsight.^[4]

6 Giant Spider – Both real and impossible

This one is a bit strange, admittedly, as the explanations of this one depend entirely on our definition of “giant”, as, in a sense, we already have giant spiders; the Goliath birdeater tarantulas and certain species of Huntsman spider may grow as large as 30 cm-s or 1 foot in legspan! Some would already say that’s absolutely massive!

If we want to go that beyond that, however, things aren’t looking too good – or, to any readers with arachnophobia, things actually look quite lovely, as it’s a simple scientific fact that spiders are limited in size, and our Goliath birdeaters and massive Huntsman spiders may be the largest spiders we ever see.

Spiders lack proper lungs and thus their size is tied largely to the oxygen content in the air, even the largest arachnids in prehistoric times that we’ve found haven’t grown to over a metre in length, and until they develop lungs or the oxygen in the air increases significantly, things are staying that way, so no, giant spiders, other than the very real ones we have on Earth, are not real.^[5]

10 Cryptids That Could Be Real

5 Mongolian death worm – Tartar sand boa

The Mongolian death worm has also had its fair share of controversy in recent history. A legendary creature that’s been part of Mongolian folklore for a long time, called “olgoi-khorkhoi”, meaning “large intestine worm” by the locals, it’s described as a gigantic red worm that inhabits the Gobi desert, travels underground, has a fearsome jaw, and the ability to spit venom or even create a powerful electric discharge, and, that upon touching it, you die instantly.

There have been multiple investigations to find this scary creature, with the successful findings of.. A snake! When presented to the locals who have seen the creature, they claimed it was the same one they’re seeing just now, when, in reality, it was nothing but a snake called the Tartar sand boa, Eryx miliaris, a large snake that certainly looks wormlike but is, in fact, just a snake that’s not red and possesses no supernatural abilities.^[6]

4 Mothman – Owl

Another American cultural icon, at least to some, the Mothman is perhaps even more ridiculous than the jackalope, yet it has a very strong culture behind it.

Considered by many to not even be a cryptid but rather an alien or supernatural being, as the name implies, it’s typically portrayed as the hybrid of a moth and a man, a large, winged, incest-like humanoid that’s described as an omen that either warns us of bad things to come or causes them himself, with alleged sightings at many horrible events, such as the tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant.

The reality, however, is that, aside from the ridiculous concept, some sightings have been very real, though also incredibly easy to explain. Barn owls are reasonably large, winged birds with mysterious appearances and eyes that could explain what people describe as the Mothman’s frightening, glowing eyes in the dark.

These birds love abandoned areas and while the sighting of a barn owl behind tragedies might be an omen by itself, the human mind certainly has a way of attributing neutral things to bad events in search of a reason behind tragedy.^[7]

3 Jersey Devil – Sandhill Crane

The Jersey Devil, as its name clearly suggests, is a devilish legendary creature said to inhabit New Jersey, the Pine Barrens of South Jersey specifically. Traditionally described as a bipedal creature with wings and a mammal-like head such as a horse’s or goat’s, often depicted with hooves, a tail, and tales of a horrible scream, the legend has seen many variations since its inception ranging all the way back to the early days of America as we know it today.

While the image is strange and frightening, the explanation again seems to be quite simple, as the Jersey Devil seems to be a tale made up by English settlers and, while the legend has persisted for over 250 years, there hasn’t been a single confirmed sighting and, even aside from the silly concept being a telling sign, we can pretty safely say that this is a hoax and many believe that the creature is based on the Sandhill crane, a large, tall, heavy-bodied bird with no supernatural aspects, though certainly amazing in its own right, with a breeding range that extends into New Jersey.^[8]

2 Mermaid – Manatee and Dugong

Mermaids are frequently thought of as beautiful, majestic creatures, half-fish, half-human beings, frequently though not always depicted as women, it’s no wonder they’ve been a popular figure in fantasy and pop-culture in recent decades, also gaining a decent amount of real-life traction due to an Animal Planet documentary that claimed to deal with the concept of real mermaids, but was promptly proven to be completely fake.

While extremely interesting, and certainly beautiful, majestic creatures in many folktales, though often terrifying in the case of sirens, evil creatures that lured sailors out, only to kill them, the reality is neither this dignified nor this terrifying, in fact, it’s rather close to being the opposite of both.

The reality of mermaid sightings is often chalked up to two animals, one more than the other; manatees and dugongs, large-bodied marine mammals, majestic in their own right but not anything close to the prospect of beautiful and perhaps evil fish-tailed women resting on rocks out at sea, these animals are vividly more real and perhaps comparatively disappointing.^[9]

1 Nessie – Eels, Greenland shark, and many more

Finishing the list with Nessie, also known as the Loch Ness Monster, potentially the most famous cryptid and mythical creature of all time, it’s easy to imagine that Nessie hasn’t managed to avoid plenty of potential and reasonable animal misidentifications, and yes, it really hasn’t.

Stated to be a long-necked marine animal, generally depicted as being extremely close to an extinct Plesiosaur in appearance, the creature is said to inhabit Loch Ness in Scotland, a large, deep loch that has sparked many people’s fantasies of an ancient creature that was only presumed to be extinct still lurking there, the reality, however, is again attributed to a simple animal; eels. Many experts think that sightings of Nessie may be explained simply by sightings of large eels, and with the way its famous pictures look and many sightings are described, they fit the description of a slender eel very well.

The Loch Ness Monster and its many sightings have also been seemingly correctly attributed time and time again to bird and boat wakes,, and even the idea of a slightly cryptid-like animal, the Greenland shark making its way to the lake. With many hoaxes and simple animal misidentification, Nessie, however amazing, is not looking very real after all.^[10]

Top 10 Cryptids You’ve Never Heard Of

A recent opinion poll suggested that as many as 45% of Americans believe in ghosts or spirits of some kind. Certainly, people have been telling each other ghost stories since the dawn of time. We seem to have a natural inclination to believe that there is a shadow world in which departed loved ones, repentant sinners, or those who have a message for us dwell.

Perhaps this belief simply shows that we need an explanation for everything. When we lived in small groups of vulnerable hunter-gatherers, a sound in the trees at night might mean danger. Something caused it. But what? The noise might be nothing important, or it might be a predator. For survival, it’s better to assume that it could be something dangerous. Add a dash of imagination, and it becomes easy to assume something paranormal exists.

Here are ten explanations for the “creepiest” ghost-hunting encounters we found on YouTube.

Related: Top 10 Ghost Towns Inside Or Near Famous Cities

10 Weird Worley

The hospital in Worley opened in 1928 and closed in the ’70s when it ran out of funds. In 2002, a woman named Carol Peet bought it intending to turn the building into a ministry center. She aimed to create a place where vulnerable individuals could learn life skills. For some reason, the project never came to fruition, but Peet spent a lot of time at the building and said she never saw anything strange.

In our video, the new owner, Chelsea, has a different opinion. Her contractor says that there are demons behind the walls. Notice that the investigator sees a shape on his thermal image camera. He calls the shape “a figure,” this is a little misleading as it’s not a figure—it’s simply a shape. Dust in the air, moved by a draft, has high emissivity and can show up on a thermal imager as the shape we see.

The rest of the video does beg some questions. Is anybody there?

9 Meowwww

In our next video, a ghost hunting expert visited the Ancient Ram Inn in Wotton, Gloucestershire, England. The house is spooky enough—in fact, it looks like a movie set for a film about a haunted house.

The investigators swap observations that have no objective value. One of them says that he hears a cat. Probably the best explanation for hearing a cat is that there is a cat. After all, if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then it’s probably a duck.

A serious investigation into the paranormal should have to meet higher standards than what is shown in the video. Unfortunately, many similar videos play on our imagination at the expense of rigorous research.

8 Mom, Are You Here?

Our next haunting has the house owner comforted that his deceased mother is still around and fulfilling her last promise to “always look over him.” After the investigation, the owner is no longer scared and deals with the fact of his mother’s presence calmly and with humor.

Naturally, we should want to believe that our departed loved ones are still with us in some way. But does this sentiment lead us to believe that they certainly are? The sound on the tape is not clear and is very brief. Could it be that the son is hearing what he wants to hear?

7 A Shocking Encounter

Land of mists and long winter nights, Scotland has a long history of paranormal phenomena. With typical good humor, our investigators here are using sophisticated equipment to track down Archie, the ghost.

One of the investigators reports that something (Archie?) touched him on the arm, a touch that he describes as being like an electric shock. Could this be simply a nervous reaction to the spooky surroundings? Or maybe wishful thinking?

Certainly, the building looks like an ideal candidate for a ghost haunting.

6 Hauntings x 3

One of the investigators here makes an interesting observation. He says that a place might be haunted, as we would expect, but also a person might be haunted or an object. You might have, he says, “a creepy teddy bear,” or I instantly think of dolls. Yikes.

The three possibilities have different qualities:

1. The Location: A ghost has a special attachment to a place. Once you leave the place, you leave the ghost behind.
2. The Person: A ghost uses a real person as a vehicle. Interestingly, a location can be haunted by good or bad spirits, but a person is usually haunted only by the bad.
3. The Item: An object must have had special significance for the departed. Though, it’s difficult to imagine how a ghost could haunt an inanimate object.

And how can we really know? Sometimes, people, places, and things are simply… people, places, and things.

5 Flicking Streetlights

In this piece, our guide takes us to a haunted town. One of the first events the guide films is a streetlight that flickers before it returns to normal. To be fair, the narrator immediately says that he doesn’t know whether this was paranormal. Probably not. It was simply a flickering streetlight.

This shows that people can be predisposed to interpret evidence as they wish to. It is a sort of confirmation bias where you give more credence to evidence that supports your view than to evidence that might contradict it. In other words, someone who believes in ghosts will readily believe that a flickering light is evidence of paranormal activity. The city maintenance department would be more likely to consider a faulty connection first.

4 Prisoner Ghosts

Well, if they’re looking for ghosts, any evidence is hidden by the fact that the investigators in this video spend a lot of time spoofing each other. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this, but it can obscure any serious purpose behind their investigation.

The Ohio State Penitentiary defiantly looks the part of hosting ghost hauntings. The word “creepy” often pops up in these videos, and here we find a building that deserves the term. One wonders why this penitentiary hasn’t been converted or demolished.

3 The Willow Weep House

“If it wasn’t evil, it wouldn’t be hurting people,” says the owner of Willows Weep, a house that some say is the most haunted place in America. Whoever built this unassuming house in 1890 constructed it in the shape of an inverted cross. Our narrator, William Shatner, signs off by asking, “Was Willows Weep really built to attract evil spirits?” and asks himself why anyone would want to do this. The answer he offers is that perhaps the idea was to entrap the visiting demons.

The house owner is convinced that there is something inside the place. She points to four suicides and three poisonings that have happened during its history and adds that she and her son had accidents while they were doing some renovation work. Hmm, accidents while renovating. I’ve never heard of that happening. *eye roll*

Without more evidence, we might be tempted to believe that this is a case of having expectations fulfilled. The owner’s comment, “If it wasn’t evil..” presupposes that there is an “it” there.

2 School Is in Session

For this investigation, why the investigative team included four ballerinas is a mystery to me. Their role seemed to be to look decorative and squeal whenever necessary. The rest of the team seems to prep the girls and lead them to expect that this old reformatory school must be haunted.

We’ll leave the ballerinas who don’t seem to add much ghost-hunting expertise alone. But everything else is here. A dark, abandoned place, the word “creepy,” and the essential EMF meter. Why an electro-magnetic field necessarily means that there are ghosts around is a mystery. But these meters seem sufficient for many to believe that paranormal activity exists. (On Amazon, you can buy a meter specifically advertised as a ghost-hunting device.)

The whole atmosphere the narrator creates leads the team to presuppose that there are phantoms in the school. His repetition that nothing is faked is no doubt truthful but irrelevant.

1 Hollywood Hotel Hauntings

I find this one a little difficult to explain away. We will have to assume that the hotel guests are acting in good faith and are not trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

To start, there are scientific explanations of how an ouija board works that rule out the occult (it’s called the ideomotor effect if you want to find out more). But I can’t find an easy explanation for the voice heard in the video. I suppose that even a cynic like myself will have to accept that some things are not easily explained away.

In most of the videos on our list, the viewer can explain most of the phenomena—you just have to watch them with a skeptical frame of mind. Most of these videos lead you to jump to a conclusion and believe what you are expected to believe.

This last video seems a little different; the setting is not “creepy”—it’s a well-lit, modern hotel room in Los Angeles, California. Yet, the history of the Roosevelt Hotel is sinister and full of haunting ghost stories. I’ll just wait for more definitive evidence, I guess.

Cats aren’t dogs; they’re not man’s best friend. But while it may seem like your cat is an a-hole, they’re an a-hole with excuses at least. From treating you like crap to torturing wildlife, here are 10 things your cat does explained.

10. Sleeping All Day

Cats sleep an obscene amount of time by human standards. After the 24-hour sleep of early kittenhood, the average cat will sleep 16 hours a day (until they get old, when they start sleeping more). Why are they so damn lazy? Because they don’t sleep as deep as us humans. 

Unlike us with our clearly defined cycles of rapid/non-rapid eye movement in sleep, culminating in deep REM sleep, cats nap in short periods of slow wave. In other words, they spend most of their time in the shallows of sleep, sleeping deeply for only five minute periods throughout the day. 

Of course, as crepuscular animals, they also have to sleep all day to be active at dawn and dusk. Another explanation, given they evolved in hot climates, is that cats sleep all day to regulate their body temperature.

9. Staring

Be it the world outside the window, the wall, or just into space, cats are big starers. It doesn’t help that their eyes are enormous in relation to their bodies, or that they blink at a fraction of the rate we do (twice per minute vs. our 15-20 times per minute). It’s an unnerving quality to have in a pet.

But cats’ vision differs from ours in ways that sheds light on this question. For one thing, they have a slightly wider field of vision (200 degrees vs our 180 degrees), and an ability to zone in on the tiniest movement. Meanwhile, their visual acuity isn’t as good as ours, meaning we can see more detail at a distance. 

Explanations vary for why cats stare so much. Maybe what to us looks like a wall is, to cats with their super hearing, a complex and stimulating soundboard of pipes, insects, and rodents. It could also have to do with hunting practice, for which patience and focus are key. Probably the least assholey reason, however, is love. Based on multiple studies, Japanese researchers concluded that cats only stare at humans they trust. They also found that, like dogs, cats can notice and follow your gaze.

8. Peeing Outside the Litter Box

There are some truly jerky reasons for peeing outside the litter box. Your cat may feel better smelling more of its urine, or maybe they don’t like the litter (kind of like you pooping on the floor because you don’t like the toilet paper). Alternatively, if you have more than one cat, maybe the one who doesn’t pee on the floor is the real asshole for aggressively hoarding the tray. But even these reasons have excuses. If your cat needs to smell more of its urine, for example, it’s probably a sign of anxiety. And if they don’t like the litter, maybe it just hurts their paws.

There could also be other, more serious explanations. These include urinary tract infections, kidney or thyroid diseases, diabetes, digestive problems, and age-related health problems. 

Or maybe you’re the jerk for not emptying the box enough?

7. Meowing Through the Night

If your cat’s meowing more than usual, it may be a sign of disease. But, in general, it’s their way of getting what they want—from you. Cats very rarely meow at each other. It’s another behavior reinforced by human responses, which we’re afraid means it’s your fault again. Say your cat meows and you feed it, for example; you’ve taught them that meowing gets food. Many of us condition our pets in this way without really giving it thought. 

Cats may even learn to associate different meows—different lengths, different pitches—with different rewards (food, attention, etc.). It’s no coincidence that cats of deaf owners tend to meow less, and that studies suggest mimicry between meowing and the sound of human babies. 

Still, as mentioned, meowing may be a cause for concern. A good way to rule out underlying disease is to look at your cat’s ears and eyes. If their ears are turned sideways or back and/or the pupils are dilated, there’s a good chance your cat is sick or anxious about something.

6. Ignoring You

Why does your cat seem content to ignore you? Unlike dogs, who come running when they’re called, cats don’t even look up. We know they can hear us; studies have shown they can recognize your voice and even their names (at least as precursors to rewards). 

One eight-month study, for example, found that up to 70 percent of the cats involved turned their heads when they heard their human’s voice. It’s just that cat responses are extremely subtle, especially compared to dogs, whose responses are intentionally communicative. 

Basically, we haven’t bred or trained cats in the same way as dogs, which means cat behavior is far more instinctive. Cats in the wild don’t communicate vocally even with their own kittens unless there’s an imminent threat. So unless your cat wants something from you at the moment you happen to call them, they just have no reason to respond.

5. Headbutting You

Also known as bunting or head rubbing, headbutting is when your cat nuzzles their head against you. They also do it to each other. But it can become a nuisance if it gets more aggressive.

Unsurprisingly, dominant cats tend to headbutt more frequently. And this is a clue to the reason. Cats have scent-producing glands all over their bodies—including the chin, mouth, temples, and ears—and the dominant cat in a household of many will headbutt more to spread its scent (the scent of the colony) to all members. 

So, a-holey or not, when your cat headbutts you, they’re marking you out as their tribe—which, by the way, makes them your chief (at least to other cats).

4. Losing Their S*** On Catnip

Cats on catnip are like humans on coke: manic, aggressive, unpredictable, and stupid-looking. It’s just that in cats it’s not quite as hedonistic—or in any case they have an excuse.

As it turns out, there are chemicals in catnip, as well as in silver vine (another plant that causes the reaction), called nepetalactone and nepetalactol that act as mosquito repellants. In a study, researchers allowed cats to rub themselves on paper soaked in nepetalactol, then introduced mosquitos and counted how many cats were attacked. They found a clear correlation between rubbing and getting fewer bites.

It’s thought the drug effect—euphoria attributed to the ?-opioid system—is a response cats evolved to the plant to encourage them to engage with it. It’s not all cats, either; the trait is hereditary. 30 percent don’t respond to catnip and 20 percent don’t respond to silver vine. Tigers have also been found to be indifferent to catnip and even “disapproving” of silver vine.

3. Pushing Their Claws Into You

Kneading soft objects (as though making dough with their paws) is something all cats learn as kittens. It’s a way to stimulate their mother’s milk production by releasing oxytocin. It’s also a form of communication between kittens and their mother, as kneading releases pheromones from scent glands in the paws.

However, it’s common for domesticated cats to continue to knead into adulthood. This is where it gets painful, as many cats will also dig in their claws. In typical cat fashion, this just means they love you. And the more they do, the harder they’ll knead—so you become the a-hole if you punish.

But why do cats continue to knead long after mom is dead and buried? Again, it’s your fault. The retention of juvenile behaviors into adulthood (neoteny) in this case probably comes down to its advantage in socializing with you and other animals in the house.

2. Bringing Dead Animals Into the House

Even if you’re not disgusted, horrified, or guilt-ridden by your cat’s habit of bringing dead birds and rodents into the house, it can still feel like a passive aggressive comment on how much you feed them. The truth is, though, cats are simply born predators. It’s not a question of having to eat, it’s a matter of having to hunt. In fact, it’s the same drive that has your cat chasing laser pointers or feathers on a string. 

But why, once they’ve killed their prey, are they so eager to show it off to you? Sometimes they won’t even just leave it somewhere for you to find but will hold it in their mouth mewing until you come and see. This is down to another drive, which is their instinctive pack animal nature. Female cats in particular are primed to teach their young how to hunt. In other words, they’re not trying to scare you, shame you, or make you throw up; they’re just treating you like a helpless kitten that can’t hunt for itself—but one that they love very much.

1. Playing With Their Prey

Perhaps the most a-holey thing your cat does by far is to play with its prey before killing it. Typically, they’ll bat at the victim with their paws, ensuring a slow and torturous death and leaving us to wonder: How could Mister Cuddles be so cruel?

According to a study in the 1970s, the answer is actually quite simple. Researchers found that cats given rats and mice to prey on played with their victims longer the larger they were. And of course the larger the prey, the more risk for the predator. Researchers therefore concluded that “playing” was actually a strategy to disable from a distance before going in for the kill. Researchers also observed that hungrier cats played with their prey for shorter periods of time. We see the same behavior among big cats in the wild.

But why do cats sometimes not bother killing their played-with prey? The answer here is a little more a-holey: practice.

They’re man’s best friend, but how many humans know what makes their dogs tick? Probably not enough, that’s how many. And given how much of their behavior is intended to communicate—with us, no less—we ought to have our tails between our legs. 

Here are 10 things you’ve seen your dog do but haven’t the faintest clue why.

10. Chasing cats

Contrary to popular belief, dogs don’t hate cats. After all, they’re perfectly capable of sharing a household. So why do they chase them so aggressively?

The reason is your dog’s hunting instinct. Some breeds, especially herders and hunters like Shepherds and Retrievers, chase cats more than others. But even toy breeds instinctively hound moving objects—whether it’s a ball, a stick, or a cat. And, unlike balls and sticks, cats instinctively flee, which of course makes matters worse.

There’s also a language barrier between cats and dogs. While a dog wags its tail to show willingness to interact, a cat usually wags in irritation. In other words, Catese for ‘Go away’ is Doggian for ‘Wanna play?’. Hence dogs have chased cats for millennia.

9. Panting

Ever wondered why your dog pants even when they’re just sitting still? Most of the time they’re not out of breath, they’re usually just hot or dehydrated. Dogs don’t sweat like we do (thank goodness), so they pant to keep themselves cool. What’s happening is they’re rapidly taking in air and humidifying it before exhaling so it evaporates from the nose and lungs—cooling the body from the inside out. 

Obviously they need plenty of air and access to water for this process. It’s how dogs can die within minutes from heatstroke when left in hot cars—even with the windows cracked open. They just don’t have enough air.

This isn’t the only reason for panting, though. Depending on the context, it could also indicate excitement, stress, or pain. Sometimes it’s a side effect from medicine. It could also be indicative of a toxic or allergic reaction. It’s important to be aware of all the possible causes so you know when your dog is in danger.

8. Licking you

When your dog licks you, it’s usually a greeting. Nothing mystifying about that. But if that’s all it is, why don’t dogs lick each other instead of going straight in for their customary butt sniff? 

It’s because it’s a puppy behavior. In the wild, when a mother returns to her pups from a hunt, her dependents will lick around her snout—prompting her to vomit up some food. That’s basically what you are to your dog, a lifelong mother. By providing for all of their needs, we encourage a permanent puppyhood. Such retention of juvenile behavior into adulthood is called ‘neoteny’. Another example is how vocal domesticated dogs are (like puppies) compared to dogs in the wild. 

Keep this in mind if you’re licking-averse. Punishing your dog for licking your face is cold as well as confusing. The best thing to do is let them at it. But if you really don’t like it, try covering your face and rewarding when they lick your hand instead. Or teach them an alternative greeting.

7. Digging (including indoors)

Dogs dig holes for any number of reasons, not just to hide bones like their pre-domesticated ancestors.

One key reason is their instinct for denning. Outside, a hole would keep them sheltered from cold weather and cooler in hot. This is also the reason why you might see your dog scratching as though digging indoors—particularly on their bed. Another reason, especially if your dog was bred for hunting, is an instinct to catch prey (such as gophers) in burrows.

Yet another reason, though, is stress relief. Separation anxiety is common in dogs and if they’re left on their own in the yard all day, they’ll often channel that stress into digging. It keeps them occupied, like OCD. At least until you come home and scold them for a behavior you didn’t understand.

6. Eating grass

It’s a common understanding that dogs eat grass when they want to throw up. You may have seen your own dog chewing the lawn until they vomit yellow foam. This is bile, which builds up overnight and irritates the stomach when it’s empty. The solution is a small evening meal.

But this isn’t the only reason dogs eat grass—or even the primary reason. In fact, according to a study, only 22 percent eat grass until they vomit, and only nine percent seem ill before they start. Clearly, something else is going on. 

Aside from boredom, the main reason why dogs eat grass appears to be dietary deficiency. Grass contains a number of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that they may not be getting from their food but which, instinctively, their once-wild bodies crave. It’s been suggested that fiber is a big one.

5. Tilting their head at you

When dogs tilt their head, you can almost hear a Scooby Doo “huh?”. And that’s kind of what it is (assuming they don’t have a medical problem). Head-tilting usually just means dogs have heard something they don’t understand—but want to. For many breeds, it compensates for their ears. Dachshunds, for example, with their flaps, might tilt to uncover the ear canal. 

But there’s probably more to it than that. After all, hearing isn’t exactly a handicap for dogs; it’s one of the ways they’re better than us. So actually what we’re seeing when they tilt their head may be super hearing in action. According to some experts, dogs tilt their heads to triangulate the source of a sound. 

Obviously this doesn’t explain why they tilt their head at us. Unfortunately it’s not entirely clear. However, it may have to do with their vision, with head-tilting compensating for snouts. That may be why Bulldogs and other short-nosed breeds tilt their heads less than others. It may also be that you’ve unwittingly rewarded this cute dog behavior in the past, encouraging them to do it more often. 

4. Cowering from thunderstorms

All dog owners know the stresses of a thunderstorm. All of a sudden, it’s like your happy-go-lucky best friend is in need of some serious counseling—especially if storms are rare where you live. They’re also likely to be more afraid if their first 14 weeks of life (their socialization window) fell outside of storm season. You freaking out also doesn’t help.

Interestingly, though, it’s not just the noise. Primarily, it’s the static electricity, which runs through their fur and causes discomfort. In fact, it can even cause shocks. 

This is why they hide. It’s not to evade some unseen threat; it’s to ground themselves and minimize the static. Knowing this, there are ways we can help—such as guiding them to a good grounding spot or rubbing their fur with an unscented dryer sheet. It’s important not to be too overbearing, though, since your dog is already unnerved.

3. Moonwalking after doing their business

We’ve all seen it, that strange ritual habit of scratching the ground with the hind legs after taking a dump. To the uninitiated, it looks like an instinct to bury their do-do, hiding their tracks from other dogs. But it’s actually the opposite. Dogs’ toe pads are some of the only places on their bodies with sweat glands, so by wiping them on the ground they’re deliberately leaving their scent. Meanwhile, digging in at the same time with their claws leaves a clear visual mark for other dogs to find. The stronger the mark, the more impressive the dog—which is why they “sign their art” with such gusto. 

You see, for dogs toilet time is a social occasion; every deposit is packed with information. You may want to bear this in mind next time you catch them eating poop. Not only is it a behavior they learned from their mother, they’re communing with the neighbor dog that left it. (If nothing else, there’s minimal risk and it can even provide nutritional value.) 

Dogs sniff pee for much the same reason: Gathering intel. In fact, so data-rich is a puddle of pee that while dogs usually fail the traditional self-awareness test (e.g. putting them in front of a mirror with a mark on their body to see if they try to shake it off), they can easily identify their own urine.

2. Wagging their tail

We learn it in preschool: Dogs wag their tails when they’re happy. But, as you’ve probably learned since, it’s really not that simple. Dogs do wag their tails when they’re happy, but they wag for other reasons too—positive and negative. So all it can be said to reliably mean is your dog is communicating something. And you might want to learn to translate.

It depends on the speed and position. According to PetMD, a slightly upright tail wagging at moderate speed is Doggian for “I’m happy.” As it gets faster and faster—becoming the so-called ‘helicopter tail’—it tells you they’re super excited. No surprises there. But did you know that when the tail is arched over the back it indicates aggression? In this case the speed of the wag is a measure of how much the dog wants to bite you.

There’s also an important difference between wagging to the left side or right. It doesn’t matter what breed your dog is; when their tail is wagging slightly to the left, it means they’re feeling anxious, and when it’s wagging slightly to the right, it means they’re feeling friendly. And as pseudoscientific as this sounds, it has been extensively studied—particularly in the context of left-right asymmetries in the brain.

1. Walking in a circle before lying down

The received wisdom as to why dogs circle their bedding, or the couch, or the floor, or wherever they’re about to rest, is that they’re scanning the horizon for threats. Another common theory is that they’re scaring off vermin and pests. But, according to research, the explanation is actually pretty simple: They’re treading out bumps. Animal psychologist Professor Stanley Coren found dogs were three times as likely to circle on uneven bedding.

But why then do we also see dogs walking in a circle before doing their business outside? Scanning the horizon, right? No. Strangely enough, studies show a clear preference among dogs for pooping in alignment with the Earth’s magnetic field—at least for the fifth of the day when it’s stable. More specifically, they like a north-south alignment and avoid east-west.

Researchers aren’t sure why. Maybe dogs just feel better this way. Other animals, including birds and cows, also align themselves with the magnetic field of the planet. Whatever the reason, though, it seems fair to assume that it also comes into play when they’re circling for rest.