A quick and easy test to know how much we know about our tears. Whether they are of joy, of anger or related to stress, we accompany us throughout our lives.
Why do we keep shedding tears even when we grow up? Why do we feel calmer after crying? It is a question of hormones, but also of natural instinct. Tears are part of our life, even when we may communicate in other ways.
There are many curiosities related to crying, how many do you know? Find out with this test and depending on the result you can cry tears of joy or anger!
01 Do men and women cry differently?
- True
- False
Answer: True. According to Beth Ann Diktoff, author of 'Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow? Curious Questions Kids Ask About the Human Body ', women cry differently than men, meaning their cheeks are completely flooded with tears. Men are more content.
02 How many tears do we produce each year?
- Less than a litre
- About 40 litres
- About 120 litres
Answer: 120 litres. And yes, we cry a lot, according to a 2011 study published in the Journal of Research in Personality.
03 Are all tears the same?
- True
- False
Answer: False. In fact, it is well known that there are three types of tears: emotional tears, which we shed when we are sad, moved, happy or angry; the reflex zones , which we shed in response to an external irritant stimulus, and the basal ones, which keep the eye moist and healthy.
04 Some tears are always in our eyes
- True
- False
Answer: True. Basal tears are always in our eyes and according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, they are meant to moisten the eye while keeping it healthy.
05 Basal tears can be caused by:
- Dust
- Smoke
- Wind
- All previous answers
Answer: All previous answers. Both dust and smoke and wind can affect basal tears which work to protect the eyes.
06 Are emotional tears different from basal or reflex tears?
- True
- False
Answer: True. Emotional tears release certain hormones, which is why we feel even calmer after crying.
07 What could prevent us from crying while peeling the onion?
- Peel it under running water
- Use a fan to blow the smell away
- Cool the onion before cutting it
- All of the above
Answer: All of the above. While cutting an onion, an enzyme is released which the eyes perceive as harmful. This is why basal tears are activated to protect the eyes.
08 Do crocodile tears really exist?
- True
- False
Answer: True. Many times we have heard the expression 'crocodile tears', according to the legend that after having devoured the prey the crocodiles, they cry. In fact, according to scholars, crocodiles always have shiny eyes because they stay in the water for a long time and need lubrication.
09 Babies all cry the same way
- True
- False
Answer: True. Parents know it well, that intermittent shrill cry is common to all newborns. According to the author Tom Lutz, there is a different sound at every age and he tells it in Crying: The Natural and Cultural History of Tears.
10 Women cry more than men and for longer periods
- True
- False
Answer: True. Women cry between 30 and 64 times a year, as opposed to men who do it 6 to 17 times. Women cry for at least six minutes, men at most four. All according to a study by the German Society of Ophthalmology
11 If you put a baby who doesn't cry next to one who does, what usually happens?
- The quiet baby starts to cry
- The crying child stops
Answer: The quiet baby starts to cry. For a moment everyone hoped it was the second option, but unfortunately, it is the first. In his book 'Empathy and moral development', Martin L. Hoffman says that children show empathy.
12 Girls cry like boys up to a certain age, which one?
- Up to 5 years
- Until adolescence
- Before adulthood
Answer: Until adolescence. An ugly beast is an adolescent that does not look to sex. Hormones change for everyone and we cry the same way.