Stuff You Should Know - Why do people blush?

Episode Date: July 24, 2008

Blushing from embarrassment is governed by the sympathetic nervous system, which governs involuntary processes. Although we know how people blush, we still don't understand why. Check out the theories of blushing in our HowStuffWorks article. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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agency would turn out to be a front for a drug pilot who would claim he did it all for this CIA. I'm Lauren Brad Pacheco. Join me for murder in Miami. Talk about walking into the devil's den. Listen to Murder in Miami on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, a staff writer here at HowStuffWorks.com. With me is my permanent co-host. We just got the news. Chuck's here for good. Charles, Chuck, Bryant, Chuck, welcome. I hope you enjoy that seat because you're not getting mine that is your seat. I do. It fits my back end well, and I'm glad to be here. I'm glad. Chuck, I hate to tell you this, but your fly is open.

Oh, wow. Maybe you should do something about that. Sorry. You guys can't see this because this is just an audio podcast, but Chuck is blushing with embarrassment. I've never seen Chuck blush before. It's okay, Chuck. I won't judge. I know. This is not a locker room now, so I wasn't prepared for that. You just handle your business, and we'll wait a second. I appreciate it. Everything's good. So, Chuck, that actually brings to mind an article I wrote. Why do people blush? Did you prep for this podcast? Did you read it? I did. It was a good one, Josh. I thought it's pretty interesting. Blushing is one of those things that people probably don't think about very often. Everyone blushes, and it's exclusive to humans. That's odd, isn't it? No other animal on the

planet that blushes. Exactly, but we know how we blush, but we don't exactly know why we blush. Isn't that weird that something as ubiquitous and seemingly normal is actually abnormal? You want to tell the folks at home how we blush? Yeah. Well, it has to do with the old sympathetic system, which is also what controls the fight or flight syndrome. No, not syndrome, but... Yeah, fans of... No, the fight or flight response. I wanted to say that last time, too. So, fans of Stuff You Should Know will probably be familiar with our podcast on hysterical strength, which I know all about the fight or flight response. Yeah, it's the same thing. Your veins and dilate, and more blood gets pumping, and your pupils get larger, and then

all of a sudden you find that you might be able to throw a lawnmower off your granddaughter, like Bootsy did. Hello, Bootsy. Hello, Bootsy. So, yeah, and one of the other things is that your blood vessels dilate, right? Right, which is the case in blushing. Right, except the thing is that the blood vessels in your cheeks actually become flushed are veins, and oddly veins don't usually respond at all to adrenaline, but for some reason the veins in your cheeks, too, and those are the only veins in your body that flush or dilate when your fight or flight response goes off. I mean, what the heck is that? Yeah, well, that's kind of weird, because, I mean, it's what everyone would see. I mean, if your kneecap's flushed, no one would ever know if you were embarrassed. That's

true. So, it happens in your face for maybe for a reason, maybe not, but there are some theories about why we blush. Like what? Well, one of them is that it is, in fact, on the face, so other people can't see it, because it's a form of public apology for a faux pas you might have had, or if you stuck your foot in your mouth, your blushing is a way to kind of be contrite and say, you know, I'm embarrassed and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that without actually saying that. So, it's like a physical example of your emotional intellect. You're saying, I'm aware of this, don't beat me, you know, start a fight with me. Right, sort of like the same thing that happens, like if your dog hikes his leg on your dining room table and you walk in the room, there's a really good chance

your dog might, you know, lower his head and kind of back out of the room slowly. Or roll over and show its belly. Yeah, show its belly. It's kind of a similar thing. I got you. Okay, no, I don't buy that one. I think it's kind of a clumsy theory. It's not my favorite. I've got a favorite theory with blushing. You want to hear it? Well, be that way, Josh. I'd like, I'd love to hear yours. My favorite is NPA. It's the obscure theory about human personalities. And the theory is that all of them are created based on a foundation of narcissism, perfectionism, and aggression, right? And all personalities can be explained through these three outlooks or views of life. There should be a balance between the three and the more balanced it is, probably the more normal you are.

People who have almost just one exclusively tend to be schizophrenic, that kind of thing. Right, that's no good. No, no, no. Well, you know, so with NPA or under the NPA theory, blushing is actually a, it is a fight-or-flight response, but you're actually becoming enraged. You're not embarrassed. Right. Your narcissism has been affronted. Right. I got to tell you, as a narcissist, the NPA theory really makes sense to me. Yeah, I've felt that way before, too, I think. The rage a little less, or sorry, a little more than the embarrassment. Right, yeah. So I mean, maybe we're just confusing it. Who knows? I mean, really, at this point, as far as we know about blushing, you or I could come up with a pretty adequate theory for it. Right. Maybe we'll publish one soon.

Maybe so, but the fact is, we all blush. There's no denying that. Exactly. Now, you can learn more about it on HowStuffWorks.com by typing, why do people blush under the search bar and stick around after this message for Chucks in my top five articles of the month, right after this. Stuff you should know is brought to you by Visa. We all have things to think about. Like, say, what's the best site to buy a new leather jacket, or whether to buy the three or six megapixel camera. But thankfully, we don't need to think about online fraud, because for every purchase you make, Visa keeps an eye out for fraud, with real-time fraud monitoring. And by making sure you're not liable for any unauthorized purchases. How's that for peace of mind? Safe, secure, Visa.

Thanks for sticking around. We're going to treat you with Chucks in my favorite articles of last month. Chuck, what's your first pick? My first pick, Josh, is How Important is Sleep, a very interesting article. I got one better than that. How body farms work. It's gross. Yeah, that's a good one. What else you got? I've got one called How the Prison Project Worked, also very interesting. Yeah, eerie. It's amazing how quickly humans can devolve into monsters, right? Yeah, it's a very cool story.

I'd like to have one you wrote, How to Survive a Plane Crash. Yeah, that's a popular one too. I guess people are interested in living through plane crashes. Exactly, yeah. And I guess the last one I have on my list is Did Da Vinci Sketch a Car? Yeah, all worth reading. Of course, everything on our site's worth reading, but you want to go check out these five in particular on HowStuffWorks.com. For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit HowStuffWorks.com. Let us know what you think. Send an email to podcast at HowStuffWorks.com. Brought to you by the reinvented 2012 Camry. It's ready. Are you?

In 1968, five black girls were picked up by police after running away from a reform school in Mt. Megs, Alabama. I'm writer and reporter Josie Deffie Rice. And in a new podcast, I investigate the abuse that thousands of black children suffered at the Alabama Industrial School for Negro children and how those five girls changed everything. Listen to unreformed on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 1980, cocaine was captivating and corrupting Miami. The cartels, they just killed everybody that was home. Setting an aspiring private investigator on a collision course with corruption and multiple

murders. The detective agency would turn out to be a front for our drug pilot. Would claim he did it all for this CIA. I'm Lauren Bright-Pacheco. Join me for murder in Miami. Talk about walking into the devil's den. Listen to Murder in Miami on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.