Friday links

The Great Sperm Race: The Most Extreme Race on Earth, Scaled To Human Size (plus bonus Monty Python). 

"Meet Glenn. Like most average men Glenn has no idea about the miracle of engineering tucked away in his pants." 

Medieval fitness programs.

A bank glitch gave a 24-year old, down-on-his-luck Australian man access to unlimited funds. Then he did exactly what you think he did with it.

An Interactive Map Shows Just How Many Roads Actually Lead to Rome.

25 Lost Survival Tips from 100 Years Ago – with Illustrations.

The Man Who Continuously Hiccuped for 68 Years.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include the practice of execution by cannon, ancient Rome's urine tax, more human feet washing up in British Columbia, and pigeons with cameras.

Here’s What's Happening When You Hiccup

In this short TED-Ed video, John Cameron explains exactly what’s going on in your body when you find yourself with a case of the hiccups, and summarizes a few theories regarding the seemingly pointless phenomenon’s origins - some scientists think it might help nursing babies keep milk out of their lungs (only mammals hiccup), while others think hiccups got their start millions of years ago, before animals even made the transition from water to land.

The longest recorded case of hiccups lasted for 68 years … and was caused by a falling hog. While that level of severity is extremely uncommon, most of us are no stranger to an occasional case of the hiccups. But what causes these ‘hics’ in the first place? John Cameron takes us into the diaphragm to find out.

via Laughing Squid