13 things that can't be explained

Right now there are roughly 7,482,625,265 people on this planet (which will have gone up again in the time it takes me to write and publish this blog post). And yet despite the vast number of us, our differences in culture, age, education, sexual orientation, religion, economic class, political stance and gender, there are certain universal truths that we can all agree on. Like the weird fact that none of these things can really be fully explained and yet they are things we all feel and experience.

1. Why we tell the taxi 'here is fine' when approximately 2 doors away from your house

So it would take no extra effort to be dropped right outside your house and you would be getting what you're paying for (to be dropped at home) and yet we all do it. "Anywhere here is fine" - why do we do it?

2. How your body knows exactly what food it's craving

I don't mean pregnancy cravings by the way. But somehow your body always knows exactly what it wants - even if it's something you haven't had in forever

3. How gross it is to hear your own voice on a recording

This is part of the reason I'm surprised that snapchat has been as successful as it has - because people simply don't like the sound of their own voice! When you hear a recording, you can't help but think 'oh god I don't sound like that all the time do I?'

4. Why we say 'ouch' when we're not hurt

Even if it didn't hurt in the slightest, if someone knocks in to you or something you just naturally say 'ouch'

5. The feeling of sleeping in your own bed

You could be staying in the worlds most luxurious, most expensive hotel and yet it still wouldn't even come close to the comfort of your own bed.

6. What makes you attracted to someone

There is a very big difference between finding someone attractive and being attracted to them. There are plenty of people that I think are objectively attractive but would never be attracted to. Which is handy in situations like when your friend starts dating someone and you compliment them on their choice without any awkward conflict of interests. So what is it? Because there are certain people who have all the features I like best and yet I'm not attracted to them, and others who aren't my usual type and yet I'm really attracted to them. I guess that's why they say there's someone for everyone?

7. The difference between reading an eBook and a real book

I'm not down with these 21st century ways of reading books. I can't explain it but it takes all the satisfaction out of it - give me a real book over a kindle any day!

8. The ritual we do when we don't hear what someone says

There is an unwritten rule throughout humanity where if you don't hear what someone says, you are allowed to say 'what' twice, and if you don't hear what they say on the third time then you do a kind of little smile/laugh and nod and just hope for the best. Despite the fact that it's very obvious to the person talking that this is what you've done, we still continue to do it anyway. Depending on your relationship with the person, you may then go 'I won't lie, I didn't hear what you said' but this is only after the whole ritual has been completed.

9. Why hangovers are so unpredictable

Some nights you drink in to an absolute oblivion and don't get a hangover and then some nights you have 2 glasses of wine and feel awful the next day. Even if you drink exactly the same on 2 different nights, the outcome can be totally different. How do hangovers decided whether or not to pay us a visit?

10. How annoying it is when people say 'expresso' instead of 'espresso'

I don't even know where people have got this made up word from but that feeling of annoyance when someone gets it wrong is surely something that I'm not alone in

11. The difference between having your hair done at the hairdressers and doing it yourself

You could use all the same products and do all the same things and yet you still can't get it feeling and looking as good as when you go to the hairdressers

12. Why things transform somewhere between the shops and home

Somehow, that top that you loved in the shop is now super childish and where have those frilly bits come from? And somehow those shoes you trotted round the shop in for a good 12 minutes to make sure they were comfy, are instantly foot torture devices the second you get them home. How?!

13. How satisfying it is when you make the perfect tea

Now I don't know if this a completely universal truth but I know that every Brit will feel this deep in their soul. The pride and happiness you feel when you can just tell that you've made your tea perfectly and then you take a sip and you were absolutely right. The pride, the honour, the glory. And the total heartbreak when you accidentally forget about it and it's stone cold by the time you remember it!