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Tummy Rumbles
This week's experiment came to me
as I was thinking about food. I was trying to decide what to cook for supper
when suddenly my belly made a rumbling growl. Instantly, I knew what I would do
for this week's experiment. You will need:
The first thing to do is to place
your hand on your stomach. Go ahead, do it right now. Are you ready? Do you have
your hand on your stomach? Are you sure? Unless you know your insides pretty
well, you probably have your hand in the wrong spot. Most people put their hand
on their belly, just above their navel. That is not where your stomach is.
To find your stomach, place your
right hand over your heart. Ahh, got you again. Your heart is not on the left
side of your chest. Actually, your heart is in the center. It is tilted, so you
hear it more on the left side, but it is in the middle.
OK, back to finding your stomach.
Place your hand on the left side of your chest, as most people do when they
think they are putting their hand over their heart. Then move your hand down
about 2 or 3 inches. Your little finger should be just about on the bottom of
your rib cage. If you press in, you should feel ribs under your fingers. Your
wrist should be just to the right of the center. Now, your hand is just about
where your stomach is.
Well, if your stomach is up there,
what is in your belly, where you put your hand the first time? It is your
intestines. When your tummy rumbles and you say that your stomach is growling,
it is probably your intestines instead.
To test that, wait until you are
hungry. Then we will use your favorite food to get the rumbles started. If you
are really hungry, just thinking about food will do it. If you are not quite
that hungry, you may need to smell it or see it. Don't eat any yet. Wait until
you hear and feel the rumbles. Where are they located? Some of the sound may be
coming from your stomach, but most of it is probably coming from your
intestines. Your body is preparing for the food. Your digestive system is
becoming more active, with the muscles squishing things around more and more
digestive juices flowing. That gets things sloshing around and gives you all
sorts of interesting noises.
When you are through listening to
your body, then you get to eat the food that caused the sounds. Who said science
wasn't any fun?
Have a wonderful week.
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