this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2023
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For me it is the fact that our blood contains iron. I earlier used to believe the word stood for some 'organic element' since I couldn't accept we had metal flowing through our supposed carbon-based bodies, till I realized that is where the taste and smell of blood comes from.

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[โ€“] beteljuice@lemmy.ml 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Your bones are made of calcium, which is also a metal. You've got a metal frame inside your body.

[โ€“] niels@lemmy.world 37 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Hate to burst your bubble, but the calcium inside your bones is not in a metallic form but as calciumphosphate. So no metal frame but one made of a salt I guess.

[โ€“] beteljuice@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The thing that started this conversation is hemoglobin, which is also not metallic but a protein. I don't think anyone was confused and thought that there's actually shiney silvery elemental metallic calcium in our body.

[โ€“] fubo@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Your bones are not dead rocks! They are living organs that happen to have a lot of sturdy calcium structures in them. They do a lot of other stuff besides hold your body up. They store minerals for all the other stuff your body needs minerals for; that's why osteoporosis is even a possible failure mode. Your bone marrow produces white blood cells for your immune system, too.