Tidbit #15 - April 10, 2011

Lots of you have probably heard of David Feldman's puzzling series of books called "Imponderables," all with different titles. As a reminder, I have not utilized any of his imponderables.. Until now. I'm using one of his most famous questions, and summarizing it in my own words:

Question: How does Aspirin find a headache?


Answer: I looked it up, and I found someone on uh.edu who found his book and typed up Mr. Feldman's answer:

Try that aspirin question: I always thought aspirin just entered the blood and reduced pain wherever the blood went. Aspirin does enter the blood, but then it acts selectively on pain and inflammation. Not 'til the 1970s did pharmacologists figure out how it did that. Aspirin attacks a certain fatty acid that serves as an early warning system by increasing the sensitivity of pain receptors. Aspirin turns those painful warning bells off.

And, as always, my condensed summary:

When you take Aspirin, the pill dissolves into the blood and attacks a fatty acid that causes pain receptors to tell the body something's wrong, shutting it down.