What do you know today that you didn't know yesterday?

[arewethereyet]

Novocaine works by blocking the sodium and calcium ion channels in nerve cells.

These "ion pumps" are how nerve impulses travel down axons.  (That part I knew.)

My dentist is very willing to answer my technical questions while he works.  He sometimes simply narrates while he works.

He (as do most people) likes it when people are interested in his work.

I have always had a keen interest in medicine.  I probably would have been a doctor, if not an engineer.

For example, I had him set up the table so I could watch, and had the surgeon narrate the procedure, as he performed my vasectomy.

Fascinating stuff.  

Too bad I felt like somebody kicked me in the nuts for two days...

Your dentist performed your vasectomy?  That's a little creepy.