Nerve impulses can travel to and from your brain at speeds of up to two hundred and fifty miles per hour, depending on the type of nerve fiber.

A closer look

Nerve impulses can travel to and from your brain at speeds of up to two hundred and fifty miles per hour, depending on the type of nerve fiber. Thick, heavily myelinated motor neurons transmit signals at race-car velocities to ensure you can instantly pull your hand away from a hot stove before it cooks. Conversely, the signals for throbbing, chronic pain travel on unmyelinated fibers at a pathetic two miles per hour, which is why that dull ache takes so long to register but lingers forever. You are wired with a high-speed fiber optic network for avoiding immediate death, backed up by dial-up internet for making sure you suffer a lingering headache all afternoon. It is an incredibly efficient system designed by evolution, guaranteeing that while you might survive a bear attack, you will definitely feel every agonizing second of a minor paper cut