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  • Hey, everybody.

  • I'm Ben, and today's question is do the humps on camels

  • actually hold water?

  • The short answer is no.

  • That's it.

  • That's the end of the video.

  • No, I'm kidding, though.

  • I'll tell you what a camel's hump does hold.

  • It holds a giant mound of fat.

  • In a healthy, well fed camel, this hump

  • can weigh is much as 80 pounds.

  • Human beings and most animals store

  • their fat mixed with their muscle tissue or in a layer

  • right beneath the skin.

  • Camels are the only animals with a hump like this.

  • This hump allows the camel to survive an extremely long

  • time-- up to two weeks-- without food.

  • Because camels typically live in the desert, where

  • food can be scarce for very long stretches, this is important.

  • But that has nothing to do with water.

  • So how does a camel survive without water in the desert?

  • We know that a camel needs about five gallons of water a day

  • in the summer.

  • However, a camel can lose up to 25 gallons of water

  • from its body tissue with no ill effects.

  • That means that a camel's body tissue is already

  • storing all the water a camel needs.

  • Camels are also good at conserving water.

  • One thing that a camel can do to conserve water

  • is they handle large body temperature swings.

  • So a camel might start its day with its body temperature

  • is 90 degrees Fahrenheit, which I really

  • should phrase in Celsius.

  • And it could allow its temperature

  • to rise as high as 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • Only at the upper end of this range

  • does it need to sweat to prevent overheating.

  • When we compare this temperature range to the range

  • that a human body can handle, where only a two degree rise

  • could indicate illness, you can clearly see the advantage.

  • And that is the truth behind, or I

  • guess under, the camel's hump, the camel's skin.

  • You get it.

  • Anyway, hope you enjoyed this video.

  • Please click Like.

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  • If you didn't enjoy it, tell your enemies

  • and make them watch it.

  • All right.

  • These videos are great, too.

  • Check those out.

  • [TRYING TO WHISTLE]

  • I can't whistle.

Hey, everybody.

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