80 Times The Human Body Surprised And Horrified Medical Professionals

Wondering why you can't stop scrolling through this list even though a part of you is begging you not to? Don't worry. You're not alone... “People are often drawn to things that bother them,” says Alexander Skolnick, a psychologist who studies disgust.

Disgust is an important emotion. It's meant to protect us. "We tend to feel it when there’s something harmful around," explains Quartz. "We know snakes and some insects mean danger. Vomit means something made someone else sick. Poop carries diseases. When we see any of these, we naturally want to avoid them."

Meanwhile, curiosity calls on us to explore and learn more about the world. Including those things that can be harmful to us. Viewing unsettling or gross content allows us to feel disgust and curiosity together. Basically, we can be a bit disgusted, while still using the images or videos to protect ourselves in the future.

“I think it is about experiencing these things in safe ways,” Skolnick explains. “It’s gross, but it’s not you…it’s something you can turn off. You have power over it.”

Dr Val Curtis calls herself a ‘disgustologist.’ Yes, really. She's the director of the Environmental Health Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. And says that disgust is specifically about things that might make us sick.

"You might dislike the taste of cheese, but it’s not going to necessarily make you sick," explains Curtis. "You might be disgusted by the sight of a cockroach sitting on that plate of cheese - because the cockroach has probably come out of the toilet and is carrying pathogens on its feet.”

A long time ago, our ancestors relied on disgust to survive. Feeling disgusted helped them avoid harmful bacteria in rotting food, toxic water, waste and dead animals.

"Humans with a strong sense of disgust not only stayed healthier, but would have been seen as a more attractive mate and passed on those 'disgust genes’ to their offspring," BBC reports.

“Those who had a ‘healthy squeamishness’ would have gone on to have more children and practised good hygiene, and that would have protected their children,” explains Curtis. “Those who didn’t have that squeamishness would have simply died out.”

Disgust comes with a physiological reaction. And there are steps to feeling disgusted... The first is paying attention. The gross thing makes you stop what you’re doing and check it out, without getting too close.

Next, you might squirming or sweat. "Your palms go clammy, your hands go up and you stay away from touching the thing - or dropping it if you ignored step one," Curtis told the BBC.

You could very well pulling a face. Perhaps you stick out your tongue out or close your mouth up tight. "Your tongue is simulating pushing the thing out of your mouth and keeping it out, just in case," explains the BBC.

The final step, which many of us have experienced, is gagging. "Especially if it’s a food-related disgust response, your stomach starts to churn to discourage you from ingesting it, and prepare you to throw up in the event you did," reads the site.