Trivia: Show Us What You're Made Of

Since the beginning of time, people have wondered how we came into being – and, more specifically, what we're made of.

Depending on which philosophy you're referring to, the body's basic elements number between one and five. And the one element they all (well, at least, the Bible, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the Hindu Upanishads, the Koran, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the writings of Empedocles of Ancient Greece) have in common is Earth. But Earth is not the only common element – it's just the only one they all agree on. In fact, the total number of different elements listed in the six aforementioned philosophies is only 10.

The next most common element, after Earth, is Water – all but the Bible include this. Four of these six philosophies – the Ancient Greeks', the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the Hindu Upanishads, and the Bible – include Air. Fire is also common amongst four of the philosophies, with only the Bible and the Koran excluding it.

After Air and Fire, however, the remaining seven elements become a little more unique. Traditional Chinese Medicine includes Wood and Metal (in addition to the aforementioned Earth, Air, and Fire) in its recipe for the human body. The Koran makes the distinction between Earth, Clay, and Sounding Clay (Clay being cold and wet and Sounding Clay being hot and wet or hot and dry). And the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Hindu Upanishads make an interesting distinction between two apparently similar elements – each of their five element lists include both Air and Space (also called Void or Ether).

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