How many holes are in the human head?
If you’ve been chillin around here for awhile, you’ll likely be aware that Marissa and I take a couple evenings a week to brainstorm comic ideas, which we record so that rough scripts and outlines can be subsequently transcribed and then developed into full scripts. It’s generally a good time. But sometimes… the conversation turns. The audio clip above is one of those times.
I believe it all started with me saying something offhanded about the human head having 5 holes in the process of writing. Marissa stopped me to add 2 more for the eye holes. This turned into a heated exchange regarding what exactly constitutes a hole and whether or not you can truly fill a hole.
So I present our arguments and ask that you side with me (Neil) in the comments, because I’m definitely right.
Comments (35)
the esophagus should count as a hole in the head. not pupils though, just because the cornea are clear doesn't mean they're voids.
Mouth and nose count as one (throat) it's like a river delta so that brings it back to five
I’m with Marissa on this, sorry man. And with the person itt who observed that the wine bottle may be in the room with you..
If there was a pothole in the road and it rained and got filled with water, it would still be a hole in the road. According to your argument holes can only exist in a vacuum because even the hole in the top of a wine bottle is filled with air
I said that same exact thing when we were listening back over the audio and Neil had to concede lol. - this is Marissa btw
Is the wine bottle hole in the room with you?
You’re all traitors. Why don’t you just get Marissa to draw next weeks comic! (I mean, she could. She’s a very good artist)
Marissa should do a comic based off this
I live how committed you both were in this 😂
Marissa is so right here
I think the eye sockets count as cavities in the head, but holes in the skull. I guess it depends on how you define the "head". The sockets serve a purpose that requires them to not be "filled" but rather contain the eyes, but if they were to be truly "filled", then they wouldn't be serving their one purpose.
On another note - you can really hear that you guys love each other, the way you argue and laugh together. That's so sweet and now I miss my ex, thanks!
I agree with Marisa on the basis of the dirt / wine bottle difference. Even though you put a cork in a wine bottle the bottle itself still has a hole. The whole is plugged with a cork, but it exists.
I'm inclined to side with Marissa on this one. Is the mouth a hole when the lips are closed? According to Neil and the door analogy, no. How did we not talk about buttholes here? A) it has hole in the name. B) it's never really open unless you're at the doctor's office. When not pooping, it's closed tight. When pooping, it's filled with poop. Is it still a hole even though it's not open? Yes, refer to A
This is worth the subscription price! That being said, I agree with Marissa (sorry Neil). A sealed hole is still a hole, if it is an opening made to receive something else. An eye socket it a hole that holds the eye, the opening in a wine bottle (or Maker's Mark, nice choice, btw) is a hole that holds a cork. A hole in the ground is no longer a hole when it is filled with dirt. If you fill it with water, it is a hole with water in it. If you have a surgery, you have a hole that the doctor uses to access your insides. When you are stitched up, you no longer have a hole (unless you have something permanently inserted, such as a shunt or other such medical device). Sorry, Neil, just take the L on this. And Marissa gets my 5 bucks this month for being right.
The nose goes into the throat so I’m going to get even more radical and say there’s only 3 holes
Nah, I'm in the 5, group. They're explicitly called sockets.
Do hair follicles count as holes?
Very good point. By Neil's logic, hair follicles are holes, therefore the head has thousands of holes.
No, Neil.. Just no. Eye sockets are holes. Unless you fuse the hole with bone, the hole remains.
love it <3, nerdy fun fact: there once was a similar talk, US 2000 election, Bush vs Al Gore. The question was "is this ballot missing a piece, or is it a whole?", and Florida was decided thanks to Achille Varzi and his holes.
I was going to agree with Neil until I thought of a watering hole. Really what you should be saying is the human head has 5 unfilled holes.
On average, the human head has five active-and-ready holes. Two nostrils, two ear holes and one mouth. If we were to strip all the flesh and cartilage away to the bare skull, we would have six holes. I rest my case. Order in the court. Objection! Thank you
What about tear ducts? Would they not be a hole?
What gets bigger the more you take away?
What constitutes a human head? Are we talking about the skull? Do the pores in the skin count as part of the head?
I have to agree with Marissa. A filled hole is generally no longer a hole. A covered or blocked hole is generally still a hole.
Marissa is right. Ban me, stop making comics, I don't care. I can't stand for inaccuracy. I'm not sorry. Holes can be temporary or permanent, the eye socket is permanent, and the only reason that the eyeball can function is because it resides in a socket/hole.
Sgt. Hartman from Full Metal Jacket seemed to think that eyesockets are orifices if you remove the eyeballs.
At the very least, tear ducts ARE holes even if you don't consider the eye socket to be an active hole. I have to agree with Marissa though, mainly because of the ground hole vs wine bottle analogy battle. I would agree that a bottle with a stopper still has a hole in it, while a hole in the ground disappears when filled with the same substance. We might also consider, since the eyes are technically separated from most regular body processes (your white blood cells would kill them if they could get to them) that they are any different material filling an apparent hole, more similar to the wine bottle.
Think of it like digging a hole but you but a beach ball in it. There's still a hole just something sitting in it. Never argue with you lady she's always right, so sorry Neil it's 7.
Neil, is your mouth still a hole when it's shut?
Eye sockets are just potential holes Edit: please post more of these. This was really fun to listen to
I was told to agree with Neil, so I have to go ahead and agree; there are five and only five holes. (Psst - Marissa, if you read this, I am open to bribes.👍) (Psst - Neil, if you are reading this... don't. Oh, and forget anything within parentheses written here.👍👍) And not to add more confusion, but what about pores? And should we include non-skin level holes? That bumps the number up to like, idk, at least 12.
And btw, for the sake of discussion (and going along with the examples and similes given here,) without any scientific classification on what constitutes a hole on the human body, I personally would consider the whole eye "socket" as we have it, a hole. Without getting into generalizations and talking about objects that don't matter, if I had a dirt hole in the ground and then placed a spherical rock in it that covers up 90% of the inside space, I would still say "I have this hole with a rock in it." So what if the whole eye has some muscle, fluid, ducts, and an optic nerve leading out the back? It's still a hole in your head that is neeeaarly filled with an organ. And just like our eyelids, our mouths have lips, & we have teeth, gums, and a tongue that is inside that hole. If you show someone a big grin that you couldn't stick something through, would you still call your mouth a hole? I would 🤷♂️. It all depends on the classification you choose for what constitutes a hole. Some matter can be put into the hole? Check. There's an exit leading out somewhere not from the entry point? Still, check. And like I said before, on a technical standpoint, there are thousands of holes ON the head alone, with pores & hair follicles. But, if we're not being all sciency and going off of just "vibes" of what a hole is, then I would honestly say that we have just 5. Shit hurts if I stick anything IN my eye, but the mouth, nose, and ears regularly have stuff up, in, and all around the holes.