Why do we cry?
Do you really know? 
About this episode
Humans are the only creatures on Earth that shed tears. Whether it's tears of joy, laughter, anger, pain, sadness, or fatigue, the emotions that bring about crying are diverse. You might be familiar with these emotional triggers, but have you ever wondered about the physiological explanations behind them? Let's start by categorising tears into three types. There are "basal" tears that maintain a continuous lubrication of the cornea, "reflex" tears that emerge when you're chopping onions, have dust in your eye, or encounter too much light, and then there are the emotional tears – and they’re the ones we're delving into today. What happens in our eyes when we're sad? What about tears of joy then? But why does witnessing someone else cry make us want to do the same? To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: What is the influence of the God complex in the workplace? Why is panto a Christmas tradition in the UK? Why are some kinds of fruit not considered vegan? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Listen to this episode in English to learn English
Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. Why do we cry? from Do you really know? gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.
In the Clue app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.