Why do we cry? The three types of tears - Alex Gendler

Translator: Hekim Atay Reviewer: Mehmet Sıddık Dilek

Our story is about a girl named Iris.

Ev çîroka "İrîs"ê ye.

Iris is very sensitive.

Îrîs yeke dilnerim e.

(Bird cawing)

So much that she is always in tears.

her tim rondika dibarîne.

She cries when she's sad,

Dema xemgîn e digirî,

when she's happy,

dema şa dibe digirî,

(Godzilla roars)

kengî rewş zora we bibe, digirî.

and even tears up when things just get to her.

She has special lacrimal glands to make new tears

"Lakrimal gland" rondika çê dike

and special tubes, called lacrimal puncta,

"Lacrimal punktum" qanala rondika ya.

to drain old ones away.

And she cries so much that she goes through

Û ewqas digirî

ten ounces of tears per day,

rojê 283 gr,

thirty gallons a year!

salê 113 lître!

In fact, if you look closely,

Ji nêzîk binêrin xuyaye hertim hinekî digirî.

you'll see that she's crying a little bit all the time.

The basal tears that Iris constantly produces

İris bê rawest rondikê bazal çêdike,

form a thin coating of three layers

ev bi 3 tebeqe pêk tê,

that cover her and keep dirt and debris away.

û qirêjê dûr dike.

Right next to Iris is the mucus layer,

Nik îrîsê tebeqeya muqusê heye,

which keeps the whole thing fastened to her.

ew dihele her tişt bi lez bişixule.

On top of it is the aqueous layer,

Li ser wê, tebeqeya avê heye

Ewa Nahêle îrîs ziwa bibe,

which keeps Iris hydrated, repels invasive bacteria,

Û Bakteriyan dûr dixe

and protects her skin, or cornea, from damage.

Û her wiha Korneayê diparêze.

And, finally, there is the lipid layer,

Tebeqeya dawî lîpîd e.

an oily outer film that keeps the surface smooth

Ev jî qada irîsê paqij dike

for Iris to see through,

Û Nahêle tebeqeyên din ziwa bibin.

and prevents the other layers from evaporating.

Her roj çav piçek rondik çêdike,

Normally, Iris goes about her day

without really noticing the basal tears doing their thing.

Û haya îrîsê bi vê tuneye.

That's kind of their whole point.

Ev gelek girîng e.

But one day, she meets a girl named Onion.

Rojekî îrîs û pîvaz dibin heval.

Iris is immediately smitten.

İrîs evîndar dibe.

Onion looks gorgeous in her bright purple jacket,

Pîvaz nava cilên xwe de gelek rind e,

and she smells terrific.

bêhna wê jî xofan e.

So, Iris invites Onion to her house for dinner.

Paşê pîvaz dibe mêvanê îrîsê

Pîvaz cilên xwe dixe,

But when she comes in and takes off her jacket,

û gelek tiştêkî xirab diqewime.

something terrible happens.

You see, when Onion's jacket is removed,

Gava pîvaz cilên xwe dixe,

a chemical reaction happens,

reaksîyoneke kîmyasal çêdibe,

converting the sulfoxides that make her smell so great

sûlfoksît diguherin û

into sulfenic acid,

bêhna pîs ango asîda sûlfûrîk çêdibe.

which then becomes a nasty substance with a long name:

Dû re asîda sûlfûrîk dibe "syn-Propanethial S-oxide"

syn-Propanethial S-oxide.

Gaz İrisê dişewitîne

The gas stings Iris, and suddenly, she can't help it,

û bêrawest rondik têne xwarê.

she starts weeping uncontrollably.

These reflex tears are different from the basal tears

Ev giriyê refleks e û ji yê din cuda ye.

that Iris is used to.

Çimkî bo çav were şûştin,

Because they're designed

to wash away harmful substances, or particles,

û tiştên bi ziyan dûr bikevin,

they're released in much larger amounts,

zêdetir rondik çê dibin

and their aqueous layer contains more antibodies

û ji bo mîkroban jî

to stop any microorganisms that may be trying to get in, as well.

zêdetir antîkoran dihewîne.

Both Iris and Onion are devastated.

Her du jî xemgîn dibin.

They know they can't continue their relationship

Dizanin ku dema li ba hev bin îrîs bigirî,

if Iris is going to hurt and cry every time Onion takes off her jacket.

ev hevaltî nabe.

So, they decide to break up.

Loma jî ji hev diqetin.

As Onion walks out the door, Iris stops crying.

Gava pîvaz dertê

îrîs êdî nagirî.

And immediately starts again.

Lê paşê dîsa digirî

Only now, she's not crying reflex tears but emotional tears.

Ve care ne refleks e,

ji ber dilînîya xwe digirî.

When someone is either too sad or too happy,

Şabûn an jî xemgînî

it feels like a loss of control,

dibe ku qontrolê me bistîne,

which can be dangerous.

û ev jî xeter e.

So, emotional tears are sent in to stabilize the mood

Loma rondik çêdibin ku

rewşa giyanê me,

as quickly as possible,

wek lezkirina dil,

along with other physical reactions,

bêhnvedan

such as an increased heart rate and slower breathing.

û reaksîyonên fîziksel

normal bibe.

But scientists still aren't sure

Zanist hê jî

exactly how or why the tears themselves are helpful.

feydeyên rondika baş nizanin.

They may be a social mechanism to elicit sympathy or show submission.

Dibe ku tevgereke cîvakî be.

But some studies have also found

Gorî hin xebatan jî,

that emotional tears contain higher levels of stress hormones,

rondik

ACTH, enkefalîn, endorfîn

such as ACTH and enkephalin,

wek êşbiran

hormonên stresê dihewîne.

an endorphin and natural pain killer.

In this case, emotional tears are also directly calming Iris down,

Rondik psîkolojiya îrîsê

as well as signaling her emotional state to others.

aram dikin.

Sorry things didn't work out with Onion, Iris,

Ji bo pîvazê ez xemgîn im İris.

but don't worry.

Lê meraq neke,

As long as you have all three kinds of tears

heta ku rondikên te ye parezker hebin

working to keep you balanced and healthy, it will get better.

tu ê baş bî.

You'll see.

Bawer bike.