Did you know: when a seal dives its heart goes from 120 bpm to 2, then levels to 10 while underwater. When a hedgehog hibernates, its rate goes from 230 to 5 beats per minute.

Some say humans are given 3 billion heartbeats. Some use them faster than others. People who work out have a lower resting heart rate and use a lesser amount than those who do nothing.

Do the math and see how many heart beats you've used up and how many you have left.

Dr. Serge Lecomte graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in linguistics. He taught Russian and Spanish at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He has lived in the Homer area since 1999 and writes plays and novels for fun.