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Humans Born to Run

Posted by michael on from the from-richard-dawson dept.

chia_monkey writes "This article in MSNBC says humans were born to run. From tendons and ligaments in the legs and feet that act like springs and skull features that help prevent overheating, to well-defined buttocks that stabilize the body, the human anatomy is shaped for running. The article also goes on to talk about our rumps: Big buttocks are also important. 'Have you ever looked at an ape? They have no buns,' said Bramble."

12 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. So..Sir Mixalot was right after all..... by venom600 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Big buttocks are also important.

    I'll be damned.

    1. Re:So..Sir Mixalot was right after all..... by over_exposed · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well defined buttocks my a... wait... no, nevermind.

      --
      "The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his." - Patton
  2. Springsteen was right by Drunken_Jackass · · Score: 5, Funny

    Damnit, baby, we were born to run.

    --
    There are 01 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and me.
  3. Big butts on slashdot by neosake · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm willing to bet that most big buts reading /. aren't from running...

    ... well, at least in my case that is.

    --
    "When a ball dreams, it dreams it's a frisbee"
  4. My Eyes! by DLWormwood · · Score: 5, Funny
    Have you ever looked at an ape? They have no buns,' said Bramble.

    I've looked at apes before, but not like that.

    Ew. Off to use some mental floss.

    --
    Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
    1. Re:My Eyes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Have you ever looked at an ape? They have no buns,' said Bramble.

      Well, I can't say that I have but...

      I've heard that the reason why men are attracted to women who wear bright red lipstick is because it's a throwback to how the rear end of a female ape gets red when she's horny and ready to mate. Seing a red round object triggers the same sex drive in us that it did our prehistoric ancestors. So when you are thinking of, ahem, enjoying a woman's full, red lips, it's like your homo erectus part wants to enjoy the rear end of a protohuman.

      Ew. Off to use some mental floss.

      Hmmmm. I have the feeling that I just made a bad situation worse...

    2. Re:My Eyes! by Holi · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I've heard it a little differently, that during arousal a women's lips (and other parts of her body) become flushed and swollen with blood. Red lipstick and collegen treatment are just designed to give women the look of permanent sexual arousal.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    3. Re:My Eyes! by DLWormwood · · Score: 3, Funny
      Hmmmm. I have the feeling that I just made a bad situation worse...

      Thank you, Desmond Morris! Geez...

      --
      Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
  5. Citing prior research in this area by GuyMannDude · · Score: 4, Funny

    This provides an interesting corallary to work done by Dr. Freddie Mercury and his colleagues many years ago on the relation between women with big buttocks and the rotation of the Earth.

    GMD

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    watch this
  6. Bullshit. by Demona · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We ran to catch food or escape an enemy, but for thousands of years when we wanted to go someplace, we walked. We weren't the fastest or strongest - we couldn't outrun quadrupeds. But in addition to outthinking them, we could outwalk them. Conquerors may have ridden on horseback, but the ones who came on foot and brought their tools and families were the organizers of civilization. (somewhat paraphrased from The Magic of Walking, by Aaron Sussman and Ruth Goode)

    --
    Fuck Slashdot
    1. Re:Bullshit. by Evil+Pete · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The point the authors made was not that humans are good sprinters, which we aren't, but that we are extremely good long distance runners. We can outrun most other creatures over long distances. This was important when we expanded into the savannah and had to beat the hyenas to any newly fallen carcass. I read this in Nature and New Scientist and also heard an interview with the guy (who used the hyena example) ... interestingly the radio interview was on a mainstream station, prime time before I had even seen any mention in the journals. One example the guy gave was that over long distances humans can outrun horses, assuming you've got people who are used to running a lot. Interesting. I remember locally there was this guy, became a national folk hero, he was in his 60s ran everywhere on the farm chasing cattle. Decided to go in an ultra-marathon, about 1,000 km. First effort he beat the world leaders by about 8 hours or more , can't remember the exact lead he had, fellow Aussies might remember Cliff Young. This gives an idea of the 'typical' endurance of a hunter pursuing game.

      --
      Bitter and proud of it.
  7. Cursorial hunting. by CryptoEngineer · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This is actually an idea which has been around for some time. As the article notes, while humans can be outrun by almost every mammal in the sprint, there are only a very few wild animals with comparable endurance - the horse, the wolf, and the hyena. No other mammals can run a marathon.

    This means that humans can run down prey. Chase an antelope, and it'll run a few hundred yards far faster than you can, then stop to rest. If you just keep dogtrotting after it, it'll do it again, and again. But after a couple miles, it'll be so tired that you can catch up with it and hit it over the head with a big stick.

    This is called 'cursorial hunting'. Only wolves, hyenas, and humans can do this - chase after a quarry till it drops in its tracks.