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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."

5 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.

  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
  5. 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.