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Ten Things We Still Don't Understand About Humans
ParticleGirl writes "New Scientist has an article examining 10 human features (bugs?) that we still don't understand, like blushing, laughing, and nose-picking. There are some interesting, speculative evolutionary explanations listed for each. '[Psychologist Robert R. Provine] thinks laughing began in our pre-human ancestors as a physiological response to tickling. Modern apes maintain the ancestral 'pant-pant' laugh when they are tickled during play, and this evolved into the human 'ha-ha.' Then, he argues, as our brains got bigger, laughter acquired a powerful social function — to bond people. Indeed, Robin Dunbar at the University of Oxford has found that laughing increases levels of endorphins, our body's natural opiates, which he believes helps to strengthen social relationships.'"
The desire to be first
And the crushing despair that follows when one fails.
Women.
01110000 01010111 01101110 00110011 01100100
And let's not forget how much fun it is. Not to mention how it drives the ladies wild.
... smell my finger!
(explain that one)
No, we do it because it tastes great
Aye. And it happens in children who are still not coordinated enough to figure out HOW to blow their nose. I'd love to get some grant money to study that...
My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
Sociology is a legitimate science.
Why does your nose run, but your feet smell? That's what *I* have been wondering.
[ irc.p2p-network.net -> #zomgwtfbbq ][ http://zomgwtfbbq.info ]
If you claim that children who pick their noses contributes to global warming somehow, you will get all of the funding you want.
Obligatory:
Why do gorillas have such big nostrils?
Because they have big fingers.
Perhaps 'meme' is a fnord.
'Meme' is a what?
You didn't finish your sentence
I can't speak for anyone else, but usually the only reason why that happens in my own case is if there's something in there that has hardened and is sticking into the wall of one of my nostrils, and it itches, or even hurts.
So to remove the pain, I remove the source of it. ;)