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"we bleed when we menstruate" sounded way too weird. Maybe it still is valid if you set the emphasis on 'set apart from _most_' but it's nothing humans are uniq

"we bleed when we menstruate" sounded way too weird. Maybe it still is valid if you set the emphasis on 'set apart from _most_' but it's nothing humans are unique in - according to a couple simple search terms. (See 1 - if Wikipedia is to believe what we consider normal menstruation _is_ common mostly for humans and our close relatives in the animal kingdom, but also happens in simians and .. erm.. bats?) 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstruation_%28mammal%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstruation_%28mammal%29 2: https://myperiodblog.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/do-other-animals-menstruate/ https://myperiodblog.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/do-other-anima...

drostie 15y ago
"Most" is indeed key. For example, as far as "complex vocal patterns" go, there are birds which can learn to duplicate human speech and therefore have the vocal capacity of humans. Or, as far as bipedalism goes, you have the kangaroo -- and actually, if I count the animals that I've seen take a few steps on their hind legs, I'd have to also include dogs, a rabbit, a gerbil, and an elephant that was trying to get his mating on. Even our nakedness is shared by other species -- one of them is called the naked mole rat.
- 6ren 15y ago
  Also birds for bipedalism. At the extreme we have ostriches and emus. BTW: cockatoos also have strikingly manipulative feet, which they use in combination with their beak (though they can't use both feet simultaneously). And a surprisingly high brain/body ratio. Although they lack a prefrontal cortex, birds have separately developed a different structure, called the hyperpallium. There's no necessary barrier for birds evolving sapience independently from our line (any more than for aliens) - and there's no reason that the architecture of our brains must be better/more efficient.
  - bitwize 15y ago
    Arguably, if Dr. Irene Pepperberg's work with Alex the African grey parrot is to be believed, bird sapience has already been demonstrated.
ars 15y ago
It would be better phrased as hidden estrus, which virtually no other animal has. Can you imagine a world when you always knew if the women around you were menstruating? It would be tough to maintain equal rights in an environment like that - that change alone is a huge one for human culture - much larger than it appears at first.
- gadders 15y ago
  Just as a weird aside - a female friend worked with a guy who could 100% of the time tell if a woman was menstruating from smelling their breath. I'm unsure as to how this came up in conversation.

drostie 15y ago

"Most" is indeed key. For example, as far as "complex vocal patterns" go, there are birds which can learn to duplicate human speech and therefore have the vocal capacity of humans. Or, as far as bipedalism goes, you have the kangaroo -- and actually, if I count the animals that I've seen take a few steps on their hind legs, I'd have to also include dogs, a rabbit, a gerbil, and an elephant that was trying to get his mating on. Even our nakedness is shared by other species -- one of them is called the naked mole rat.

6ren 15y ago
Also birds for bipedalism. At the extreme we have ostriches and emus. BTW: cockatoos also have strikingly manipulative feet, which they use in combination with their beak (though they can't use both feet simultaneously). And a surprisingly high brain/body ratio. Although they lack a prefrontal cortex, birds have separately developed a different structure, called the hyperpallium. There's no necessary barrier for birds evolving sapience independently from our line (any more than for aliens) - and there's no reason that the architecture of our brains must be better/more efficient.
- bitwize 15y ago
  Arguably, if Dr. Irene Pepperberg's work with Alex the African grey parrot is to be believed, bird sapience has already been demonstrated.

ars 15y ago

It would be better phrased as hidden estrus, which virtually no other animal has. Can you imagine a world when you always knew if the women around you were menstruating? It would be tough to maintain equal rights in an environment like that - that change alone is a huge one for human culture - much larger than it appears at first.

gadders 15y ago
Just as a weird aside - a female friend worked with a guy who could 100% of the time tell if a woman was menstruating from smelling their breath. I'm unsure as to how this came up in conversation.