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Why are humans furless? I loved the semi-aquatic-ape theory (that in foraging for shellfish we lost our fur as whales, dophins, hippos did), but I understand t
by 10ren 17y ago
Why are humans furless?
I loved the semi-aquatic-ape theory (that in foraging for shellfish we lost our fur as whales, dophins, hippos did), but I understand that one has fallen from favour.
- pg 17y agoTo run down prey without overheating.
- grinich 17y agoand here's a bit more detail. Most mammals can sprint faster than humans — having four legs gives them the advantage. But when it comes to long distances, humans can outrun almost any animal. Because we cool by sweating rather than panting, we can stay cool at speeds and distances that would overheat other animals. On a hot day, the two scientists wrote, a human could even outrun a horse in a 26.2-mile marathon. from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27well.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27well.html More on the Man vs. Horse Marathon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon
- aquateen 17y agoThey should make it fair and have the runners carry a horse.
- 10ren 17y agoAh yes, the persistence hunt: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=557452 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=557452 The nightmare concept of a relentless, unstoppable killer (as in zombie movies and the Terminator) appears to be based on us. Our bipedalism and big brain from a high protein diet also seem related to this. It seems to have given us our human qualities, yet also feels so very unrelated to those human qualities.
- 10ren 17y agothanks. I'd upvote your reply to me, but my upvotes don't count hint, hint