Goose BumpsHumans, porcupines, cats and dogs naturally get goosebumps when cold or startled, this is why their hairs stand on end. When startled the goosebumps make hair stand on end, making the animal appear larger and more threatening than they actually are in order to 'scare' the animal away. Humans no longer benefit from this ancient evolutionary function as we left our super thick hair behind long ago.
Jacobson's Organ
Jacobson’s organ is found in the nose and it detects pheromones, the chemical that triggers sexual desire. Early humans used this organ to track other humans for sex when communication was not possible. Its purpose in modern humans has now become another useless relic from our days as archaic humans. Who needs a Jacobson's organ to find mating partners when there is Facebook.
Wiggling Ears
The 'extrinsic ear muscles' are used by animals such as cats to swivel their ears around to focus on specific sounds whilst hunting, (or being hunted). Humans still have these muscles even though we don't really use them anymore, and like most muscles in the body when you don't use it you lose it; the most we can do with our ear muscles now is wiggle them a little. Another evolutionary remnant from our days as archaic humans.
It's In The Eyes
Humans are the only organisms with huge scleras or 'whites of the eyes'. Anthropologists believe we use this to read each others thoughts with our eyes. An experiment was conducted comparing human babies and great ape babies. They found that great ape babies followed the eyes of the experimenter only when he moved his entire head whereas human babies followed the eyes of the experimenter both when he moved his head and when he only moved his eyes side to side. This means the whites of our eyes help us communicate.
Not So Wise Wisdom Teeth
Our wisdom teeth are the last teeth that come into place. There isn't always space for them in our jaw and then they become 'impacted'...ouch! Although they are not useful anymore, it was once very wise to have them as they helped our ancestors to chew their uncooked, tough food. But ever since we learnt to cook, our jaws have become smaller and lost the need for them.
The Plantaris Muscle
The plantaris muscle is found in the foot and is used by other animals to grip objects. For example, apes can use their feet to do just about anything. Humans have these muscles in their feet too but we've been walking upright and using just our hands for so long that the muscle has become underdeveloped and useless. The muscle is now absent in 10% of the people in the world.
The Third Eye...lid.
When some animals blink, a thin membrane moves across their eyes, this membrane is called a 'third eyelid. Humans have a shrunken useless version of this another remnant from our days as other life forms.
The Appendix
The appendix has no known use in modern humans. Darwin suggested that it once helped to digest the cellulose in the vegetable rich diets of our ancestors. Many years of evolution saw changes in our diet that eventually led to the appendix becoming useless.
Fifth Toe
The fifth toe also looks like it will soon be becoming useless as we don't really need it to walk properly anymore, and we must admit it hurts pretty badly when you bang it against something.
Darwin's Point
Darwin's point is a small thick nodule at the junction of the upper/middle ear sections. It is found in most mammals, including humans. It is believed they are used to help animals focus sound waves, but yet again they no longer function in humans. In fact, only 1 in 10 people have this left over relic of archaic human ancestry.
Missing Tail
And last but not least, the tail bone or 'coccyx'. The coccyx is another remnant, this time of a tail we used to have. Over time the tail disappeared as we didn't need to swing off trees anymore. The coccyx isn't entirely useless now though, it still functions as a support bone for carious muscles when we sit down and lean backwards. It also helps the positioning of our anus which always comes in handy for toileting.
More Useless Body Parts.
Jacobson’s organ is found in the nose and it detects pheromones, the chemical that triggers sexual desire. Early humans used this organ to track other humans for sex when communication was not possible. Its purpose in modern humans has now become another useless relic from our days as archaic humans. Who needs a Jacobson's organ to find mating partners when there is Facebook.
Wiggling Ears The 'extrinsic ear muscles' are used by animals such as cats to swivel their ears around to focus on specific sounds whilst hunting, (or being hunted). Humans still have these muscles even though we don't really use them anymore, and like most muscles in the body when you don't use it you lose it; the most we can do with our ear muscles now is wiggle them a little. Another evolutionary remnant from our days as archaic humans.
It's In The Eyes
Humans are the only organisms with huge scleras or 'whites of the eyes'. Anthropologists believe we use this to read each others thoughts with our eyes. An experiment was conducted comparing human babies and great ape babies. They found that great ape babies followed the eyes of the experimenter only when he moved his entire head whereas human babies followed the eyes of the experimenter both when he moved his head and when he only moved his eyes side to side. This means the whites of our eyes help us communicate. Our wisdom teeth are the last teeth that come into place. There isn't always space for them in our jaw and then they become 'impacted'...ouch! Although they are not useful anymore, it was once very wise to have them as they helped our ancestors to chew their uncooked, tough food. But ever since we learnt to cook, our jaws have become smaller and lost the need for them.
The Plantaris Muscle
The plantaris muscle is found in the foot and is used by other animals to grip objects. For example, apes can use their feet to do just about anything. Humans have these muscles in their feet too but we've been walking upright and using just our hands for so long that the muscle has become underdeveloped and useless. The muscle is now absent in 10% of the people in the world. The Third Eye...lid.When some animals blink, a thin membrane moves across their eyes, this membrane is called a 'third eyelid. Humans have a shrunken useless version of this another remnant from our days as other life forms.
The Appendix
Fifth Toe
The fifth toe also looks like it will soon be becoming useless as we don't really need it to walk properly anymore, and we must admit it hurts pretty badly when you bang it against something.
Darwin's Point
Darwin's point is a small thick nodule at the junction of the upper/middle ear sections. It is found in most mammals, including humans. It is believed they are used to help animals focus sound waves, but yet again they no longer function in humans. In fact, only 1 in 10 people have this left over relic of archaic human ancestry. And last but not least, the tail bone or 'coccyx'. The coccyx is another remnant, this time of a tail we used to have. Over time the tail disappeared as we didn't need to swing off trees anymore. The coccyx isn't entirely useless now though, it still functions as a support bone for carious muscles when we sit down and lean backwards. It also helps the positioning of our anus which always comes in handy for toileting.
More Useless Body Parts.
