why did homo sapiens evolve hair on their eyebrows?

leftofthedial

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Sun May-21-06 11:30 PM
Original message

why did homo sapiens evolve hair on their eyebrows?

Edited on Sun May-21-06 11:30 PM by leftofthedial

and the, um, pubic region?

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Swede

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Sun May-21-06 11:32 PM
Response to Original message

1. I seem to remember body hair was a phermone thing.

Eyebrows for protection from wind,branches etc.

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leftofthedial

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Mon May-22-06 01:54 AM
Response to Reply #1

11. I read the explanations about eyebrows

I'm not buying it.

Sweat still gets in eyes and branches, etc. don't care about eyebrows.

What about facial aesthetics?

as for the nad hairs, I think this is worthless unless it's a picture thread. Seriously, the friction idea sounds right, but the pheremones? I don't see how hair helps. I think it's pretty much just a choking hazard . . .

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jukes

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Mon May-22-06 11:56 AM
Response to Reply #11

15. eyebrows are vestigial

they no longer serve the purpose they 1ce had, when we had jutting brow-ridges that they augmented. if you look carefully at other mammals you'll see them also. cats have eyebrows.

rather than dust=sweeps, the may serve as a buffer from impact. most boxers have scars in the brow region.

i'm not allowed to discuss pubes. i've been *!OFFICIALLY!* warned to refrain from sex stopix, lest i be banned for LIFE!!!

we have several vestigial bits, like the appendix, that serve no useful purpose in our present incarnation, except to confound the whackos that insist on "intelligent design".

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leftofthedial

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Mon May-22-06 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #15

19. to more accurately state the question . . .

what is the selective advantage in those two (or one in the case of repukes) little bits of hair surviving the balding of homo sapiens?

I don't think that particular hair protects us from anything.

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jukes

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Mon May-22-06 02:21 PM
Response to Reply #19

25. "dew" claws on dogs

no purpose any longer. hopefully that means we're still evolving!

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ghostsofgiants

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Sun May-21-06 11:33 PM
Response to Original message

2. Not sure about the eyebrows...

Edited on Sun May-21-06 11:33 PM by primate1

But the pubic hair, or so I've read, prevents excess skin-on-skin friction while bumping nasties. (Ad also the pheromone thing Swede mentioned.)

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Floogeldy

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Sun May-21-06 11:34 PM
Response to Original message

3. To protect the body. Hair serves a great purpose.

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leftofthedial

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Mon May-22-06 12:51 PM
Response to Reply #3

20. but why the hair in those particular locations?

Edited on Mon May-22-06 12:51 PM by leftofthedial

why did (dense) hair covering go away in other parts of our body but not there?

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Taverner

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Sun May-21-06 11:34 PM
Response to Original message

4. Pubic region: to maintain the 96 degrees necesarry for testicles

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leftofthedial

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Mon May-22-06 01:48 AM
Response to Reply #4

10. I thought sperm production required a lower temp than body temp

:shrug:

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Taverner

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Mon May-22-06 08:12 AM
Response to Reply #10

12. It does - body temp is 98.6, testicles need 96

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leftofthedial

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Mon May-22-06 11:19 AM
Response to Reply #12

14. does one use a meat thermometer to determine this?

:rofl:

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NewWaveChick1981

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Mon May-22-06 02:04 PM
Response to Reply #14

24. LOL!

:spray: :rofl:

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mduffy31

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Sun May-21-06 11:36 PM
Response to Original message

5. To protect the eyes

Here is the Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyebrows

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Spider Jerusalem

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Sun May-21-06 11:37 PM
Response to Original message

6. Actually, we *retained* hair there.

Our early hominid forebears probably had much more extensive and thicker hair in most places.

The reason we have hair on the eyebrows is because it keeps sweat from running into the eyes. And the hypothesis I've seen for the retention of pubic and axillary hair is that it traps scent and thus pheromones (and also that it leads to less friction during 'intimate moments').

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leftofthedial

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Mon May-22-06 12:53 PM
Response to Reply #6

21. badly worded question in the OP

the eyebrows thing still doesn't make sense to me. My eyebrows don't keep sweat otu of my eyes. My Pete Maravich sweatband does.

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Ivan Sputnik

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Sun May-21-06 11:47 PM
Response to Original message

7. Hair

"pulls" sweat away from the skin so it can evaporate faster and so it doesn't run all over you. That's my theory.

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pokerfan

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Mon May-22-06 01:37 AM
Response to Reply #7

8. Yeah, but the whole point of sweat

is so that it can evaporate while in contact with the skin thus providing the cooling effect.

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Placebo

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Mon May-22-06 01:40 AM
Response to Original message

9. No idea.

Why are some people just walking carpets and others look like pre-pubescent children? Mother nature is a mad scientist!

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leftofthedial

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Mon May-22-06 12:46 PM
Response to Reply #9

18. inteligunt duzine

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HarukaTheTrophyWife

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Mon May-22-06 08:16 AM
Response to Original message

13. So God can punish us with the occaisional ingrown hair. nt

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applegrove

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Mon May-22-06 12:24 PM
Response to Original message

16. Didn't humans loose hair over time?

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Shell Beau

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Mon May-22-06 12:28 PM
Response to Original message

17. I always thought hair was for protection from germs and stuff!

:shrug: I really haven't a clue though!

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rug

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Mon May-22-06 01:55 PM
Response to Original message

22. We are not human without our archness.

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leftofthedial

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Mon May-22-06 02:02 PM
Response to Reply #22

23. I think eybrows have more to do with facial expressions than with

keeping sweat out of eyes, etc.

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