A lot of people don’t know this but humans possess a lot of body parts which currently serve no purpose (even though they once did for our ancestors). It’s been theorized that they used to be important for survival but, over time, have been rendered useless by evolution.
Here are 5 of such body parts.
1) Appendix
The appendix is the most commonly known useless organ. Some experts believe that the appendix helped our ancestors digest plants which were rich in cellulose. Others believe it to be a store for “good bacteria”, helping to reboot the digestive system after diarrheal illnesses. Either way, it’s a thing you can live without.
2) Wisdom Teeth
The extra teeth were necessary back when ancient humans had a steady diet of uncooked meats and tough roots. But as humans figured out how to make food softer by cooking (coupled with the fact that our faces and jaws have reduced in size in the last 20,000 years) those teeth are now useless and hurt like hell when they start growing.
3) The Tail Bone
Tailbones helped ancient humans with mobility and balance. But as humans learned to walk upright, the tail began to shrink. Human embryos still develop a tail between 5 and 8 weeks after conception. However, they vanish before the fetus is born.
4) The Plica Semilunaris (a.k.a The Third Eyelid)
This is a fold of tissue found on the inside corner of the eye. Birds, reptiles, and some mammals have this membrane and can pull it across their eyes to keep them moist and debris-free. Even though humans are unable to control it, some experts believe that our Plica Semilunaris is a remnant of this membrane.
5) Auricular Muscles
Auricular muscles control the visible parts of the ear. The auricular muscles help mammals localize sound (detect prey and predators) and express emotion. An example of such mammals are cats, who need to move their ears to hear well. Some humans can wiggle their ears but that pretty much it.
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