Why humans have so little hair compared to other apes

[Slida23]

The very first time I heard the word “hirsute” used, I thought the person said “hair suit”, which is kind of the same thing. #marginallyontopic

[bheerssen]

[SYNERDATA]

When we originally designed humans we did not want them mistaken for monkeys, and so we made them look different so that scientists can recognize that we are different products.

[RickMycroft]

@Ratel

who need it because they are largely frugivores or transitional herbivores who need red/green distinction to assess the ripeness of fruit and the toxicity of leaves.

[anon81034786]

@Melz2

See Exhibit A: ‘bears

[Michael_R_Smith]

bearded humans actually have MORE facial hair than many apes.

You haven’t met me then…

Are you an unusually hairy ape?

[Michael_R_Smith]

@Bucket

Only ostriches*

Also kangaroos and emus.

[GulliverFoyle]

@Brainspore

In savanna conditions a fit human can cover more distance than a dog without pausing for rest, though dogs generally have humans beat over short distances.

Can confirm.

Of course nowadays many humans hunt something other than antelope…

[HMSGoose]

@Brainspore

help with emotional communication.

This theory never made any sense to me. Apes don’t usually have much hair on their faces, and bearded humans actually have MORE facial hair than many apes.

That’s just socio-culturally driven reverse-evo-psych phenotypical divergence*. Guys with big beard don’t NEED your sissy emotional communication.

@fnordius

but endurance in midday heat conditions.

So, again, it all comes back to tool use. specifically the tools to invent Gatorade /s

*may not be actual academic jargon…yet

[DreamboatSkanky]

@Ratel

this is not so much speculative or controversial as just baldly untrue.

I see what you did there.

[Ratel]

[Fred_Cairns]

The Aquatic Ape hypothesis made sense and still makes sense to me. The convincing part of the argument, or so it seems to me, is that mammals that wallow lose their hair. Think of the pig, think of the elephant. When you see pictures of Japanese macaques sitting in hot springs with snow on their heads, it kind of drives it home. Elephants are really sea-going animals. There was an article a few years ago about an elephant that spent its time swimming from island to island in the Indian Ocean. The elephant’s trunk is the midway stage to the blowhole that dolphins and whales have. If is doesn’t show in the fossil record, so what? Absense of proof is not proof of absence.

[anon75430791]

@Fred_Cairns

Elephants are really sea-going animals

Hippos, actually. Closest land dwelling relative to whales and dolphins.

[anon61833566]

[dommerdoodle]

[Ratel]

Elephants are more closely related to manatees. Allow me to introduce you to the amazing and bizarre clade called Afrotheria.

[XantheStone]

Because humans are prettier and don’t need the ugliness covered.

[Fred_Cairns]

Elephants are not really hippos! …I - You - What - URRRRRGH!

[karl_jones]

@anon41977465

actually how thick would hair around the genitalia have to be to hide the ‘emotions’?

Indeed. As Jack Handey put it:

“I’d like to see a nude opera, because when they hit those high notes, I bet you can really see it in those genitals”

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i-d_like_to_see_a_nude_opera-because_when_they/181259.html

[anon41977465]

I sort of envision them retracting during the high notes