10. Plica semilunaris -- You may not
know it, but you have a third eyelid. Pull open the two more noticeable
eyelids and take a look - it's located right in the corner by the tear
duct. The third eyelid eye left over from what's known as a
"nictitating membrane," which is still present in animals like
chickens, lizards and sharks.
9. Body hair -- No doubt we were once hairier. Up until about 3 million years ago, we were covered with it. But by the time Homo erectus arrived, the ability to sweat meant we could shed our wooly ways.
8. Sinuses -- Doctors don't really know much about sinuses -
only that we have a lot of them. Possibilities for their function range
from insulating our eyes to changing the pitch and tone of our voice.
7. Adenoids -- Adenoids trap bacteria, but they're also prone
to swelling and infection. Just ask any seven-year-old. Luckily, our
adenoids shrink with age and are often removed, along with ...
6. Tonsils -- Also prone to swelling and infection. If you have them by your 30s, it's almost an accomplishment.
5. Coccyx -- More useful as a game-winning Scrabble word than
part of the anatomy, the coccyx, or tailbone, is several fused
vertebrae left over from the olden days when we had tails.
4. Erector pili -- When were hairier (see No. 9), the erector
pili made the hairs stand on end when we needed to appear bigger and
scarier. Now, it just gives us goose bumps.
3. Wisdom teeth -- Back in the day, when we ate mammoth meat
off the bone and didn't floss afterward, our teeth tended to fall out.
Therefore, when those reserve molars, aka "wisdom teeth," came in they
were welcomed. Nowadays, fluoride and dental plans have just made them
a huge pain.
2. Appendix - Darwin claimed the appendix was useful for
digestion during our early plant-eating years; it's dwindled down to
little since we started eating more digestible foods.
1. Male nipples - Because, why?