Lachlan Brown
As humans continue to evolve and adapt to the world around us, we can expect to see some changes in the evolutionary design of the human body.
We’ve already started to see some of these changes happening with human body parts: some people don’t get wisdom teeth, and we know the appendix isn’t worth its weight.
Here are 15 parts of the human body that will disappear in the future because we don’t need them anymore.
1) Body Hair
Did you know that eye brows help keep sweat from our eyes? And male facial hair can play a part in attracting the opposite sex? But besides that, the rest of the hair on the body could be deemed practically useless. Over time, you’ll see people with less and less of it.
2) Paranasal Sinuses
This one is a mystery. Other than causing us grief during allergy season, these sinus don’t do much except make the head lighter.
3) Extrinsic Ear Muscles
Some people don’t have extrinsic ear muscles, but those who do can move their ear independently of their head. It’s useless unless you are hunting and need to hear what’s around you.
4) Wisdom Teeth
These big teeth were used to crush food for digestion, but these days, we’ve got forks and knives for that. Most people don’t ever get their wisdom teeth, are born without them or they never erupt.
5) Neck Rib
Some people have an extra rib, or two, at the top of their rib cage that has been hanging around since early times. It appears in less than 1% of the population on earth these days. Soon, it will be gone altogether.
6) Palmaris Muscle
If you had to rock climb or hang for long periods of time, you needed this muscle, but these days people don’t hang around on cliffs like they used to.
7) Male Nipples
Because every human starts out as neither male nor female, nipples appear in both sexes, but male nipples are totally useless.
8) Arrector Pili Muscles
These muscles cause “goose pimples” and are thought to have connections to “puffing up” to get ready for a fight.
9) Appendix
No one really knows the story behind the appendix but there is no shortage of theories. In the future, this nomad organ will be gone from our vocabulary and our bodies.
10) Thirteenth Rib
Some people have an additional set of ribs below the rib cage, about 8% of the population does actually. It’s part of the primate series of ribs, but some people still exhibit this body part.
11) Toes
People are moving toward a more centered style of walking, making it less important to have toes. Our center of gravity is based from the middle of our bodies and research is showing that toes might not be necessary to help us walk or run in the future.
12) Coccyx
Also known as the tailbone, this part of the body is all that remains of a time when humans had extra parts that are also gone.
13) Third Eyelid
Many mammals have a third eyelid that helps to keep the eye clean; humans have a smaller version in the corner of their eyes, but it is possible that it can disappear in the future because it is no longer needed.
14) Darwin’s Point
A small flap of skin at the top of the ear can still be seen in some people. This is thought to help with sound, but not everyone has it, and it’s likely to continue to disappear as generations are born.
15) Subclavius Muscle
This muscle is useful when you walk on all four limbs. Since we don’t do that, we don’t really need this muscle. Some people have one on either side, and some have none.
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