Why don't we have fur?

Question

Apes have fur even in a hot climate. Can see no advantage in us losing it, would save laundry bills! A tail would be good as well, can be used as an extra limb. May get in the way on the underground in rush hour however.

Answer 1

Human beings lack body hair for a simple reason - we have the most efficient heat dissipation system of any mammal in the world! Human sweating is extremely efficient, since without hairs to trap the sweat on the body, the massive pouring of fluids through the skin's pores works not entirely like car air-conditioning. Humans can sweat more fluid per hour than any other mammal.

Humans are amazing endurance runners. In a recent issue of Discover, the author noted that human beings can outrun any animal on Earth, if the pursuit lasts long enough - humans in good condition do not need to stop and take breaks because our heat dissipation system keeps our body temperature stabler than any other creature's. The ability to "run down" anything gave early humans an amazing survival advantage.

These adaptations appear to have appeared in Homo Erectus, about a million and a half years ago. Scientists were able to determine this timeline because of the amount of genetic divergence between the two living human species of body lice. Also, Homo Erectus is the first human to develop the skeleton of a fully modern and athletic bipedal human.

Answer 2

We do still have fur - it has reduced to just a few patches through evolution. \the hair we have kept is there because it is useful. The hair on your head insulated it from heat loss and the hair in your armpits / groin prevents chafing.

As we become more able to control our climate (central heating / clothing / fire etc) our need for natural protection decreases.

We do still have the remains of a tail, called the coxis which is effectively a tail bone.

When a baby is born - there is still a small hole where the tail should be. This heals up within the first few weeks.

Answer 3

We do have fur, only we call it hair...... As to why we lost it, well some scientist suggest that at some point we may have gone back to the sea, but personally I think we just evolved it to help us adapt better to differeing climates, after all we are the only ape to live on 90% of the globe

Answer 4

We probably did at one stage in our development as humans but we would have lost it as we didn't need it. People started wearing clothes (probably animal skins initially). We have the remnants of fur where it is most needed (heads) and other places. Just not as thick as it once was.

We have the remnants of a tail too, at the base of the spine (where else).

To some of your respondents; of course we are animals, look at the alternatives, animal or vegetable (although vegetable could be an accurate description of some of the pseudochristian here)

Answer 5

I would go for the extra pair of hands at the end of our legs, too. Just think! I could have two keyboards and what a boon it would be when mending a broken pot or sawing a piece of wood!

Some people have thought that humans are a kind of axolotl of the mammalian world - a sexually mature tadpole. There are certainly more than a few people who never seem to grow up.

I wonder if angels are furry.

Answer 6

Unique human cultural adaptations such as the use of fire, shelter, and clothing allowed ancient humans the luxury of ditching their insulating hairy layer. we also somewhat evolved to avoid body lice and ticks
Apes still live in different climates, rainforests etc, they still have the need for fur in hot climates so the babies have to have something to hold onto and ot prevent sunburn, who knows? i'm only summising.
A tail would be good for slapping idiot people and looking innocent no?

Answer 7

We are mummifies so all our body is covered in hair.It may sound weird but its true ..of course except our palms and other stuff..At your question I'm afraid i can not answer for this was the way God decided to be.IF we were made to have a tail we should of have it now so ...OF course may things seem to be easier with or without a tail but we can't really know for sure...can we?

Answer 8

we do have fur, it has just thinned out over the years as we have evolved brains which mean we can think of other ways to keep warm i.e. fire. next time you get goosebumps when your cold look at the bumps on i.e. your arm. this is where in caveman times we used to have our extra hair. anyone who says we are not animals we're humans is an idiot, we're still animals. we just have bigger brains than all the others

Answer 9

first of all, we are ANIMALS

tails are for balance

fur is for organisms which need to maintain a lot of heat and not freeze to death. we do have fur, we call it hair.

fur and hair are for trapping heat. we live in sheltered places and therefore do not need the excess hair

Answer 10

My man has fur on his chest and I call himTeddy