Why did evolution leave beards on men?

[bimble]

I've been googling this now and again for a while but found nothing at all that answers the question in an even half-satisfying way: You can't just say 'sexual selection' and leave it at that, else why did men not evolve to keep their tails who can say women wouldn't have fancied them more with a tail, or a furry ruff round the neck to keep warm whilst hunting..
We would all have had furry faces then at some point women's got bald and (many) men got left with the bottom half of their faces covered in hair. Why? Anyone got any ideas better than just 'sexual selection'? Cheers.

 

[danny la rouge]

Because it wasn't a disadvantage to have beard.

 

[bimble]

But for women it was?

 

[maomao]

Because it wasn't a disadvantage to have beard.

So why did women lose them?

 

[JimW]

Testosterone display like flanges on an orang utan.

 

[danny la rouge]

So why did women lose them?

I haven't memorised the human genome, but my guess would be that it was a side effect of something that was useful to women.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

You’re confusing evolution with Occam’s Razor.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Why do lions have manes?

 

[bimble]

Why do lions have manes?

It protects them in fights from the enemy going for the jugular.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Why do lions have manes?

Because they don't shave.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Because they don't shave.

8 out of 10 cats prefer whiskers

 

[bimble]

There's several 'science' experiments that set out to prove how women find men with beards sexier, but they are "inconclusive"

 

[danny la rouge]

There's several 'science' experiments that set out to prove how women find men with beards sexier, but they are "inconclusive"

Maybe it's not the only variable.

 

[danny la rouge]

You’re confusing evolution with Occam’s Razor.

Very good. Well, the best a man can get.

 

[bubblesmcgrath]

Here's another question....why do men have nipples?

 

[bimble]

Maybe it's not the only variable.

& also very obviously culturally filtered our response to a beard in a time & place.

 

[danny la rouge]

& also very obviously culturally filtered our response to a beard in a time & place.

Not just chins?

 

[danny la rouge]

Here's another question....why do men have nipples?

Because it isn't a disadvantage.

 

[bimble]

Here's another question....why do men have nipples?

That's because they'd look silly without them obvs.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Here's another question....why do men have nipples?

Because all human life starts as female in the womb, if a Y chromosome is present in the embryo, the testosterone restricts the development of breasts, hence just nipples.

 

[bubblesmcgrath]

That's because they'd look silly without them obvs.

But...
If they've enough hairy chest their absence would not be noticeable.

 

[bubblesmcgrath]

Because all human life starts as female in the womb, if a Y chromosome is present in the embryo, the testosterone restricts the development of breasts, hence just nipples.

So basically everyone starts off as a woman ....

That's ace innit?

 

[Yossarian]

Modern humans have chins but the Neanderthals some of us interbred with didn't - so perhaps the beards are a relic of a time when only the Neanderthal males who could best disguise their chinlessness with beards were able to pass on their DNA, though this theory does not explain the puzzle of the chinless British aristocracy.

Chins are a bit useless so why do we have them?

 

[bubblesmcgrath]

Modern humans have chins but the Neanderthals some of us interbred with didn't - so perhaps the beards are a relic of a time when only the Neanderthal males who could best disguise their chinlessness with beards were able to pass on their DNA, though this theory does not explain the puzzle of the chinless British aristocracy.

Chins are a bit useless so why do we have them?

They do come in useful when one falls flat on one's face.

 

[Sprocket.]

Modern humans have chins but the Neanderthals some of us interbred with didn't - so perhaps the beards are a relic of a time when only the Neanderthal males who could best disguise their chinlessness with beards were able to pass on their DNA, though this theory does not explain the puzzle of the chinless British aristocracy.

Chins are a bit useless so why do we have them?

Michael Gove is a Neanderthal!

 

[mauvais]

It's probably because God made man in His image, and in pretty much all of His images, He's got a massive beard.

Whereas ribs don't have beards, so that explains women.

 

[bimble]

Modern humans have chins but the Neanderthals some of us interbred with didn't - so perhaps the beards are a relic of a time when only the Neanderthal males who could best disguise their chinlessness with beards were able to pass on their DNA, though this theory does not explain the puzzle of the chinless British aristocracy.

Chins are a bit useless so why do we have them?

This is good, I like it.
Best I can come up with is something to do with it having been advantageous for men to be able to conceal their faces, maybe making them better at negotiations when meeting other competing social groups, whilst they liked being able to more easily tell what women were thinking.

 

[Supine]

Michael Gove is a Neanderthal!

Neanderthal cunt

 

[Sprocket.]

Neanderthal cunt

Was that by Hotlegs?

 

[Pickman's model]

Michael Gove is a Neanderthal!

It always saddens me to see neanderthals denigrated in this way