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Anthropological Musings and Concepts

Formaldehyde

7/28/2017

This word may seem interesting to those who do not know if it, even though it is in our every lives; and after them. What I mean about the “after them,” is this compound is widely known as the one used when preserving bodies during embalming. That said, this plays a big part in our lives before death.
There are three products may play a part in your health because they contain formaldehyde. One is wrinkle-free fabric because “the worst consumers can expect is an allergic skin reaction, like a rash, blisters or even eczema...” This might not seem that bad, but can you imagine being at work or at an interview and being uncomfortably itchy all the day through? The next one is furniture and building materials. With this one it is more dangerous because “a significant slow release of formaldehyde gas can occur over extended periods of time due to poor quality control, elevated temperatures and humidity.” This can cause cancer, but even though consumers are not exposed to levels of formaldehyde that can cause cancer, the people who work with them can come down with it. The last one is especially shocking because this is definitely in our everyday lives; cosmetics. This can refer to what you usually think of when you hear the word; nail polish, beauty products, but they are more than those. Cosmetics also includes nail polish remover, hair styling products, skin care products, and even baby products (“even natural and organic ones”).
Even food is not safe. Yes, you read right, I wrote food. When oxidized by atmospheric oxygen it turns into formic acid. Mentioned has low toxicity, which is why it is used as a food additive. This is present in beverages, sweets, bakery products, ice cream, processed foods. And if you would like to check if your foods have this here are alternate names for it:

Methanoic acid

Formylic acid
Formate
Hydroxymethanone
Hydrogen carboxylic acid
Hydroxy(oxo)methane
Metacarbonoic acid

So from your lotions, to your soap bars, shampoos, smokeless tobacco, sunblock, body wash, toothpaste, baby wipes, and bubble baths all may have formaldehyde. Just like its oxidized product it has other names that may be on the product it is in; these names are:

Formalin
Methanal
Oxymethyline
Urea
1,3-Dioxetane
Quaternium 15
Methylaldehyde
Methylene Oxide
Formic Aldehyde
Oxomethane Formalin
Phenol Formaldehyde

Well, that was an eyeopening and terrifying fun fact. But it was fun nonetheless. I hope you enjoyed this Friday's fun fact! If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this first Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.

Is it Sex or is it Gender

7/21/2017

This is going to be a relatively short Fun Fact Friday. It seems that many people think the words “sex” and “gender” are interchangeable; they are not. Even several companies and the United States government are confused; telling you to choose your “gender” when they mean “sex.” So…what is the difference? It is very simple, sex is what you were born as (thus why physical anthropologists “sex” bones; they do not “gender” them as I speak about in this blog: http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/male-or-female ), and gender is more of a difference within cultures or societal settings. For example, in many cultures a man is not dependent of age but with a rite of passage. Before they complete this rite, they are still a boy. That is gender. Even after they complete this rite, their sex is still male.
So be smart, and show to the world you know how to use “sex” and “gender” correctly. I hope you enjoyed this Friday's fun fact! If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this first Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.

Evolution of “Race”

7/14/2017

In a previous blog (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-evolution), I briefly discussed the reason why humans come in all sorts of colours. In our current society we take these differences and make them even more different by giving them different “races.” But where and when did this term “race” separate people just because of skin colour? I will discuss this in the following Fun Fact Friday.
What exactly is “race?” In our modern society it is defined as “a group of people of common ancestry, distinguished from others by physical characteristics, such as hair type, colour of eyes and skin, stature, etc.” It is then secondly defined as “the human race, human beings collectively.” Strange how the definition that divides us is the one we think of first when we hear the word “race.” The term “race” has had many different meanings dating back to the 1500s; the ones who used this were English speakers. “Race has been used synonymously with species, as in “the human race.” But it is since the 1600s that it referred to culturally defined groups. And it is strange because when people say “the English race,” or “the Japanese race,” they are speaking of nationality.
With our different ancestries it is sad that we had to create a word for the prejudice and hate some feel for those differences. It is not only ignorance of someone who has never met or interacted with another ethnic group, it is, I think, fear; fear of the unknown or fear of someone different. I am speaking of racism. “Racism is based on the…false belief that along with our physical characteristics, humans inherit such factors as intellect and various cultural attributes. Such beliefs also commonly rest on the assumption that one’s own group is superior to other groups.” I can understand if this was common in the times before science, but now that we know that it is just genetics and ancestry that give us our skin colours, you would think that it would stop. Sadly though, especially in recent affairs in the United States, it seems to be going backwards. “Races are products of the past. They are relics or times and conditions which have long ceased to exist. Racism is equally a relic supported by no phase of modern science.”

Racism also had an effect on relationships, not by the feelings of individual peoples. For the United States “interracial” marriage was illegal in most of the states til 1967 (map to the right illustrates which states made it legal and when, and the image below the acceptance rate of said marriages). It is embarrassing that the United States only repealed this law 50 years ago. And it was all thanks to a light and dark skinned couple that took their case to the Supreme Court so they could get married. Even now, 50 years later, it is legal, but it is still frowned upon in areas where some still see themselves as “superiour” to others just because of their skin colour. It is also maddening when someone believes someone else is part of their “race” because of their skin colour, but when they find out they are not, their relationship drastically changes.

the states in the grey no laws were passed, the states in the green repealed in 1887, the states in yellow repealed between 1948 and 1967, and the states in the red made it legal only when the law was overturned in 1967

Instead of using “race” we should all strive to use the word “ethnicity” because that word illustrates differences in cultures and nations, not skin. I do not mean to spout sunshine and rainbows but I can only hope that in the future, hopefully not too far in the future, that we will all see that we are all the same inside. We all have bones, we all have muscles, we all have blood (which is the same colour), and most of all, we are all human. I hope you enjoyed this Friday's fun fact! If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this first Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.

Why are Humans Amoung the Only Mammals that Bleed

7/7/2017

The title must seem odd, you must be thinking “all mammals bleed,” but I am not speaking of all humans. I am speaking of human females and when they bleed every month after puberty. It is odd that when other mammals are in heat, some bleed to attract mates, but for human females, when they bleed, they are getting rid of the uteral lining. In other mammals they absorb the lining. So what happened in evolution to keep human females from doing the same?
This seems like the wrong question. What I mean by this is most of the hominid family menstruate; this includes, of course, humans but also non-human apes, and Old World monkeys. With other apes it's not as apparent as with human females. What I mean by this is when non-human female apes menstruate it is not as heavy as it is in human females. And that in other species when they do bleed it is a time when they are most fertile, not unlike menstruating species when that time is their least fertile. It is still not apparent why this happens in a small selection of species because it seems to be more beneficial to absorb than not to.
Why do you think there Is a select few who go through this disposal of the uteral lining? Do not hesitate to leave a comment below or if you have an idea blog or another fun fact for Fun Fact Friday’s. I apologize for my long hiatus; I will do my best to post when an idea for a post comes to mind. The main reason I am writing again is because I have gotten feedback that people are reading these. With that, I leave you with this interesting, and thought provoking, fun fact.

Your Organs on Roller Coasters

10/14/2016

I am sure a good number of you enjoy the thrill of the roller coaster. Going over a hundred miles an hour, feeling the wind against your face, and who could forget that feeling you get when you drop. So, what exactly causes that feeling? Short answer...gravity. “When you plummet down a steep hill, gravity pulls you down while the acceleration force seems to be pulling you up.”
     Even though we think of ourselves are solids, that is just what is outside. We forget about our insides and what they go through. You would think that our intestines are secured so they should be okay, right? Depending on how roller coasters treat you, they are okay, but not all are secured, as you are when you have the seat belt on. Of all the organs in our bodies only “The liver and spleen are relatively secured by suspensory ligaments,” all your other organs (especially your stomach) are also in for the ride.
     While the image of all your organs, sans the liver and spleen, going up, down, left, right, is an unsettling image, they are not the only thing moving. What I mean by this is that the human body is greatly made up of water, and a few of our organs hold liquid. The organs in this case are the intestines, the stomach, the bladder, all of these have some form of liquid in them. In those sudden drops it is said that those liquids also play a part in “...the free-fall floating sensation that either calls us back for more, or has us running to get sick from nausea.”
     However, there are some who do not like roller coasters because of this feeling, but there are a few who should not board these rides. Older passengers for example. Reason being the increased heart-rate. Even for younger passengers, this factor is still dangerous. What I mean by this is an increased heart-rate can lead to an irregular heartbeat. “This can be dangerous for those who, knowingly or not, have cardiovascular issues and an increased chance of suffering a heart attack if they ride a roller coaster.” There are other factors that go into the dangers of riding a roller coaster; whiplash injuries or even ear damage.
     That said, if you enjoy these rides, do not let this blog hold you back. And if you do not enjoy them, now you know why you get that awful feeling; you can even say to people who want to get you on one "For the well being of my organs and my fluids, I have to decline." I hope you enjoyed this Friday's fun fact! If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.

Roy Chapman Andrews AKA The Real Life Indiana Jones

8/19/2016

Most of us know of the character Indiana Jones as the adventurer and (bad example of) archaeologist. But a lot of ideas have to have an origin. The origin, the man Indy was based on was, I think, more of an adventurer than Indiana could ever be. Sure he did not fight Nazi's or run from an imploding ancient building (bad Indiana), but the main difference is this man actually did these things. The man I am referring to was named Roy Chapman Andrews who had very humble beginnings.
When I say humble I mean he was at the bottom of the professional chain. After getting his bachelor's degree in 1906 he went to New York and began to clean the floors of the taxidermy department in the American Museum of Natural History when he found there were no other jobs open. While he did this he worked on getting his Masters of Arts in mammalogy from Columbia in 1913 then “he received honorary doctorates from Brown University in 1926 and Beloit College in 1928.” If receiving honorary doctorates was not enough, in the museum where he had started by mopping the floors, from 1935 to 1942 he was the director of it. At the end of this position he devoted the rest of his life to writing and lecturing.
You must be thinking “this guy just sounds lucky and nothing like Indiana Jones,” but that is where you would be wrong. He was lucky, but, as I stated earlier, he was like Indy and more. For starters he traveled the world collecting zoological specimens for the museum. Even though his title was “naturalist,” he made a few notable discoveries in the school of paleontology; of then being the one to find the first known dinosaur eggs, a skull and other parts of the largest known land mammal (Indricotherium), and even finding evidence of prehistoric human life. A lot of his exploits took place in the Gobi desert.
If all that does not convince you he was inspiration for Indiana Jones, I will leave you with this. He wrote, “In the [first] fifteen years [of field work] I can remember just ten times when I had really narrow escapes from death. Two were from drowning in typhoons, one was when our boat was charged by a wounded whale; once my wife and I were nearly eaten by wild dogs, once we were in great danger from fanatical lama priests; two were close calls when I fell over cliffs, once I was nearly caught by a huge python, and twice I might have been killed by bandits.” He also recalled a night when he and his men killed 47 vipers in their tents. Also, Andrews was not exempt to accidents. He shot himself in the leg on one occasion but sees himself as lucky that it missed his knee because if it had not he would have a “stiff leg for the rest of my life.” He also always wore a ranger hat (it was his fedora), and always had a revolver with him (image below). With everything he had been through, the revolver is understandable.

After all the events in his life, from missing death, to getting honorary doctorates, to becoming the director of the American Museum of Natural History, it does seem he had luck with him. But no matter how lucky he was, death caught up with him. On March 11, 1960, at the age of 76, he died of a heart attack. That makes me a little sad; a man who is recorded saying “I want to go everywhere...I would have started on a day's notice for the North Pole or the South, to the jungle, or the desert. It made not the slightest difference to me.” taken by an ordinary cause of death. I suppose what really matters is that he really did live his life to the fullest.
I hope you have enjoyed this exciting recounting of the life of one the greatest explorers to ever live. Moreover, I hope you enjoyed this Friday's fun fact! If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this first Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.

Plurals of Bones

7/29/2016

The following is a list of the bones in the human body in singular on the left (in parentheses I have put the common name of certain bones) and in the plural on the right.

Skull Skulls
Clavicle (collar bone) Clavicles
Scapula (shoulder blade) Scapulae
Sternum (breast bone) Sterna
Rib Ribs
Humerus Humeri
Ulna Ulnas or Ulnae
Radius Radii or Radiuses
Carpal Carpals
Metacarpal Metacarpals
Phalange Phalanges
Vertebra (spine) Vertebrae
Ilium Ilia
Ischium Ischia
Pubis Pubes
Coccyx (tail bone) Coccyges
Femur Femora
Patella Patellae
Tibia Tibiae
Fibula Fibulae
Tarsal Tarsals
Metatarsal Metatarsals

So if you ever thought to yourself how to speak of many patellae or humeri, now you know not to just add and “s” at the end. I am aware this is an especially short fun fact, but it is, nevertheless, fun. I hope you enjoyed this Friday's fun fact! If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this first Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

7/15/2016

In a website about physical anthropology an entry about a priest is the last thing you would think would be on it. But De Chardin was not your run of the mill type of priest. From 1912 to 1914 he worked in the paleontology laboratory of the “Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, studying the mammals of the middle Tertiary period (perhaps inspired by his amateur naturalist father).” Although when he studied at another site in Europe he was part of the most controversial “finding” of paleoanthropology. What I mean by this is he was part of the team that discovered “Piltdown Man.” This “finding” was not a finding at all, it was a fraud (taking teeth of an orangutan and the cranium of a human) of which some suggest De Chardin was part of the hoax. Although, this whole affair is what got De Chardin interested in human paleontology.
  A reading of Henri Bergson's “Creative Evolution” convinced him of the fact of evolution. “He lectured in Paris on the science of biological evolution, but his teachings were seen as a challenge to the Catholic theology, though he never meant them as such. He remained a devout Christian all his life, but he was effectively silenced by the Church, forbidden to lecture or publish on his theological and scientific perspectives, and exiled from his native France.” This turn of the events did not slow him down though. In 1929 he oversaw the excavations at the “Peking man” site (link to blog in which I spoke of Peking man: http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-homo-erectus-pekinensis). After his tour in China he took part with the American Expedition Center-Asia in the Gobi Desert organized by the American Museum of Natural History with the real life Indian Jones, Roy Chapman Andrews (a possible subject for a future fun fact Friday).
     As a learned individual he published many books of which a few were centered around evolution. That said, his view of evolution was not the Darwinian “natural selection,” his mindset was that it was an “élan vital” or vital force that drove evolution. He also had the thought that we, as humans, have stopped physically evolving, but that our minds were the ones that still had some to go. "For the observers of the Future, the greatest event will be the sudden appearance of a collective humane conscience and a human work to make."
     Who knew that a man of the cloth would take such an approach on something that is still controversial in the church. I mean, he is seen as a paleontologist. I hope you enjoyed this Friday's fun fact! If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this first Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.

Diarrhea...cha cha cha

7/8/2016

You must be thinking what sort of fun fact the subject of diarrhea can have. I have to admit, I was also skeptical, but after reading up on it, it is a lot of fun; to read up on, not to have. It is surprising how much this uncomfortable illness is a big part in natural selection, even in modern life. The reason diarrhea is seen as a force of natural selection is because how it can cause dehydration. This is mostly true in those who had cholera, which is an infection of the small intestine and is often fatal. Cholera manipulates the body to suit its own purpose. Once in the body it produces toxins that make the “intestine's cells leaky.” This results in the expulsion of traces of cholera (“gives the cholera bacteria a ride into the world, so that they can find another hapless victim.”), but also gets rid of the good bacteria in our bodies that are trying to fight off the infection.
     Even though with a deadly infection like cholera diarrhea does not seem to be any help, it is beneficial in the long run. What I mean by this is it helps us get rid of what is making us sick or sends up a red flag that something is wrong. Shigella bacteria for example, this is an intestinal disease that can cause diarrhea to become bloody. But, unlike cholera, this is not deadly and mild cases can clear up on their own within a week, all thanks to diarrhea. In cases like this the body contracts the muscles of the gut “in an attempt to flush out the bacteria as quickly as possible.” It is when drugs, like Lomotil, that decreases this contraction can the infection be prolonged.
     It now seems to be common knowledge of why people get sick, and this is all thanks to Darwinian medicine, or evolutionary medicine whose goal is “to understand why people get sick, not simply how they get sick.” Everything from the benefits (or drawbacks) of diet, exercise, even being clean can be thanks to this type of medical study. So, a way to steer clear of coming down with diarrhea is to make sure your water is not contaminated, make sure food is well prepared, and just...wash your hands to avoid giving yourself, or someone else diarrhea. This is why the most common ages of those who get shigella infection are those between 2 and 4 years.
     Well, was this not a fun but slightly disgusting and...paranoid inducing fact? I really hope I have not made some of you readers paranoid. Look on the bright side, if you have not had diarrhea for years, you are leading a good clean life. If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this first Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.

Giants

7/1/2016

Or rather Gigantopithecus (giant ape). When you read “giant ape,” a King Kong image must come to mind, but this ape was nowhere near as towering as Kong. Gigantopithecus is estimated to have been 9 – 10 ft (2.7 – 3 m) when standing erect and weighing in at 600 – 1200 lbs (272 – 544 kg). I use “estimated” because only their mandibles have been found (image below compares Gigantopithecus mandible with one of a human). “Based only on the jaws and teeth, however, researches can attempt to reconstruct both the animal and its way of life.”

The mandibles of the the Gigantopithecus have only been found in India and China to be more exact. Much like the hobbit of the last FFF, the Gigantopithecus was found by chance. The first recorded finding, or realization was done in 1935 by a German paleoanthropologist, Ralph von Koenigswald, when visiting an apothecary in Hong Kong. After realizing what he had found (it was a huge molar tooth), he continued by naming it “Gigantopithecus blacki;” blacki in honour of Davidson Black, the discoverer of Peking Man (earlier blog about Peking Man: http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-Homo-erectus-pekinensis). Another “sighting” of Gigantopithecus was not until 33 years later, but this time, in India, and, once again, this just happened to...happen. An Indian native, Sunkha Ram, was in possession of a Gigantopithecus mandible since 1944, by the suggestion of his father to keep it because “they might come in handy some day, and in 1968 they did. Sunkha heard of a Yale paleoanthropological expedition, and taking a piece of the mandible he went to find them. When he found Grant Meyer, the paleoanthropologist, Mayer immediately gave him some rupees for it, and requested that Sunkha sell him the entire mandible. Mayer was going to name this “new” fossil find Gigantopithecus “bilaspurensis,” but later changed it to Gigantopithecus “giganteus,” because the species had been named “Dryopithicus giganteus,” by the first man, Guy Pilgrim, who had found trace of the Gigantopithecus in India, but in 1915.
So when did this giant of an ape live? Gigantopithecus lived from 13 million years ago (the start of the Pleistocene Era), til 200,000 years ago. That is right, we missed out on seeing/meeting giants and hobbits. But the extinction of Gigantopithecus was simply because they could not adapt as we can. Reason being is their diet was mostly of fruit and/or bamboo, and with the drastically changing climates of Earth, which include a few ice ages, the Gigantopithecus basically starved to death. There are hopefuls that think the legend of big foot in the United States is true and thus evidence Gigantopithecus still lives, but when you stop to think about where the mandibles were found. It seems very unlikely Gigantopithecus could survive in the drastically changing weather of the U.S. Although, that said, Jane Goodall, does believe that there is a bigfoot (Sasquatch, yeti). Her reasons are when speaking with Native Americans they have described hearing the same sounds and two have seen it...them.
It is exciting to think that even though we have passed our chance to meet hobbits, Jane Goodall's extensive research may have uncovered that Gigantopithecus, or at least a descendant is roaming the United States. As we look back on what has come before our species, before humans, and how long they roamed the Earth, our species is still in its infancy. Yes, we have agriculture, technology, and so on, our true test will be time. The Gigantopithecus for example, they were here for 12,800,000 years, while our time here is just a spit in the bucket compared to theirs. After a million years will Homo sapiens still be here or will we too go extinct? We can only wait.
With that thought, ends another fun, and exciting, fact for this Friday. If you have an itching to get to the bottom of a small fact that has been festering in your mind, or if you have a blog topic you would like me to cover, or if you would just like to express your thoughts on this first Fun Fact Friday, please feel free to comment below.