Wanna know something ‘chin-teresting’?
Rise and shine…
Is it already time for wine? 🍷 😁
Most of us worry about our bodily forms and functions from the moment we wake up. In reality, however, they remain a life-long mystery to us. Why is it not possible to tickle ourselves? How can it be that the brain - our main organ - doesn’t feel pain, even though it is the one that processes all other pain signals in the body? And where the hell does all that earwax come from? 😱
As most of us have sadly practised the daily ritual of personal body-shaming since we’ve been teenagers, I thought it would be nice to shine some light on the wonderful carbon-based machines that our human bodies actually are. So let’s start this wonderful Tuesday with one of the most underrated physical features of all times: The chin!
Where is our chin exactly, and what does it do?
Humans are the only animals with a chin.
Apart from acting as a breeding ground for acne (often as result of hormonal imbalance, stress, or yeast overgrowth), the chin really is like a trashed groupie in a club VIP area: it just hangs around with no real purpose. 😅
We carry our chin with us wherever we go, and we put our fist underneath it when we pretend to compose meaningful ideas at work. If a chin doubles in size, it is called ‘buccula’, and when it disappears, doctors label it poetically ‘retrogenia’. And yet, the chin has no valid scientifically explained job, and none of our animal siblings are born with it either. 🤷♀️
Rodin’s famous statue “The Thinker”
For instance, gorillas, chimpanzees, and even our other evolutionary relatives like the Neanderthals have had their lower jaws slope backwards. It is only us humans who parade this particular humble piece of ‘sticky-outy-bit’!
While one set of researchers swears on the fact that the chin was evolutionarily relevant to help us develop tonality and speech, others placed their bets on the idea that the chin protects the jaw from the pressures of heavy chewing. A third group believes that the chin gives us an erotic value-add that makes potential partner more attractive, and yet, ironically, most disagree even with all three positions. Can you imagine the amazing argumentative show-down at a chin conference? 🤓
How the chin nonetheless made its way into our lives.
While in India, an itchy chin indicates prosperity (or a mighty skin rash), the tradition of Chinese face reading predicts how lucky a person will be after turning 60. In most traditions of face physiognomy, the chin stands for a person’s potential level of will power, stubbornness and tenacity. The more prominent the chin, the more stubborn he or she supposedly is!
Nonetheless, better be careful the next time you cheer with someone in a bar: ‘Chin Chin’ is more than just a common drinking toast. While it translates to ‘please please’ in Chinese, and gets you an order of fried wheat flour in Nigeria, in certain areas of Japan, however, it is slang for ‘penis’. Better not chin up, buttercup!
Just to remind you: the one thing that makes us truly human is a useless body part! 😅
This 5 minute video, which is really weird and fascinating at the same time, proves that we don’t deserve anything better. 🙈
So the next time you look into a mirror, take a moment and admire the unique lower end of your face. Become friends with the beautiful evolutionary spill-over that makes us who we are, and then share your new-found love with the world. 💖
You don’t have to be a ‘fort-chin-teller’ to know that a compliment about our evolutionary USP will make someone’s day!
With love from Goa,
Isabelle 🌿
