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Discovery Magazine 8/1/2004

A Hairy Situation

by  Taylor Reeves

Can you tell the difference between the amount of body hair humans have, and the amount some animals have? According to evolution, humans evolved from creatures like apes, and human body hair was “left over” on our bodies through this process. Evolutionists believe that human body hair is of little use. Our supposed ancestors used their thick coat of hair for warmth and protection, but humans no longer have that thick coat of hair. The little bit of body hair that humans do have is viewed by many evolutionists as a vestige of evolution. Is it true that human body hair is a “leftover” of evolution?

No structure can be called vestigial unless it can be proven that it has absolutely no function.Human body hair, however, does have some important functions, and so it cannot be labeled as vestigial. Let’s look at some of the things body hair does for us. First, body hair playsa very important role in the protection of the skin. Body hair functions to warm the skin, and to protect the skinfrom germs. Hair also can act as a kind of radar, letting us know when something
is crawling on us. For instance, sometimes a tick will get on a person and go undetected for a while. Yet, if that tick moves a leg or arm hair too much, we can feel the movement and get rid of the tick.

The latest theory proposed by evolutionists says that humans have lost all of this hair “to beat the bugs.” Evolutionists say that humans somehow reduced the amount of hair on their bodies in an effort to get rid of the biting bugs and flies, because they would not have enough hair to “cling to.” Although getting rid of this hair might reduce the amount of attacking bugs, it also would make us more likely to scratch, cut, or damage our skin. In truth, we did not evolve from creatures like apes. And we did not lose most of our body hair in the process. Continual medical discoveries have solved most of the former mysteries of certain body parts, like body hair. It is not leftover or useless, but has many helpful functions. God designed humans with the right amount of body hair in the first place.

Copyright © 2004 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.



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