Previous studies have confirmed that the dense mane of male lions can protect their throats from the deadly claws or teeth of their opponents to some extent. Therefore, in a new study recently published in the journal Comprehensive Tissue Biology, researchers tried to explain that a thick beard can buffer or absorb the attack on the chin, and provide protection like a lion to prevent fatal attacks, because the chin is the most easily broken facial bone in battle.
Charles. Charles Darwin, a famous naturalist and the father of evolution (he is also a bearded man), once expressed some views on facial hair. Although Darwin believed that the lion's mane was the source of physical protection, he believed that the human beard was only used to attract women's attention? Jewelry? .
But now, scientists have put forward a different view from Darwin. They believe that the hair on the beard will * * dispel the power of the blow, so
beard
Probably evolved to win the male war.
. More and more evidence shows that human bones and muscles evolved to support the specialization related to male fighting. Other researchers have previously suggested that the evolution of male facial shape is to protect the face from harm in combat. Therefore, researchers believe that the evolution of beards may also be for the same reason.
To test this view, scientists built a model to simulate the skeleton structure of human skull. They cut these bones into bricks and wrapped them in cashmere because? Is it impractical to obtain a complete beard skin sample from a human corpse? So they can only use similar substitutes. Although cashmere is not a perfect substitute for beard hair, the size of hair follicles in wool samples is indeed similar to that of human beards.
Three kinds of sheepskin coverings were used in the experiment. The first sample was wrapped in fluffy cashmere, as neat as a man's beard, to test the effectiveness of long beard in cushioning impact. The second sample was also wrapped in cashmere, but it was trimmed a lot, mainly to test whether the root of hair follicle can cushion the impact force. The third sample is not wrapped in cashmere, which means there is no beard on the chin.
The researchers conducted a drop weight test on these three samples and wrapped them in sheepskin? Bones? The beam was placed on the anvil and a blunt rod was loosened from the top of the head. The results show that? Hairy? Our samples performed best, absorbing nearly 30% more energy than the trimmed samples or the samples without cashmere. The researchers gradually increased the impact of the drop hammer. When all the samples without cashmere are damaged, 95% of the trimmed samples are damaged, while only 45% of the samples wrapped with thick cashmere are damaged or broken. Obviously, the sample with cashmere protection can effectively reduce the impact of the drop hammer.
Scientists say:? If the same is true of human facial hair, then the beard may help protect the fragile areas of facial bones from harmful impacts, such as the chin. It is speculated that a full face of beard can also reduce the damage, tear and contusion of facial skin and muscles. ?
After further analysis, the researchers found that a single hair fiber may absorb the energy from the punch and distribute the incoming force to a larger area. However, researchers need more experiments to accurately explain the mechanism of this protection. According to this study, the roughness, thickness, curl and density of human facial hair are also very different, and different beards may have different effects in resisting impact damage.
So, the next time you are going to shave, or you see someone else shaving, you should know, what is this behavior? Are you actively lowering your defense capabilities? . Because beards evolved specifically for fighting.