Frank and Ernest by Thaves for December 19, 2013
December 18, 2013
December 20, 2013
Transcript:
Frank: So, that's bipedalism? It doesn't look very ergonomic.
Frank: So, that's bipedalism? It doesn't look very ergonomic.
TREEINTHEWIND over 10 years ago
You do the best you can with what you got………. when you only use two out of four you save a lot of wear and tear on your body……..especially on flinty ground, etc………… although it’s harder to keep your balance you can see farther in tall grass ……………. you can still use all four to climb trees…….. and you can hold on to spears etc. when you walk…..and scratch yourself without stoppping………when walking……
emptc12 over 10 years ago
“Scientific American” printed an article years ago explaining how the human body could have been designed to work more efficiently and last longer . Among other things, knee joints bent the opposite way.
TREEINTHEWIND over 10 years ago
It’s pre-evolution……………… getting ready for the bicycle………(then the knees will be at their most efficient work position…especially when you add gears………)
hippogriff over 10 years ago
Most vertebrates have the knees bending the same way. And don’t bring up birds; the knee is between the thigh and drumstick, same as us. What looks like a backward knee is the ankle and what we call their foot is really toes.
TREEINTHEWIND over 10 years ago
He’s already in the race while you two are still on the starting blocks
pschearer Premium Member over 10 years ago
In Physical Anthro. 101 we were taught that bipedalism is very energy-efficient for walking. There is a pendulum action in the leg that turns the tendency to fall forward into forward locomotion. On the backswing the patellar tendon reflex that the doctor tests with his little rubber hammer causes the lower leg to straighten, ready for the next step. We are very good at walking great distances, which is how modern humans got out of Africa and spread across the rest of the world. (Our efficiency in running and sweating is the reason we lost our ancestral fur, but that’s another story.)