Yesterday I saw a great documentary called What’s the problem with nudity? in the BBC series 'Horizon'. It dealt with the question why modern man is essentially naked, having lost his fur or coat of hair ages ago - something our primate ancestors had spent millions of years acquiring. Indeed, it’s not only impractical that we humans are naked (we now need clothes for warmth and protection), we even get embarrassed or even ashamed about our nakedness in social contexts. So why, in fact, are we what the famous anthropologist Desmond Morris called The Naked Ape?
I’m not going to tell you the answer (you can watch the documentary here), but as I said, it was a good and enjoyable documentary. Not only because it supplied some interesting answers to the question of human nakedness, but also because it was a good question to begin with. As an academic, I’m very fond of a good question, which I think of as one we would all like the answer to, but which for some reason no one seems to have asked before. Some of them can even be quite funny, like the ones a comedian like Adam Carolla constantly asks, like ‘Why should panda bears - a species we have so few of - be the only species that seems completely uninterested in sex?’ or ‘Why does a toaster have a level that will burn your slice of bread to a char?’.
So in honour of the good question, here’s some that I have asked myself countless times. Maybe one of you will know the answer?
I’m not going to tell you the answer (you can watch the documentary here), but as I said, it was a good and enjoyable documentary. Not only because it supplied some interesting answers to the question of human nakedness, but also because it was a good question to begin with. As an academic, I’m very fond of a good question, which I think of as one we would all like the answer to, but which for some reason no one seems to have asked before. Some of them can even be quite funny, like the ones a comedian like Adam Carolla constantly asks, like ‘Why should panda bears - a species we have so few of - be the only species that seems completely uninterested in sex?’ or ‘Why does a toaster have a level that will burn your slice of bread to a char?’.
So in honour of the good question, here’s some that I have asked myself countless times. Maybe one of you will know the answer?
- Why do most people, including myself, take immense pleasure in accurately hitting small balls with awkward equipment in awkward poses? (I’m thinking of golf, snooker, baseball, polo, squash, etc.)
- Why do small children talk in a sing-songy voice? ('Do you want a little biscuit with your tea?' - 'Yeeees, pleaaase...' 'What do we say then?' - 'Thaaaank yoouuuu…')
- Why is the petrol cap on a car sometimes on the left and sometimes on the right? And why is there no arrow in the interior indicating which side of the gas pump you need to go?
- Why can no one come up with a dynamo-driven bicycle light that does not inexplicably stop functioning after a certain period of time? (Or exactly when you meet the cops in the street)
- Why does going to work feel even more of a nuisance after going on holiday?
- Why does almost every police force in the world use blue as their colour?
- Why do so many products use animals in their ads and logos? (Tigers, mice, frogs, crocodiles, roosters and many more for cereal, ducks for toilet cleaning, dogs for toilet paper, elephants for paper towels, bulls for beer, bears or monkeys for washing powder, etc.)
- Why is it so difficult to play an instrument but can I instantly whistle whatever song I want?
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