WEBVTT - Why Do We Have Eyebrows?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian saga, and I'm here to tell you why

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<v Speaker 1>human beings have eyebrows, because look at them. Take take

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<v Speaker 1>a clus look, go over to the mirror. Look, aren't

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<v Speaker 1>they just ridiculous? I mean, they're also very well manicured,

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<v Speaker 1>but they're also ridiculous. Now, scientists aren't entirely sure why

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<v Speaker 1>we have this hair, but they have a pretty good guess.

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<v Speaker 1>The arch shape of the eyebrow diverts rain or sweat

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<v Speaker 1>around to the sides of our face, keeping our eyes

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<v Speaker 1>relatively dry. And the most obvious advantage of this is

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<v Speaker 1>that it allows us to see clearly even when we're

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<v Speaker 1>sweating a lot, like on a first date, or when

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<v Speaker 1>we're out in the rain or something like we're standing

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<v Speaker 1>out of somebody's house screaming at them to come out

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<v Speaker 1>for our first date with us, but then they call

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<v Speaker 1>the cops. All right, never mind. Diverting the sweat away

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<v Speaker 1>is also good because the salt in sweat irritates our eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>But just to test things, I shook a salt shaker

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<v Speaker 1>into my eye and take it from me. It burns

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<v Speaker 1>like hell fire. Eyebrows are a very significant aspect of

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<v Speaker 1>our appearance. They are one of the most distinctive features

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<v Speaker 1>that make up our faces, and we pay a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of attention to them and look. Eyebrows are also one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most expressive facial features. One of the clearest

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<v Speaker 1>ways we're telling somebody what we're thinking is to simply

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<v Speaker 1>move our eyebrows up and down. But what if we

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<v Speaker 1>didn't have eyebrows. Scientists have thought about this as well,

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<v Speaker 1>and they think that if we didn't have eyebrows, we

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<v Speaker 1>would have gotten instead these long snuffle luck bagus style eyelashes,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as far protruding foreheads, which could have been

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<v Speaker 1>kind of useful because we could put things up there,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know, like like our keys, but rain or

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<v Speaker 1>sweat would then drop from that ledge on our face

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<v Speaker 1>straight away down onto the rest of our face without

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<v Speaker 1>getting into our eyes. So all right, way to go

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<v Speaker 1>evolution for not making us look like that. Check out

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<v Speaker 1>the brainstuff channel on YouTube, and for more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.