Dr. Henry Gee

And to be bipedal, as a matter of course, requires a complete reengineering of the entire body, from the back of the skull, the curvature of the spine, the internal organs, the valves in the veins in our legs, how our feet are constructed. and all sorts of other things. And bipedality is unbelievably maladaptive.

The reason is that for most of the history of backboned animals, our backbone was evolved about half a billion years ago in an aquatic ancestor. And basically, it's a kind of clothesline. It's a kind of clothesline on which the internal organs are hung. So it's basically a beam that's held horizontally in tension. And that's great.

The reason is that for most of the history of backboned animals, our backbone was evolved about half a billion years ago in an aquatic ancestor. And basically, it's a kind of clothesline. It's a kind of clothesline on which the internal organs are hung. So it's basically a beam that's held horizontally in tension. And that's great.

The reason is that for most of the history of backboned animals, our backbone was evolved about half a billion years ago in an aquatic ancestor. And basically, it's a kind of clothesline. It's a kind of clothesline on which the internal organs are hung. So it's basically a beam that's held horizontally in tension. And that's great.

But bipeds in the past that were successful, such as dinosaurs, even though they were bipeds, they still held their backbone horizontally. And they were bipeds because they had a very long tail as a kind of cantilever to the trunk. and that allowed them to be bipedal. But humans don't have tails, so we have to do it the hard way.

But bipeds in the past that were successful, such as dinosaurs, even though they were bipeds, they still held their backbone horizontally. And they were bipeds because they had a very long tail as a kind of cantilever to the trunk. and that allowed them to be bipedal. But humans don't have tails, so we have to do it the hard way.

But bipeds in the past that were successful, such as dinosaurs, even though they were bipeds, they still held their backbone horizontally. And they were bipeds because they had a very long tail as a kind of cantilever to the trunk. and that allowed them to be bipedal. But humans don't have tails, so we have to do it the hard way.

We have to stand the whole body up, change the backbone so it's held vertically in compression. Now, because of this, bad backs are the single most important cause of absenteeism in humans. The vertical state of humans is responsible for edema in the legs, piles, hernias, blue ear in babies. All sorts of musculoskeletal problems are caused by bipedalism. It was a very bad thing.

We have to stand the whole body up, change the backbone so it's held vertically in compression. Now, because of this, bad backs are the single most important cause of absenteeism in humans. The vertical state of humans is responsible for edema in the legs, piles, hernias, blue ear in babies. All sorts of musculoskeletal problems are caused by bipedalism. It was a very bad thing.

We have to stand the whole body up, change the backbone so it's held vertically in compression. Now, because of this, bad backs are the single most important cause of absenteeism in humans. The vertical state of humans is responsible for edema in the legs, piles, hernias, blue ear in babies. All sorts of musculoskeletal problems are caused by bipedalism. It was a very bad thing.

So how did it evolve? Well, no one knows, but the current frontrunner, as it were, is Well, it probably evolved when we were mostly living in trees.

So how did it evolve? Well, no one knows, but the current frontrunner, as it were, is Well, it probably evolved when we were mostly living in trees.

So how did it evolve? Well, no one knows, but the current frontrunner, as it were, is Well, it probably evolved when we were mostly living in trees.

Now, apes and monkeys have a variety of ways of getting around in trees, and one of them is kind of a clambering or climbing mode of locomotion, where it's called an orthograde posture, where the creatures basically are climbing in a vertical way among the branches. So I think bipedality is basically climbing among the branches only without the branches.

Now, apes and monkeys have a variety of ways of getting around in trees, and one of them is kind of a clambering or climbing mode of locomotion, where it's called an orthograde posture, where the creatures basically are climbing in a vertical way among the branches. So I think bipedality is basically climbing among the branches only without the branches.

Now, apes and monkeys have a variety of ways of getting around in trees, and one of them is kind of a clambering or climbing mode of locomotion, where it's called an orthograde posture, where the creatures basically are climbing in a vertical way among the branches. So I think bipedality is basically climbing among the branches only without the branches.

And that's the nearest anyone can get to it. All the other things that have been ascribed to bipedality as an advantage, such as the aquatic ape theory, wading in water, or carrying babies, or making tools, These don't require bipedality to happen. There are lots and lots of very successful ground-living monkeys such as baboons that carry their babies quite well and their quadrupeds.

And that's the nearest anyone can get to it. All the other things that have been ascribed to bipedality as an advantage, such as the aquatic ape theory, wading in water, or carrying babies, or making tools, These don't require bipedality to happen. There are lots and lots of very successful ground-living monkeys such as baboons that carry their babies quite well and their quadrupeds.

And that's the nearest anyone can get to it. All the other things that have been ascribed to bipedality as an advantage, such as the aquatic ape theory, wading in water, or carrying babies, or making tools, These don't require bipedality to happen. There are lots and lots of very successful ground-living monkeys such as baboons that carry their babies quite well and their quadrupeds.

There are monkeys such as capuchins which are quadrupeds that make tools. They just sit on their haunches and do it. Mere cats can stand up and look over the grass and stand on things. So why bipedality happened? What good is it for? Well, it's certainly good for all these things, but it's certainly very bad in many other ways. Also, it's very disadvantageous if you break a leg.