The design of the human body is pretty neat: We are aware of when we are hungry and thirsty. The same eyes that can see clearly in blinding brightness can also see in almost complete darkness. When we cut our finger, the wound quickly scabs over and heals. Our bodies are generally good at fixing problems and recovering from illness. However, while it does more good than harm, flaws in the human body do exist.
The appendix is useless. Many individuals have crooked teeth and poor vision at birth. Women can pass away during childbirth because our hips are better evolved to support our internal organs while walking on two legs. To put it mildly, humans are flawed. These design flaws in the human body put humans at a disadvantage, with some people at a bigger disadvantage than others. Interested to learn more about flaws of the human body, a member of the AskReddit community ketra1504 asked fellow Redditors, "What is the biggest design flaw of the human body?". This, and a similar thread, got plenty of traction and revealed what most people deemed the biggest flaws of the human body. Regardless, we can't claim that evolution has gone wrong or done us dirty. We have changed a lot since our species first appeared. And although the remaining human body flaws are unlikely to disappear in the near future, we can only hope that we will be better at coping with them, which is, again, a massive win for humanity.
Below, we've compiled some of the most spot-on answers from the threads, revealing human body design flaws. As always, upvote the entries you agree with, and let us know, what's the biggest flaw of the human body in your eyes? Share your thoughts in the comments. And if you want to learn more about yourself and your body, check out our recent post featuring interesting facts about the human body.
#1
"How in your brain, your amygdala (fight or flight) hasn't learned to respond directly from your prefrontal cortex (the newer, more recently developed in the evolutionary sense part of the brain that you think rationally with). The fact that the amygdala hasn't adopted to modern times.
Amygdala: OMG ARE WE BEING STALKED BY DOZENS OF PREDATORS ABOUT TO KILL US WHILE WERE EXPOSED OUT IN THE OPEN?!?
Prefrontal Cortex: Lol nah bro it's good I'm just doing a presentation in front of my class.
Amygdala: PANIC ATTACK FULL ON SURVIVAL MODE IT IS!!!!"
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52points
#2
"It’s gotta be the female reproductive system. Debilitating pain every month shouldn’t be something that just happens to some women. Pregnancy is also way more dangerous for humans than most animals."
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52points
#3
GreedKite said:
"You can bite the inside of your own mouth."
"You can bite the inside of your own mouth."
gr8ydude replied:
"Then you proceed to accidentally bite, multiple times through out the day, that lump that develops."
"Then you proceed to accidentally bite, multiple times through out the day, that lump that develops."
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47points
#4
duermando said:
"There is a fork in the road in our throats. One is meant for food, the other for oxygen. If food goes down the wrong one, you die."
"There is a fork in the road in our throats. One is meant for food, the other for oxygen. If food goes down the wrong one, you die."
thedomham replied:
"Or you cough heavily for a bit."
"Or you cough heavily for a bit."
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42points
#5
"Oh you're sick? Better completely block off half your nose so you can't breathe properly."
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42points
#6
ferox3 said:
"Allergies are basically your body jumping to conclusions about a harmless substance, and flying off the handle for no good reason."
"Allergies are basically your body jumping to conclusions about a harmless substance, and flying off the handle for no good reason."
slabby replied:
"So even my immune system has anxiety?"
"So even my immune system has anxiety?"
SpreadingRumors replied:
"In the worst of cases, it occasionally decides to attack your own healthy organs, causing organ failure and requiring a transplant. Which, of course, the immune system will then ALSO try to attack the transplanted organ because it really IS a foreign object.
"In the worst of cases, it occasionally decides to attack your own healthy organs, causing organ failure and requiring a transplant. Which, of course, the immune system will then ALSO try to attack the transplanted organ because it really IS a foreign object.
I hate my immune system."
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41points
#7
"That we cannot delete or sort unwanted/not needed info and memories from our brains."
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38points
#8
insidli said:
"Vasovagal syncope from pooping."
"Vasovagal syncope from pooping."
trackofalljades replied:
"Pretty much everything neuro/muscular that results from putting the pooper right next to the babymaker would be my vote for design flaw numero uno."
"Pretty much everything neuro/muscular that results from putting the pooper right next to the babymaker would be my vote for design flaw numero uno."
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37points
#9
I0I0I0I said:
"That you can have excruciating pain from a tiny hole on your tooth, but you can get cancer and not know until it's too late."
"That you can have excruciating pain from a tiny hole on your tooth, but you can get cancer and not know until it's too late."
eran76 replied:
"As a dentist, to be fair, its only a small hole at the surface but a massive area of decay underneath that's causing pain. Most truly minor decay is also painless."
"As a dentist, to be fair, its only a small hole at the surface but a massive area of decay underneath that's causing pain. Most truly minor decay is also painless."
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35points
#10
"Men have incredibly sensitive organs that are partly responsible for the procreation of mankind, as well as hormonal balances within the body. Instead of protecting these organs inside a ribcage or something, we dangle them outside our bodies, where they can be sat on, smashed, kicked, or otherwise injured."
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34points
#11
"Chronic pain. Yes I know my head hurts and my head will always hurt there is nothing I can do about it so shut the f**k up brain."
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32points
#12
Mountainbranch said:
"Eyelashes falling loose and ending up in the one place they're supposed to prevent s**t from falling into."
"Eyelashes falling loose and ending up in the one place they're supposed to prevent s**t from falling into."
Vaguely-Azeotropic replied:
"Oh hell, this. I take chemo shots every week for an autoimmune disease, and the worst part isn't the exhaustion, mouth sores, or easy bruising and bleeding - no, it's all the freaking eyelashes falling in my eyes the day after the shot. It's like the sad little Christmas tree in Charlie Brown where all the needles come loose after one good shake. And I'm on a low dose, so there are enough left for the same thing to happen the next week. Serious design flaw."
"Oh hell, this. I take chemo shots every week for an autoimmune disease, and the worst part isn't the exhaustion, mouth sores, or easy bruising and bleeding - no, it's all the freaking eyelashes falling in my eyes the day after the shot. It's like the sad little Christmas tree in Charlie Brown where all the needles come loose after one good shake. And I'm on a low dose, so there are enough left for the same thing to happen the next week. Serious design flaw."
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31points
#13
User No 1 said:
"The need to sleep for at least 1/3 of the day."
"The need to sleep for at least 1/3 of the day."
MarcusQuintus replied:
"Humans are on the low end of the scale for sleep. Many animals spend >80% of their day sleeping."
"Humans are on the low end of the scale for sleep. Many animals spend >80% of their day sleeping."
leagueofuchiha also replied:
"I once read somewhere also that the state of sleep is lifes standard and primary state. We only wake up to nourish ourselves with food, water, and s**, and then return to our primary state. Were made to exist just so we can procreate."
"I once read somewhere also that the state of sleep is lifes standard and primary state. We only wake up to nourish ourselves with food, water, and s**, and then return to our primary state. Were made to exist just so we can procreate."
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31points
#14
strykazoid said:
"The Obstetric Dilemma. Basically, the human body isn't built for easy birth."
"The Obstetric Dilemma. Basically, the human body isn't built for easy birth."
RIPMYPOOPCHUTE replied:
"Also the fact that bleeding still happens in the first trimester, and the bleeding can follow the regular cycle or you can have spotting every week in the first trimester. My BIL’s girlfriend would have like a period the first 4 months of pregnancy. It’s wild, it’s terrifying, and it’s stupid."
"Also the fact that bleeding still happens in the first trimester, and the bleeding can follow the regular cycle or you can have spotting every week in the first trimester. My BIL’s girlfriend would have like a period the first 4 months of pregnancy. It’s wild, it’s terrifying, and it’s stupid."
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31points
#15
etymologynerd said:
"Pimples."
"Pimples."
_userlame replied:
"Speaking of pimples, why do we have to get acne on our faces more than anywhere else, the face is the absolute worst place for that s**t, I would 100% prefer to have pimples on my knees or elbows or forearms or anywhere other than the god damn face."
"Speaking of pimples, why do we have to get acne on our faces more than anywhere else, the face is the absolute worst place for that s**t, I would 100% prefer to have pimples on my knees or elbows or forearms or anywhere other than the god damn face."
etymologynerd also replied:
"Clearly you're not speaking for my back here."
"Clearly you're not speaking for my back here."
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29points
#16
User No 1 said:
"That we lose a pretty good set of teeth at the age of 6. This would be so much more useful down the road, maybe at age 50 or 60, not 6, that's just dumb."
"That we lose a pretty good set of teeth at the age of 6. This would be so much more useful down the road, maybe at age 50 or 60, not 6, that's just dumb."
gigisilver replied:
"We would have to have a 3rd set for this to make sense due to head growth. Could you imagine how creepy and ineffective adult heads with those tiny baby teeth would be? Losing them young allows for bigger more efficient teeth to grow into the new jaw space."
"We would have to have a 3rd set for this to make sense due to head growth. Could you imagine how creepy and ineffective adult heads with those tiny baby teeth would be? Losing them young allows for bigger more efficient teeth to grow into the new jaw space."
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29points
#17
User No 1 said:
"The spine seems to be ridiculously fragile. As does the neck."
"The spine seems to be ridiculously fragile. As does the neck."
Redditor replied:
"Having performed multiple cadaver dissections and seeing the spectacularly strong reinforcement of the spine that requires a bone saw to cut through, I beg to differ. Most spinal injuries take place via brutal shearing or compressive forces like those seen in car accidents or falls from a distance.
"Having performed multiple cadaver dissections and seeing the spectacularly strong reinforcement of the spine that requires a bone saw to cut through, I beg to differ. Most spinal injuries take place via brutal shearing or compressive forces like those seen in car accidents or falls from a distance.
For day to day activities, the spine is wonderfully adapted to normal use for a lifetime."
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28points
#18
"We have incredible cellular machinery designed to repair DNA, replicate DNA, and proofread DNA and destroy DNA if it's wrong.
But we have things at the end of our DNA called telomeres that get shorter throughout our lives. They get shorter and shorter and shorter. And that's how we age and eventually die (oversimplification).
Oh, and we have an enzyme that actually does replicate the telomeres, we just don't use it in the majority of our cells."
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27points
#19
"You can kinda just die at any moment from a brain aneurysm, even if you're perfectly healthy."
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27points
#20
"When you look at them for long enough, eyebrows are really weird."
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26points