Skip to main content

Building the Perfect Baby: an open letter to Evolution

We've all been let down by evolution, if you believe in that kooky theory.

People have been around for at least 37 years... That's all I can personally vouch for. And if you don't believe that number perhaps 200,000 years is a better one.

In those 200,000 years there have been some evolutionary changes but not the kind of things that I think all parents want in babies. So I decided to write evolution an open letter in hopes she'll get with the program. See how I wrote she instead of he? That's because I'm sensitive.

I don't have her email or snail mail address so please forward if you know it.


Dear Evolution

You've done some good things... I'm not gonna lie. I'm a fan of my thumb. I use it every time I thumb wrestle, hitch hike or do that stupid "this guy" thing (I never do that). I also find they come in handy (hah) randomly throughout the day.

I also like some of the little tricks you play on us. The platypus.. That thing is hilarious... So much cooler than the Echidna.

You also gave Darwin a justification for riding a Beagle all across the world. Animal rights groups have cracked down on people riding dogs across the ocean so sadly I'll never be able to have the same opportunity.

You also pissed a bunch of religious folks off too... Good one.

But you've let down all of us parents. You seem to think it was good enough to have us walk on two legs, be able to speak a complex language, think rationally and fuck up our environment.

Don't get me wrong those things are good, except the environment thing, but you've skipped some things that would make babies so much better. I'm not asking for ridiculous things like have them walk and talk and be able to get a job right off the bat. Just some small tweaks to make them better.

Here's list of my (and probably other's) suggestions for future developments.

  • Teething should not hurt a baby. I covered this already but there is no reason for it to hurt. There can be something that is produced to numb their gums during this period.
  • Babies crying should be changed. They should start off quiet and get louder until someone comes to sooth the baby. No reason to start off at maximum decibles. It's rather annoying.t
  • Babies should be able to wipe their own butts. A horse can walk minutes after being born. A butterfly can fly moments after emerging from a cocoon. A butt wipe isn't too much to ask.
  • If you can't do that can you make their poo smell better? Perhaps the scent of laundry that's been dried on a clothes line. I wouldn't think that has a scent but the fabric softener manufacturers tell me it does.
  • Parents should be able to easily program when a child sleeps and wakes. None of this sleep training. No waking in the middle of the night just because.
  • Babies should be able to make their parents breakfast. Something simple like hashbrowns and coffee. If we have to get up early for a feeding or such we should have some sustenance. 
  • They should be able to grip onto parents like monkeys can. I realize it has to do with hair and stuff but think about making human babies' hands like the hard part of Velcro. I would like to thank you for making it so we don't eat and/or fling poo... That was a good trait to lose. Getting rid of the tail was a bad idea. Those things are cool. I know we came from apes like things and not monkeys but I'm guessing in our evolutionary ancestry there was a tail. 
  • Babies should be able to fly. I just think that would be cool and they're light and all cartilage (in case they fall) so it would be a good time to have this ability.

Why don't you start with that list. I'll give you a few thousand years to make these changes... Things take time. But when they happened I'll be praised by everybody and they will make a statue of me on whatever planet we live on at the time.

Your pal,
Kenny



As an appendix to my readers here's a link I found when I was looking on Live Science for an article about why we are bipedal. It talks about how humans are evolving slower than expected... Evolution is slacking.

Couldn't find the original article I mentioned but the gist is bipedalism uses less energy. Less energy means more food energy can go into brainpower. Bipedal means a person can carry and gather more food. So at some point the human ancestors that could carry more food were more attractive to the non-bipedal ones that maybe could fight better (stronger). It's suggested that rational thinking and ability to gather won out... So the ladies went for those guys (kind of the nerds of the time).

I also found an cool article about why infants walk late compared to other animals.

And since I'm talking about evolution I'd like to link to a post at Mom-In-A-Million. It's the Miss USA contestants answering the question "Should evolution be taught in schools?" I find it interesting that the question was phrased that way and not  "Should creationism be taught in schools?" It's a subtle decision that scares the hell out of me. Also you should read her blog regularly. It's good stuff.

Anyway my fave answer was Miss Utah and I was surprised... I also like Vermont because she seemed pissed about the question but she tried to answer like a contestant.

While Utah came close I wish someone would have said "Yeah, because it's right."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Scott the Paleontologist – the response... Wait sorry... the awesome response

In my last post I asked some incredibly pressing questions to Dr. Scott Sampson aka Scott the Paleontologist. Questions that any parent of a Dinosaur Train fan wants to know... I got a reply and I have to say Dr. Scott is hilarious and pretty awesome... But I'm a fan of science humor... So here are his responses in line with mine. They're in blue because that's the color of most of  Shiny Pteranodon. Dear Scott the Paleontologist, My son Miloh and I are fans of Dinosaur Train and as an avid fan I have some questions regarding it that I hope you can answer: The train is a steam engine. Does it run off coal? If it does use coal is there a possibility that greenhouse gases from that could have lead to the extinction of dinosaurs? How come this isn't a theory? Very interesting question. Yes, to the best of my knowledge, the Dinosaur Train runs on fossil fuels, but we actually do have an episode upcoming where we investigate alternative fuel trains. Given that ...

The Cat in the Hat Knows Pretty Much Nothing About That

I find myself saying it a lot but we don't let Miloh watch a lot of TV... Mostly because it goes a bit against Montessori at home (although we're pretty reform with that) and also because we, read I, watch too much and we don't want Miloh in the habit. On the list of things he does watch is The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That. Netflix is our friend in the mornings so he will get a bit of that or Sesame Street while the person who's on duty that AM tries to actually wake up. And Miloh truly loves the show. He calls it hat and pats his head. He let's us know that there's a fish on screen every time the fish comes on screen, he dances and says "Go, go, go" when they sing that song. Unfortunately since we really only watch on Netflix we've only seen eight episodes... But this gives me time to really think about the show. Here are some problems with it: The Cat in the Hat actually really knows almost nothing about everything. He does ...

New Giveaway: ABC's for Expectant Dads - 10 awesome copies

Winners have been picked for the giveaway. Todd was so nice as to give all who entered by the deadline a copy of his book. Thanks all who entered...I sent an email to you for your info. Please email me (info on the header) if you don't get that email. Rommel I could not find your email...please let me know your contact info. A bit ago I found Todd Lieman in Twitterland and he sent me a copy of his book ABC's for Expectant Dads: The Ultimate A- for Dads-in-Training. I'd looked at a bunch of expectant dad books and I thought most were terrible. I did pick up The Expectant Father and I liked it but I haven't looked at it in months. I think it's tough for dad's because we're just reading about what's going on with the mothers and it's easier to hear it from them. Staci is reading so much that she keeps me up to date on things I should know and I'm sure most expectant moms are the same. I'm also luckily in that doing this blog has connected...