[Anastasia.fr.1]

why do we have eyebrows. from Anastasia x

[another_someone]

I don't know if there is a direct physical reason (e.g. they may help protect our eyes from falling detritus - maybe someone else knows better on that matter), but they are useful for conveying emotion, and so help in interpersonal communication (a little like a crude voice box, but they don't create sound but rather create a visual image of what the other person is thinking or feeling).

They are also just part of what makes us human (i.e. some things are there simply because people who don't have them are thought be abnormal, so they find it more difficult to find a mate with whom to have children, so the one's who have children are the one's with the particular characteristic, and so the characteristic perpetuates to the next generation).

[neilep]

...by the way...WELCOME to Paul Fr's daughter...ANASTASIA.......YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!

[BillJx]

why do we have eyebrows. from Anastasia x

Well, that's a good question.  I always thought it was to keep rain and sweat out of our eyes.  But I also like the idea that it helps us to see peoples expressions better.

  Did you ever notice that some birds have lines over their eyes, that look just like eyebrows?  http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/htmsl/h2980pi.jpg

[WylieE]

Hi Anastasia,
 I agree with BillJx, I think we have eyebrows to keep sweat and rain out of our eyes.  Next time you are out in the rain without an umbrella pay attention to what a good job your eyebrows and eyelashes do of keeping the rain in your eyes to a minimum.

  As a kid I had a cut on my face right in the middle of my eyebrow, so the hair didn't grow right there for just a little while.  But in that time I noticed how important they are at keeping the sweat out.  (And how much sweat stings in the eyes).

  I think we have them for this reason but we also have taken advantage of them for communication.  Just like our hands.  We have hands to grasp food and carry things, but we have learned to use them for another purpose too and now we use them to write (or type or speak in sign language). 

Good question!
Colleen

[neilep]

From The Desk Of  David Attenborough.:

Dear Neil,

Further to your link emailed to me about this thread, even though I was practicing my break dancing and was well  " in da zone " I took the time to read this thread and I can confidently confirm that eyebrows are specifically to enable us humans to hide amongst caterpillars.

I myself am hiding amongst this little bunch..and as you can see..  You can not see me.







I hope this helps to clarify things.

Yours

David Attenborough



 [ Invalid Attachment ]





QED !!

[usvi]

Eyebrows...who knows what medical condition might be diagnosed by eyebrows that thin out and disappear at each hairline side (the side by nose thicker, fuller until arch, and then dwindle to a few hairs.  I saw a BBC Masterpiece Theater production of a novel or story years ago about a Welsh doctor that came to small town and diagnosed disease one patient had because symptom was the thinning eyebrow...I believe it had something to do with thyroid?  Anyway, I've never forgotten, and am curious.  Judy

[Bored chemist]

Well, I can't vouch for the accuracy of this page
http://www.nethealthbook.com/hypothyroidism.html
but plenty seem to agree with it so it seems that thinning eyebrows really are a sign of thyroid failure.

[that mad man]

Simple...

The eyebrows are there to stop the forehead from slipping forward and covering the eyes. []

TMM

[Anastasia.fr.1]

thank you for your answers