Do earlobes have a purpose?

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This entry is part 30 of 40 in the series Deep Questions

Earrings aren’t good enough for ya? Maybe gauging is a higher purpose? If not, well, you’ll just have to accept that earlobes are a vestigial structure, an evolutionary hiccup, a leftover bit of flesh that has to make do with getting punctured for fun.The external ear itself has the valuable function of collecting and directing sound into the inner ear. The parts of the ear you can see without a doctor’s help are called the pinna; those curvy bits conduct sound vibrations in the air down into the tympanic cavity. The shape of the pinna helps your ear and brain figure out what direction sound is coming from. But the lobule — the part hanging down — isn’t any help. In fact, some people are born lobeless because of recessive genes, and this doesn’t seem to affect their hearing.

So, if you got ’em, we say flaunt ’em.

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B. John

Records and Content Management consultant who enjoys good stories and good discussion. I have a great deal of interest in politics, religion, technology, gadgets, food and movies, but I enjoy most any topic. I grew up in Kings Mountain, a small N.C. town, graduated from Appalachian State University and have lived in Atlanta, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Dayton and Tampa since then.

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