3 A.M. Thoughts is a compilation of short articles about random topics that I have asked as I stare at my ceiling while suffering from insomnia. We will cover topics from the most stolen food in the world to babies mustaches (yes, this is seriously a thing). It’ll be a funny, weird, and slightly crazy ride and you might learn something. Nothing of real world use of course, but if teachers can make you learn calculus, then I can make you learn… some other stuff. 

Mustache, Tails, and Gills, Oh My!

 Everyone likes a good ol 'mustache. Especially babies…apparently. Before I get ahead of myself, let me explain. When a baby is being carried by storks it grows a mustache. Let that image sink for a second. This “mustache” hair is called Lanugo. This hair begins to grow on the unborn baby's upper lip and spreads across its face, spreading across its whole body. You may be asking what lanugo does for the baby. You see, lovely reader, it actually does a lot for the baby. It regulates body temperature, protects the skin, and stimulates growth and development. The fine hairs will go away before the child is born, however, every once in a while it will stay on the baby for the first few weeks of the baby's life.

What other things does a baby develop on its stork ride? Well, you see, they also develop tails, however it is really rare. The tail forms when the fetus is about 8 weeks old. A common belief, and my personal favorite, is that the origins of the human tail lies in the ancestors of humans. Humans eventually adapted out of needing wails and no longer grow them now. Dear reader, stay with me a moment, but wouldn’t that make us closer to kangaroos? Some scientists have recently thought that vestigial tails (a remnant of a structure found in embryonic life or in ancestral forms) are linked with abnormalities in the spinal cord and column. Specifically, they see vestigial tails as a part of spinal dysraphism or of a tethered spinal cord. 

If you are not shocked yet, wait for this next one! Babies develop gills before they are born. During their development they are submerged in fluid for many months, so what do they do reader? They develop gills… kind of. You see they don’t breathe through these “gills”, in fact, they don’t breathe at all until they are born. They get their oxygen from the umbilical cord. “What is the “gill” for then? You might be asking and Curious reader I will tell you. The gills we see in the early stages of development surprisingly form the bones for the jaw and ears. That’s all I have for now. Who knew development was so odd?

Bells