It is the weekend and I have found a wealth of absolute BS to fill the next couple of days…..I have said in the past that there has got to be a way to get on the list for the grant money they pass out.  I have seen some amazingly stupid research that was probably paid for by the tax payer…..stuff we really needed to know……

And then there are these studies that I was so worried that I would die before an answer was discovered…..,…

The human chin is something of a mystery to scientists. How, exactly, did we end up with a seemingly useless structure at the bottom of our face? One theory, as Smithsonian reported in 2012, is that they offer some support as we chew. Small amounts of stress can break down bone, allowing it to grow back tougher, which many thought could explain why our chins are much less pronounced as children than as adults. But new research out of the University of Iowa rejects that idea. Researchers followed a group of almost 40 subjects as they grew from age three to adulthood. Turns out those whose jaws endured the most wear and tear actually had the smallest chins, io9 reports.

So if it’s not stress on the jaw, how do we explain our chins? The researchers suggest that it could actually be the result of our faces getting smaller as we evolved. Neanderthals didn’t have chins—but they did have bigger heads than we do. While our heads shrunk over time, as male testosterone levels decreased, the chin may have remained as a sort of facial leftover. Other researchers have also pointed to sex hormones in explaining our chins, Smithsonian notes: Women may be attracted to guys with larger chins because it signals good genes, whereas smaller chins may be linked to higher estrogen, perhaps making them an attractive feature in women. No definitive answers yet, but it’s something to chew on. (Meanwhile, an injection could be available soon to fix a different kind of chin.)

Did that help explain Jay Leno’s chin?

Now that mystery has been solved there is one that has plagued me for years…..why do my knuckles pop?

Scientists equipped with an MRI scanner, a finger-pulling device, and a man they call the “Wayne Gretzky of knuckle-cracking” say they have cracked the mystery of that popping sound your knuckles make when cracked. In a University of Alberta press release, the team says their video reveals that the sound is caused by the formation of a gas-filled bubble created by a drop in pressure when the joints are separated. “We call it the ‘pull my finger study’—and actually pulled on someone’s finger and filmed what happens in the MRI,” the lead researcher says. “When you do that, you can actually see very clearly what is happening inside the joint.” The study was published in the journal PLoS One.

The bubble comes from the fluid that lubricates the joints, the lead researcher says. “If you’ve ever washed up glass plates, you’ll know they can be hard to separate when they are wet,” he tells the Guardian. “The film of water between them creates a tension that needs to be overcome. It’s similar with joints. When you pull on them, they resist at first, and then suddenly give way.” He says he started the study after a local chiropractor—who served as their champion knuckle-cracker—approached him with the theory. The researcher, an expert in spinal structure, says the findings could help explain the cause of joint problems and help doctors stop them before they begin. (Other researchers have discovered a new body part in the knee.)

Whew!  Another mystery solved before I crap out…….

Now aren’t you glad you stopped by today?