No ifs or ands…but plenty of butts

If you ever have wondered why the human butt is, well, always the butt of jokes and always butting in, the answer may be at hand. It seems that the evolution of the human buttocks, which is very unlike those found in our simian ancestors, is the key to our ability to stand upright and run a good pace faster than other primates. Apes have no buns, in the word of Dr. D.M. Bramble of the University of Utah. And without a butt you can't stabilize your trunk, and without that ability to lean forward without falling on your face you can't run. So if you have ever thought to use running as a means of trimming down the size of your butt, forget it. That big butt is just Nature's way of helping you not to fall on yours.

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