Vestigial Parts

Some years ago, while a was visiting friends out of state, I came down with a severe case of stomach pain. I went to a clinic and the following morning, out came my appendix. Appendicitis isn’t to be taken lightly. That small, narrow pouch, about the size of your pinkie finger, attached to your large intestine, can grow inflamed, and if it bursts, can spread infection through your abdominal cavity. And that can kill you. I remember learning in grade school that the appendix was vestigial, a remnant piece of a more robust digestive system our species needed when our diet consisted of coarser food more...