Tuesday, April 18, 2006

sleep when raining

Do you know that most people feel an urge to sleep in, or just sleep when it is raining? My dad, for one, sleeps like a concussed log when its raining (if logs can concuss), even though he usually have severe sleeping problems. There is probably an evolutionary explanation for this:

Those of us whose ancestors, in the cavemen era, have genes that prompted them to sleep during rain and thunderstorm probably survived better than those cavemen who went out to play/hunt in the rain. For one, the danger of slipping and bashing your brains out is lower when you are safe and dry in the cave, secondly, the risk of getting struck by lightning is infinitely lower too.

As a result of natural selection, those without the genes of sleeping-during-thunderstorms are gradually weeded out of the human species, removed by the lightnings (and in some special cases, the thunder).

So whaddaya know, the sleeping-when-raining syndrome has its uses after all. For those of you who, and whom up to this point has been protesting vehemently, dont have this urge to sleep when raining, there is only ONE explanation, and ONE word of advice from me:

You, and your ancestors, have been lucky. Very lucky.

Advice: You wouldnt be lucky for long; better develop that gene, fast.

(Incidentally, I am not one of those who felt the urge to sleep when raining; not much anyway, since I prefer to be awake to appreciate the rain.)

"Wait a minute," some of you cunning readers would exclaim, "your dad has this gene, yet you claim not to have this gene; what the hell are you talking about?"

Simple: my mum dont have this gene. duh.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hahahaha...

Yeah, and you put what you learnt in Gen Bio to good use: Dominant vs recessive genes :p