Wise Tooth Anonymous

What do the wings of a flightless bird, a whale's pelvis, and a human's wisdom tooth have in common? They are all vestigial structures—organs or body parts of a species deemed useless. Like all vestigial structures, many perceive wisdom teeth to lack functionality in this current day in age because the diet of humanity has tremendously evolved. Before Percy Spencer invented the microwave and James Sharp pioneered the first gas oven stove, early humans feasted on raw meat, nuts, and leaves.

How did our ancestors muster up the power to chew such rough foods?

Wisdom teeth!

Out of the forty-eight people I surveyed, only two reported that they perceived the wisdom tooth as a means of survival our ancestors depended on for survival. Everyone else claimed that the wisdom tooth is something doctors extract at a certain age to signify a rite of passage. Interestingly, both people who highlighted the wisdom tooth's role in sustaining our ancestors were 73 and 72 years old.

The limited number of people who knew about the wisdom tooth’s historical significance left me dumbfounded. If two out of forty-eight people were representative of the entire global population, then only 4% of the world understands how the wisdom tooth has functioned...