Why Men Have Nipples

When my cat Oscar was alive,
he went through a bad phase
where he mistook his nipples
for ticks and tried to chew them off.
We had long talks
about the fact that they were his,
even though God had no intention
for him to nurse kittens,
and so he should leave them alone.

But I got curious.
I called my cousin, Linda,
the PhD in Paleoethnobotany,
because I figured she would know
why men have parts they won't use.

(When I was 5 and she was 3,
I asked her if everyone's belly
went in and out when they breathed.
I knew she wouldn't laugh at me for asking.
She said, yes, her belly moved
when she breathed,
and she suspected everyone's did.
She's always been a good source
for scientific information.)

So I asked Dr. Linda, PhD,
about Oscar's nipples,
and she said,
"It takes less energy
to do things the same way
than to differentiate.
Men and women
are alike in many ways
to simplify our design
and development,
and our systems know
the subtle differences needed."

Basic wisdom here...
we resist change in part
because it takes so much more
of our attention and our effort.
But in living our lives,
ultimately,
we have to make some changes
in order not to starve our future,
in order to survive as a species.