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Panda |
 Take a close look at the panda's paw and you'll fine five digits, none of
which is opposable to each other. So, to grasp and split bamboo (its main staple), the
panda enlists the aid of two of its wrist bones, which are uniquely enlarged and which
effectively give the panda seven "fingers." Because one of the enlarged wrist-bone "digits" superficially looks like the human thumb, this digit is commonly known as the panda's "thumb." Some people describe this "thumb" as inelegant and imperfect (when compared with the fully opposable human thumb.) However, pandas don't need to cook, repair cars or use computers. Consequently, they do not need a human thumb--indeed, their own thumb serves then far more effectively in handling bamboo than a human thumb could. Think about it: Do you now of any other body part, claimed by some to be "badly designed," which is known to be in fact incredibly effective and astonishingly efficient at doing what it was designed to do? |
