+107 If we had completely separate passages for air and food, a congested nose would be a huge problem. amirite?

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

Not with a handy dandy downsnorkle

by UnableWorking2338 20 hours ago

So basically… every cold would come with a side of suffocation.

by Negative_Diamond 19 hours ago

Some humans in history probably weren't able to mouth breathe, and that resulted in natural selection removing those genes from the pool

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

Not humans, not even apes

by Capable_Sweet 19 hours ago

True, but also... imagine slurping noodles without the constant fear of death. No more "oops, wrong pipe" panic attacks mid-meal. Just smooth, safe spaghetti all the way down. I'd take a lifetime of nose congestion for that kind of peace.

by Automatic-Raise4807 18 hours ago

The lungs are actually an evolved part of the digestive system. I Mean it makes sense since it's connected to the mouth and throat.

by OkCherry9695 18 hours ago

Huh, this is interesting, never heard of it before. Do you have any sources I could check out to learn more about it?

by Anonymous 18 hours ago

False. The prevailing hypothesis is that lungs evolved in early vertebrates, likely from structures like the swim bladder in bony fish.

by Anonymous 18 hours ago

likely from structures like the swim bladder in bony fish. Which started out as extensions of the upper digestive tract (specifically the pharynx, according to this). Don't correct someone if you're not even going to do a cursory web search to check if they're actually wrong.

by Friendly-Cut 18 hours ago

That fact alone would make this invention fail without exception any time an animal decides to evolve something like that.

by jaquelinejenkin 17 hours ago

I mean, it is a very believable mutation that could probably just happen to some poor person.

by gaylordverdie 17 hours ago

Horses don't breathe through their mouths, they manage

by Fabulous_Paint 17 hours ago

Why does nasal congestion make it feel so hard to breath that you have to switch to mouth breathing? but then if you have congestion further down the pipe you can still breathe? Why doesn't our windpipe get clogged for example?

by Complete-Marzipan 17 hours ago