The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1920-02-15


blushing. will blush like the ordi-
nary person when made self-con-
scious.
Darwin says: - .t
"A mierocephslous idiot, for in
stance, thirteen years Old, has been
described by DIR. Behn ~ blushing
and turning 10 one side when un-
dressed for medical examination"
The curious thing about the
blush is that almost invariably,
the blush, red color, covers only
as much Of the skin rs Is visible to
strangers. A woman bushes on
her face, neck and arms. not on
tho rest Of her body, usually COW
cred. There are exceptions. Oar
win quotes q case In which "the
chest, shoulders. arms and whole
body. Of a girl, who unwillingly
consented to serve as q model.
redeemed when she was first d.
vested Of her clothes"
,Darwin's chapter on weeping
will interest you. Very young
babies do not shed tears. They
yell with dry eyes, as mothers
know. Their only emotion is an
ger or fear Tears come from
grief; maniacs weep moro than
ZANE people.
Men and others that have
learned to control their tears still
wrinkle up their eyes, contract
the muscles of the forehead, which
is part Of the process of weeping.
This COMPRISING of muscles
around the eyes is provided by
nature in the screaming of in
fants. in laughter, weeping, cough
ing or sneezing to protect the
blood vessels in the interior of
the eye from sudden, dangerous
pressure.
Why do human beings when they
pray look upward and hold the
hands upward? Hensleigh Wedg-
wood, in his book "The Origin of
Language" explains the attitude
Of prayer.
when the supplisnt kneels and
holds up his hands with the palms
Joined, he represents . captive who
proves the completeness of his
submission by offering up his
hands to be bound by the victor.
II Is the pictorial Representation
Of the Latin. dare m1nus, to sig
Nifty submission" ..
In old days, more than three
quarters of human beings being
slaves, and practically all human
beings going through slavery more
or less, in one generation or an
other, it became an Unborn Gus
tom to put the hands together and
hold them up ito be bound"
Everybody has seen a baby about
to cry "pout' or stick out its lips
at frst gradually drawing them
back for the more violent exer-
else OF screaming. That goes back
a long way. Muller, quoted by
Huxley, says:
The adult orang when wounded
is said to emit singular cry, con-
sisting at first of high notes which
at length deepen into low roar.
While giving out the high notes
he thrusts out his lips into q fun
mel shape, but in uttcring the low
notes he holds his mouth wide
OPEN" .. .. ,,Et
All little monkeys stick out their
glips when angered. 1t is a move
ment Of disgust. Primitive crea-
lures feel disgust usually when
something unpleasant gets into
their mouths. Sticking out the
lips Is part Of a movement to ex-
pei something unpleasant from the
mouth.
The little girl sticking out her
tongue in disgust at her playmate
Is initiating the little monkey Of a
million years ago that accidentally
got an unpleasant beetle into its
mouth by mistake.
Why do you shake your head
when you mean No" and nod
your head forward when you mean
"Yes?" So. 4
When a baby doesn't want to
eat any more, it moves Its head to
one side away from the supply of
nourishment. II it moved the head
backward the mother would press
1t forward again. The intelligent
baby moves 1t OF to one side, then
to the other. Thus, shaking the
head from side to side has come
to mean mo"
When the baby is hungry he puts
his head forward and downward
to reach the food supply that his
mother has to offer. And thus
nodding the head has come to
mean Yes"
Why do we shrug our Shout
ders, raising them toward our ears,
to indicate helplessness?
All human beings, even the blind
that have never seen others do it,
express helplessness by lifting up
the shoulders, turning in the ell
bows, spreading out the hands
with the fingers separated, wrin-
king the forehead and opening
the mouth.
Stand in front of a looking
glass, imagine that you are saying
to somebody, 81 can't do anything
about it, and you will go through
those OeStures