Vestigial Structures—Leftover News

Charles Darwin once claimed the human body contains evolutionary leftovers, and Fox News ran with the story—150 years later.1 According to the “news” story, these so-called vestigial structures once proved useful to our ancestors, but due to evolutionary “progress,” they now simply serve as signposts to the past. Since Darwin’s time, the list has dwindled, as scientists continue to find functions for supposedly functionless organs. However, Fox News must have missed the memo when they scrounged up a dubious list of nine, including the tailbone, the appendix, and wisdom teeth.

The article rehashes the false belief that the tailbone (the coccyx) is “left over from the olden days when we had tails.” But this misunderstood bone does have an important function: the coccyx serves as an anchor for the pelvic muscles, which support certain internal organs. And while humans can live without an appendix, the tiny organ proves useful by serving as a storage area for bacteria that aid in digestion. As for wisdom teeth, not everyone suffers from the impacted variety—and those that come in correctly work just as intended.

God originally designed all of our body structures for a purpose—they have never been useless. Since Adam’s Fall, some of these organs may no longer operate in prime condition, but loss of function has nothing to do with the type of onward-and-upward evolution Darwin proposed. Instead, the degradation affirms both the creation account in Genesis and the impact of the Curse.

According to the Bible, God created Adam and Eve in His image, separate from the animals. While some of our features may resemble those of other creatures, these bear testimony to a common Designer and common needs—not a common ancestor. We have no vestigial structures, and that’s some truly worthwhile news.