the corner office

I was just going to mail this link (via) on to Ronwen, but then I read this, at which point I could not resist:

The rise of civilization coincided with a strange twist in our evolutionary history. We became, in the coinage of one paleoanthropologist, "mampires" who feed on the fluids of other animals. Western civilization, which is twinned with agriculture, seems to have required milk to begin functioning. No one can say why.

The 'it ain't natural to drink milk' argument isn't new, but I didn't realise that two out of three modern adults are lactose intolerant. Interesting as well is that the rapid spread of lactose tolerance amongst homo sapiens was so sudden and widespread that it can only be explained in evolutionary terms as being critical for human survival. At some point in our recent history human beings who couldn't handle milk were dying out.

I'm glad I'm not lactose intolerant. From cheesecake (thanks again love!) to the glass of milk I just drank with dinner, I am extremely happy being a mampire.