I've found that most food trails lead to the break room. I've found that most of my coworkers give off a scent of annoyance and the good ol' 'fight or flight' reaction when they see me flehming. I've also just discovered that humans can't flehm. We have no Flehmen response because we don't have a vomeronasal organ, the very organ used to process the pheromones. Too bad. All that flehming, and all I got out of it is the cold shoulder from my coworkers.
Thanks for the photo Mo Hassan.
"I've also just discovered that humans can't flehm."
ReplyDeleteTry telling that to Elvis. Or Billy Idol. Also, watch someone sniffing last week's milk carton to see if it has gone off or not.
Seriously though, humans do retain a vomeronasal organ at least in the early stages of our development. It appears to disappear as the embryo develops, like our tails and gill folds. However, there is indication that some, or most, adults retain at least a vestigial remnant of the VNO (a small blind pouch in one or both nasal passages).
The functionality of this remnant structure is generally dismissed, although we should keep the in mind the recent reappraisal of the appendix. The importance of pheromones in human communication is still controversial (despite what various magazine ads say). Purportedly, the synchronization of menstrual cycles among women living together is pheromone-based.
So, you're saying I might be able to flehm, vestigially speaking that is. I wouldn't mind a functioning VNO. I'd like better warnings about predators on the prowl, or the timing of certain monthly events...
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Neil; Billy Idol is a serial Flehmer. With Rebel Yell, y'all. More, more, more!
ReplyDeleteGrandpa Gaur says: "Hey you kids! Get off my lawn!"
ReplyDelete