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Rob: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob.
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Neil: And I'm Neil. Hello.
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Rob: Hi there, Neil. Hardly a day goes by without hearing someone talking about some aspect of our bodies.
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Do you know what I mean, Neil?
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Neil: Oh, yes, Rob. Almost every part of our anatomy seems to be the subject of endless debate.
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It could be our stomachs and what we eat.
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It could be our posture and how we stand. It could be our skin and how we should look after it.
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Rob: Yes, I know, it gets very tedious ... that means boring,
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so I don't really take any notice, as you can see!
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But there's one part of our body you don't hear much about and that is the chin.
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Neil: The chin? You mean the small bit of bone under the mouth?
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It's not the most interesting part, is it Rob?
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I mean, it doesn't do anything, does it?
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I must admit I've never even thought about it.
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What's it for, anyway?
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Rob: Well, some people think it's very useful for folding up large sheets and towels.
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You know, you hold one end under your chin like that with it...
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Neil: Come on, Rob, you're not being serious!
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Rob: Of course not. But seriously, the more you think about it,
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the more interesting the chin becomes.
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Neil: You've still got to convince me, Rob.
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A chin is just a chin. That's all there is to it.
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Rob: Not so fast, Neil. The chin may turn out to be a more important part of the body than you think.
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But before we get into that, let's turn to the quiz. Chin up, Neil.
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Neil: A good phrase, it means stay positive and optimistic.
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Rob: OK well how optimistic are you about getting this question right?
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How long ago do you think humans developed chins?
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Was it ... a) 150,000 years ago?
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b) 2 million years ago? or c) 5 million years ago?
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Neil: Hmm. I have no idea. They all sound far-fetched to me.
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Far-fetched means something is difficult to believe.
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But I think I'll go for 2 million years ago.
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Rob: 'B'. Okay. Well, we'll find out if you're right or wrong later on.
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But the first thing to say is that humans are the only animals to have developed a chin.
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Let's listen to Dr James Pampush from the University of Florida.
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What word does he use to mean it sticks out?
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James Pampush: Humans are the only animal that have a chin and by that I mean,
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you have this bony projection underneath your teeth
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that sticks out past your teeth on the lower portion of your jaw and it's such an unusual feature,
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that in a way it sort of helps define what it means to be human.
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Neil: So he used the word projection which means
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something that sticks out from the main surface.
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Rob: And the word jaw is used to describe the lower part of the face, which the chin is part of.
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So, we now know exactly what the chin is.
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But why did it develop?
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Neil: Now from what I understand, Rob, it has a lot to do with
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when humans started to cook their food, so the food they ate became much softer.
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Therefore, our ancestors that's the people related to us from a long time ago,
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they didn't need powerful jaws or sharp teeth anymore.
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And, strangely, that made the jaw drop and produced that odd piece of bone we know as the chin.
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Rob: But some time later the chin became associated with sexual attraction in men.
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Males with prominent that means easy to see jaws were supposed to be attractive to women.
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And men with small chins were thought to be unattractive or weak people.
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They were even called chinless wonders sometimes.
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Neil: Chinless wonder, an interesting phrase! So, let's have a look at yours, Rob.
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Are you a chinless wonder? Mmm. Looks pretty normal to me. How about mine?
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Rob: Well, Neil, your chin is rather pointed if you don't mind me saying.
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But I'm not sure what that means, to be honest. So, let's move swiftly on.
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Let's hear what Dr Pampush has to say about this.
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He uses a word that means this theory is likely to be true.
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James Pampush: It seems plausible to me that chins emerged
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as some kind of feature and then later were selected to be sex ornaments. But not the
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presence of the chin but, rather, the shape of the chin being some kind of marker for sexual identity.
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Neil: The word he used was plausible meaning something that is acceptable or believable.
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Rob: The word chin has also given us some interesting expressions.
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A double chin, for example, describes loose skin hanging beneath the chin
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which makes people look like they've got two chins!
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It's something that people don't like and often try to get rid of.
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Neil: And then there's the verb to chinwag.
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That means to talk a lot or to chat in a relaxed way with friends.
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A chinwag tends to be a conversation about things that aren't very important,
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but our conversation about chins is very important!
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Rob: I guess so Neil, OK. So how about the answer to that question I asked you earlier?
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I asked you how long ago did humans develop chins?
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Was it a) 150,000 years ago? b) 2 million years ago or c) 5 million years ago?
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Neil: And I said 2 million years ago.
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Rob: You know your chins, you were right. Well done!
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Rob: Chins really have been around for a long time.
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Now, before we go, it's time to remind ourselves of some of the vocabulary that we've heard today. Neil.
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Neil: tedious
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chin up
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far-fetched
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projection
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jaw
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ancestors
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prominent
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chinless wonder
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plausible
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double chin
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chinwag
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Rob: Thanks Neil. Well, that brings us to the end of today's 6 Minute English.
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We hope you've enjoyed the programme.
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You can hear plenty more on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.
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Please join us again soon. Bye bye.
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Neil: Goodbye.