At Long Last Its Purpose Is Known

Finally, at long last, we know the answer to one of life's greatest mysteries. Yes, they finally figured out the purpose of the appendix. That superfluous little intestinal cul-de-sac was not there to help us digest rancid meat, as I was told years ago. It's sort of a bacterial backup system. When infection or disease would wipe out the good bacteria in our intestines, the appendix would remain a safe bacterial haven ready to repopulate the intestines when necessary. When the human population was much smaller and spread out, it could take too long to get your bacteria back up to speed without the appendix. Now that people are everywhere, so are the needed bacteria, making the appendix unnecessary. Wild. Maybe they'll figure out the tonsils next.