There's Something You Dont See Everyday

This is going to sound very "intellectual elitist", but oh well. I just can't resist.

About two weeks ago I made a quick stop in one of the local supermarkets to pick up some moderately healthy snacks. You know, the stuff you eat because you HAVE to, not because you love it. Anyone that would willingly choose an apple or a carrot over a deep-fried Jack In The Box taco is mentally ill.

Anyway, I'm walking through the produce section bemoaning the end of plum and nectarine season and I'm suddenly overhearing a spirited (just shy of heated) debate on the finer points of evolutionary theory. The actual agrument centered around the lineage of Homo sapiens sapiens (that's us, for those of you that missed the last 30 years of Nova on PBS). I slowed my pace through the fruits and veggies and listened more carefully. The exchange was peppered with references to neanderthals, heidelberg man, great apes, chimpanzee DNA and - stick with me on this one - I think I heard one mention of Australopithecus afarensis.

I do happen to live fairly close to one of the major State University of New York campuses, and the demographics of our area would include the well-educated and moderately afluent, so stumbling into this conversation is not entirely out of the question. Its not your everyday grocery store banter, but not totally unheard of either.

The beauty of this particular situation is that the participants in this exchange were two produce department employees. You heard me. The dudes in charge of keeping the lettuce wet and the bananas stacked properly were ruminating on the ascent of Man as the dominant species on the planet. This was a full-blown scientific debate including the drawing of diagrams with a black Sharpie on a cardboard box. I didn't get a good look, but I assume these to be illustrations of the relationship of Australopithecus, Ardipithecus and Homo to a common bipedal ancestor.

Next time I'm wandering through the Smithsonian, I'll be on the lookout for two evolutionary anthropologists arguing over whether Carmen Electra or Pamela Anderson is more doable.