MEN
32 Interesting Facts About Men In Old English, human men were referred to as wer, while the term man was used to describe humanity. During the thirteenth century, man gradually replaced wer as the term for an adult human male while also maintaining its use as an expression for the entire human species. 1. 2.
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Globally, boy babies are 25% more likely to die in infancy than girl babies.[1] Average height today for men in the U.S. is just over 5' 9" (175 cm) and average weight is approximately 190 pounds (86 kg). In 1960, average height for men was about 5' 8" (172 cm) and average weight was just over 166 pounds (75 kg). Worldwide, men have a life expectancy of 64.52 years, as compared to a life expectancy of 68.76 years for women. The most common cause of death for men in the U.S. is heart disease (the same as for women), and the average age of a first heart attack for men is just 66 years. Worldwide, there are approximately 107 baby boys born for every 100 baby girls. Scientists believe the elevated birth rate in favor of boys may be linked to the higher mortality rates of boys in infancy and childhood. In the U.S., men have higher death rates for all of the 15 leading causes of death (with the exception of Alzheimer’s disease) and die more than five years younger than women.[7] The brains of adult men are about 10% larger in total size than the brains of women. Because men generally have a larger stature and more muscle mass than women, their brains require more neurons to control the body. The word “boy” has been in recorded use since A.D. 1154 as a descriptive term for a male child. The exact etymology of the word is unclear, but it is believed to have descended from the Anglo-Saxon word boia, meaning “servant” or “farm worker.” Boys typically experience puberty between the ages of 12 and 14, a time in which the voice changes to its lower timbre, growth spurts occur, and the secondary sex characteristics begin to develop. Puberty for boys generally occurs later than in girls of the same age group. While both boys’ and girls’ voices will change during puberty, the change in a boy’s voice is dramatic, sometimes dropping a whole octave in tone. Males in other species develop a deeper voice to attract females and intimidate other males, and scientists believe the change in the male human voice evolved for the same reasons. The "art of manliness" has differed throughout history In most cultures throughout the world, boys historically experienced a rite of passage that marked their transition into the lives of adult men. Examples of traditional rites of passage include the Bar Mitzvah in Judaism, the “vision quest” in many American Indian tribes, and circumcision rites in many African cultures. The “Adam’s apple,” or laryngeal prominence in the neck, is a feature primarily unique to adult men and is a result of the growth of the larynx during puberty. The term is derived from the Biblical account of Adam eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Approximately 56% of boy babies born in the U.S. are circumcised at birth, representing a decline of 20% since 1950. Worldwide, approximately one-third of men have been circumcised. In terms of absolute size and in proportion to overall body mass, the human penis is longer and thicker than that of any other primate. For approximately the first six weeks after conception, all human embryos develop as a default female child, primarily taking genetic information from the mother’s DNA. After the sixth week of development, if the embryo is male, the SRY gene on the Y chromosome will
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September / October 2020 - www.globalonemagazine.com
