On your marks, get set, bear crawl,
the movement of the future is here,
and it looks a lot like
the movement of the distant past.
It's been at least six million years
since humans started walking upright.
Exactly when this happened and why
is still up for debate.
"We have no response."
But bipedalism or
moving with two rear limbs
could be a critical reason humans evolved
into the planet's most dominant species.
When the African climate began to change,
your ancestors had to adapt to living in the grasslands.
And that's when they may have started to stand upright.
It was easier to see over the tall grass.
This could be how natural selection led you
to walk around with that Starbucks cup in your hand.
Having our hands free to craft and use tools
might have been a key to creating early civilizations.
But what if we devolved a little?
If you want to start preparing
for a world of quadrupedal movement, you might find some benefits.
For starters, you'd be improving your balance and range of activity.
It would help you develop cat like reflexes.
You could move between positions
like crouching and standing with remarkable agility.
If you're feeling sore already. Good.
This form of movement would be a full body workout.
You'd be developing more muscular shoulders and triceps.
So get ready to pump up your diet.
Many martial artists and parkour athletes
are already introducing this into their lives.
Tokyo's monkey man, Kenichi Ito, can run like a horse.
This is called a transverse gallop.
Ito set the record for the fastest 100 meters on all fours at 15.71 seconds.
Compare that to Usain Bolt, who holds the bipedal record at 9.58 seconds
But if everyone started running on all fours,
it would be difficult for society to adjust.
You'd no longer be able to use your hands to carry things with ease.
Yeah. No more coffee on the go.
"No coffee?"
No more cell phones or umbrellas.
And going to the grocery store would take several trips.
Also, fashion would change significantly.
Purses and high heels would be unusable.
Whole new industries would emerge
to come up with intelligent solutions to this lifestyle.
And watch your head because anything higher than 1 m (3.3 ft)
would be difficult to see.
Head trauma could become commonplace.
You'd want to invest in a good helmet.
Get ready to wash your hands more than you did during the pandemic.
Being so close to the ground means touching the soil and potential pathogens.
You’d be getting sick more often.
And reorienting your body would also lead to gastrointestinal issues.
At least until our bodies began to adapt.
Eventually, your four legged descendants
would look more and more like your ancestors.
Scientists know from fossils that as humans began to walk upright,
many changes occurred to our bodies.
The shape of our pelvis changed from tall and flat to shorter and more bowl-like.
Our spines curved into an S-shape to bring our body weight over the hips
and cushion the brain while walking.
So what if you went back to the ways of your ancestors?
Well, at first this would lead to a lot of aches and pains.
You'd have wrist, shoulder and hip injuries.
Your body just isn't prepared for life on all fours.
Now, on the bright side,
you can bid farewell to back pain.
"Yeah."
Currently, this is the largest contributor to disability in the world.
Most of this is due to occupational injuries or inactivity,
but our walking upright is also to blame.
We transitioned from four to two legs at a fast rate,
and that didn't allow our musculoskeletal system to adapt.
So once you figured out the smoothest, most efficient way to move on all fours,
you could be on your way to a body that is able to change directions quickly
and react more instinctively.
Eventually, your four legged descendants would adapt
to look more and more like your ancestors.
Now, while you're back to walking like a monkey,
I wonder what would happen if monkeys took over the world.
Well, that's a story for another WHAT IF.