According to this article in Seed Magazine, women of a certain age may be the reason humans have evolved past the rest of the primates:

Language, tool making and higher-order cognition all distinguish humans from their primate ancestors, but it’s possible that none of these would have evolved if not for the development of another uniquely human trait: menopause.

So the next time your mom starts complaining about hot flashes, memory loss, and low libido, tell her she’s taking the hit for the team. Then duck.
[tags]human evolution, menopause, primates, crone[/tags]