Neandertal

Yesterday I decided to go to a lecture by Carl Zimmer called The Red Headed Neandertal, yes that is how he spelled it Neandertal. Which, by the way is a river valley in Germany where they found the first bones of a Neanderthal.
The lecture was in a building that was off-white in color and had a rounded, ornate, entrance way. Inside the building the large circular ceiling was painted a rich blue and covered with three dimensional golden stars. A beautiful contrast to the white walls.

I wandered around the medical library for a bit, looking at tools, diplomas and books from the 1800s. I noticed the surgery needle has not changed at all; it is still a curved piece of metal with a sharp point at the end. I ran my fingers over thick leather books, imagining how much work, so many people have put into learning the complex working of the body listed on their pages. How wonderful it must feel to have such a solid goal. 

I then headed into the lecture room. I was surprised to find that it was in a conference room. It had the thick wooden rectangular table with the beautiful solid wood chairs placed around it. Also placed on a table in the back of the room where three kinds of Sherry and some Christmas cookies. ( I have only used Sherry for cooking) I sat at the long conference table and watch distinguished looking old men  pour into the room (one even sporting a bow tie), then young thin intellectual looking boys with beards, and a handful of women. There were chairs along the walls that eventually filled in with people and even some people sat on the floor.
The lecture was fairly interesting, though I did see a fee people dose off.
Some interesting facts: Neandertals had the gene that causes humans to talk to one another.  Neandertals made weapons, but no art. They made jewelry from shells painting them with red ocher, but no drawings of animals or each other. Neandertals had about a 1% population with red hair and that gene is not the same as mine but a parallel gene. We all most likely have some Neandertal genes. With my red hair my chances are quite high. However, Neandertals actually had larger brains than humans and had organized living conditions. So we can no longer say, "My boyfriend is such a Neanderthal." unless we are giving him a complement.