6 Minute English Chins

• Play Pause
• Mute
• 00:00

What's the point of having a chin?

Almost every part of our body seems to be the subject of endless debate. But there’s one part you don’t hear much about - the chin. Join Rob and Neil as they investigate this forgotten part of our face and explain some related vocabulary.

This week's question

How long ago do you think humans developed chins? Was it...
a) 150,000 years ago?
b) 2 million years ago?
c) 5 million years ago?
You can hear the right answer at the end of the programme.

Vocabulary

tediousboring or uninteresting
chin upstay positive or optimistic
far-fetcheddifficult to believe
projectionsomething that sticks out from a surface
jawlower part of the face
ancestorspeople related to us from a long time ago
prominenteasy to see or notice
chinless wondera weak person
plausibleacceptable or believable
double chinloose skin under the jaw
chinwagtalk with friends in a relaxed way

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript
RobHello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Rob.
NeilAnd I'm Neil. Hello.
RobHi there, Neil. Hardly a day goes by without hearing someone talking about some aspect of our bodies. Do you know what I mean, Neil?
NeilOh, yes, Rob. Almost every part of our anatomy seems to be the subject of endless debate. It could be our stomachs and what we eat. It could be our posture and how we stand. It could be our skin and how we should look after it.
RobYes, I know, it gets very tedious – that means boring – so I don't really take any notice, as you can see! But there’s one part of our body you don’t hear much about – and that is the chin.
NeilThe chin? You mean the small bit of bone under the mouth? It’s not the most interesting part, is it Rob? I mean, it doesn’t do anything, does it? I must admit I’ve never even thought about it. What’s it for, anyway?
Rob
Well, some people think it’s very useful for folding up large sheets and towels. You know, you hold one end under your chin like that with it…
NeilCome on, Rob, you're not being serious!
RobOf course not. But seriously, the more you think about it, the more interesting the chin becomes.
NeilYou’ve still got to convince me, Rob. A chin is just a chin. That’s all there is to it.
RobNot so fast, Neil.  The chin may turn out to be a more important part of the body than you think. But before we get into that, let’s turn to the quiz. Chin up, Neil.
NeilA good phrase - it means stay positive and optimistic.
RobOK well how optimistic are you about getting this question right? How long ago do you think humans developed chins? Was it...
a)    150,000 years ago?
b)    2 million years ago? or
c)    5 million years ago?
NeilHmm. I have no idea. They all sound far-fetched to me. Far-fetched means something is difficult to believe. But I think I’ll go for 2 million years ago.
Rob'B'. Okay. Well, we'll find out if you're right or wrong later on. But the first thing to say is that humans are the only animals to have developed a chin. Let’s listen to Dr James Pampush from the University of Florida. What word does he use to mean it sticks out?
Dr James Pampush from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Florida Humans are the only animal that have a chin and by that I mean, you have this bony projection underneath your teeth that sticks out past your teeth on the lower portion of your jaw and it’s such an unusual feature, that in a way it sort of helps define what it means to be human.
NeilSo he used the word projection which means something that sticks out from the main surface. 
RobAnd the word jaw is used to describe the lower part of the face, which the chin is part of. So, we now know exactly what the chin is. But why did it develop?
NeilNow from what I understand, Rob, it has a lot to do with when humans started to cook their food, so the food they ate became much softer. Therefore, our ancestors – that’s the people related to us from a long time ago – they didn’t need powerful jaws or sharp teeth anymore. And, strangely, that made the jaw drop and produced that odd piece of bone we know as the chin.     
RobBut some time later the chin became associated with sexual attraction in men. Males with prominent – that means easy to see - jaws were supposed to be attractive to women. And men with small chins were thought to be unattractive or weak people. They were even called chinless wonders sometimes.
NeilChinless wonder, an interesting phrase! So, let’s have a look at yours, Rob. Are you a chinless wonder? Mmm. Looks pretty normal to me. How about mine?
RobWell, Neil, your chin is rather pointed if you don’t mind me saying. But I’m not sure what that means, to be honest. So, let’s move swiftly on. Let's hear what Dr Pampush has to say about this. He uses a word that means this theory is likely to be true.
Dr James Pampush from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Florida It seems plausible to me that chins emerged as some kind of feature and then later were selected to be sex ornaments. But not the presence of the chin but, rather, the shape of the chin being some kind of marker for sexual identity.
NeilThe word he used was plausible meaning something that is acceptable or believable.
RobThe word chin has also given us some interesting expressions. A double chin, for example, describes loose skin hanging beneath the chin which makes people look like they’ve got two chins! It’s something that people don’t like and often try to get rid of.
NeilAnd then there’s the verb to chinwag. That means to talk a lot or to chat in a relaxed way with friends. A chinwag tends to be a conversation about things that aren't very important – but our conversation about chins is very important!
Rob
I guess so Neil, OK – so how about the answer to that question I asked you earlier? I asked you how long ago did humans develop chins? Was it a) 150,000 years ago? b) 2 million years ago or c) 5 million years ago?
NeilAnd I said 2 million years ago.
RobYou know your chins, you were right. Well done!
NeilAh brilliant!
RobChins really have been around for a long time. Now, before we go, it’s time to remind ourselves of some of the vocabulary that we’ve heard today. Neil.
Neiltedious
chin up
far-fetched
projection
jaw
ancestors
prominent
chinless wonder
plausible
double chin
chinwag
RobThanks Neil. Well, that brings us to the end of today's 6 Minute English.

100 Level Learn english Speaking fast 1 month with Bacitikdaithanh

speaking english practice, speaking english fluently, speaking english fluently in 10 days, speaking english conversation, speaking english fluently tutorial, speaking english practice in india, speaking english practice videos, speaking english course, speaking english with subtitle, speaking english in hindi, speaking english advanced pronunciation, speaking english activity, speaking english at work, speaking english about family, speaking english accent, speaking english at the airport, speaking english australia, speaking english advanced, speaking english american accent, speaking english and khmer, a french speaking english, speaking english basic, speaking english beginner, speaking english british, speaking english bts, speaking english backwards, speaking english badly, speaking english by niharika, speaking english bangla, speaking english - bad habits, speaking english bbc, bobby team b speaking english, block b speaking english, team b speaking english, zico block b speaking english, kyung block b speaking english, jazzy b speaking english, m.i.b speaking english, b.i speaking english, b.a.p speaking english, b.i.g speaking english, speaking english conversation practice, speaking english comedy, speaking english course in bangla, speaking english class, speaking english confidently, speaking english contest, speaking english children, speaking english course in hindi, c clown rome speaking english, c clown speaking english, c.a.p speaking english, c ronaldo speaking english, speaking english dan artinya, speaking english daily, speaking english denis drolet, wooyoung speaking english dream high, g dragon speaking english, danny ahn speaking english, dutch accent speaking english, dara speaking english, d.o speaking english, dilma rousseff speaking english, simon d speaking english, g.o.d speaking english, d.o exo speaking english, d.o speaking english samsung, d.o speaking english 2014, speaking english everyday, speaking english exercises, speaking english easily, speaking english exam, speaking english easy, speaking english english, bts speaking english eng sub, austin powers speaking english english, kai speaking english exo, kris speaking english exo, san e speaking english, e vidyarthi english speaking, e.den lc9 speaking english, speaking english for kids, speaking english fluently and confidently, speaking english funny, speaking english fluently practice, speaking english for beginners, speaking english fluently ielts, speaking english funny videos, f(x) amber speaking english, f(x) speaking english, f(x) sulli speaking english, f(x) luna speaking english, f(x) victoria speaking english, speaking english grammar, speaking english game, 2pm speaking english game, mark speaking english got7, japanese speaking english game show, jackson speaking english got7, kpop speaking english game, german accent speaking english, got7 speaking english, ns yoon g speaking english, tiny g speaking english, g.na speaking english, g dragon speaking english 2014, g.na speaking english to kyuhyun, g.e.m speaking english, g dragon speaking english kcon 2014, speaking english how to answer the phone, speaking english how to say p f b v, speaking english how to say ch & sh, speaking english hindi, speaking english - how to count syllables, lauren speaking english hello baby, tablo speaking english haru, learn english speaking through hindi, hindi to english speaking course full, how learn english speaking, speaking english ielts, speaking english in japan, speaking english ielts test, speaking english in korea, speaking english in france, speaking english in germany, speaking english indonesia, speaking english in quebec, speaking english in canada, speaking english japanese, speaking english japan, shinee speaking english jonghyun, xi jinping speaking english, jackson got7 speaking english, jessica speaking english, super junior speaking english, jay park speaking english, bts jungkook speaking english, bts jin speaking english, may j speaking english, shorry j speaking english, crown j speaking english, lucky j speaking english, j hope speaking english, j balvin speaking english, speaking english khmer, speaking english kpop, speaking english kids, speaking english korean, jyp speaking english kpop star, exo speaking english kai, ailee speaking english korean, nicole speaking english kara, iu speaking english kcon, kai exo k speaking english, exo k speaking english, jun k speaking english, 2pm jun k speaking english, k idols speaking english, k-on speaking english, k will speaking english, k-idols speaking english eng sub, speaking english lesson 1, speaking english like a native speaker, speaking english learning, speaking english lesson, speaking english like an american, speaking english language, speaking english learning videos, speaking english lessons for beginners, speaking english lesson in hindi.english grammar.spoken english-fluent and confident lvl 1 lesson 5-a, speaking english lectures, infinite l speaking english, l.joe speaking english, l.joe speaking english weekly idol, speaking english muet, speaking english movies, speaking english malayalam, scottish people speaking english maybe, messi speaking english, angela merkel speaking english, kiko mizuhara speaking english, martina stoessel speaking english, wow mali english speaking kariton, got7 mark speaking english, luhan exo m speaking english, exo m speaking english, b m english speaking, speaking english naturally, speaking english niharika, speaking english news, aron speaking english nu'est, nichkhun speaking english, neymar speaking english, nepali actress speaking english, lets talk english speaking niharika, norwegian accent speaking english, nadech kugimiya speaking english, vixx n speaking english, speaking english online, speaking english on phone, bts speaking english on plane, online english speaking course free, english lectures on speaking, oxford english speaking course, onew speaking english, speaking old english, ok taecyeon speaking english, exo d.o speaking english, exo d.o speaking english compilation, mblaq g.o speaking english, speaking english practice for beginners, speaking english practice in hindi, speaking english practice with subtitle, speaking english practice for kids, speaking english practice ielts, speaking english practice toefl, speaking english practice in india in hindi, t.o.p speaking english, t.o.p speaking english interview, t.o.p speaking english 2014, p j joseph speaking english, english speaking p, speaking english quickly, queen letizia speaking english, queen maxima speaking english, queen beatrix speaking english, sultan qaboos speaking english, queen silvia speaking english, queen mathilde speaking english, queen sirikit speaking english, queen sofia speaking english, quebecois speaking english, speaking english ronnie, wendy speaking english red velvet, park bom speaking english roommate, exo speaking english ranking, roy kim speaking english, cristiano ronaldo speaking english, ronaldo speaking english, rain speaking english, russian speaking english, red velvet speaking english, t r speaking english, speaking english slowly, speaking english skill, speaking english subtitles, speaking english story, speaking english song, practice speaking english skills, learn english speaking english subtitles, henry speaking english super junior, exo speaking english sehun, improve english speaking skills, speaking english, speaking english tutorial, speaking english topics, speaking english tips, speaking english to strangers, speaking english test, speaking english to koreans, speaking english to japanese, speaking english to foreigners, speaking english to bangla, speaking english to russians, zion t speaking english, t-ara speaking english, t rajendar speaking english, t-ara dani speaking english, t s madaan english speaking, speaking english uk, speaking english usa, speaking english urdu, uk english speaking practice, urdu to english speaking course full, u kiss speaking english, usa english speaking practice, english urdu speaking course, us english speaking practice, urassaya sperbund speaking english, u kiss jun speaking english, u kiss aj speaking english, u kiss kevin speaking english, u kiss eli speaking english, u kiss dongho speaking english, u-know yunho speaking english, u kiss alexander speaking english, speaking english video, speaking english very fast, speaking english vocabulary, speaking english video in hindi, how to speaking english very well, funny speaking english video, learning speaking english video, vijaykanth english speaking comedy, vladimir putin speaking english, british english speaking videos, v speaking english bts, bangtan boys v speaking english, bangtan v speaking english, v s achuthanandan speaking english, speaking english with a spanish accent, speaking english with american accent, speaking english with a german accent, speaking english with russian accent, speaking english with confidence, speaking english with strangers, speaking english with misterduncan, speaking english with text, speaking english with british accent, exo speaking english xiumin, xiumin speaking english, xavi speaking english, xabi alonso speaking english, ximena duque speaking english, xiah junsu speaking english, bo xilai speaking english, xi jinping speaking english in india, amber f(x) speaking english, winner speaking english yg, bobby speaking english yg, yoochun speaking english, yuki furukawa speaking english, gong yoo speaking english, aaron yan speaking english, yong hwa speaking english, yoona speaking english, joon young speaking english, park yoochun speaking english, zhoumi speaking english, zelo speaking english, zico speaking english, jiang zemin speaking english, zea kevin speaking english, zidane speaking english, zlatan ibrahimovic speaking english, bap zelo speaking english, zhao wei speaking english, momoiro clover z speaking english, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 01, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 02, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 05, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 03, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 04, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 09, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 06, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 08, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 07, learn english speaking lesson 01, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 11, english speaking practice title 1, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 12, english conversation - learn english speaking - part 10, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 10, 15& speaking english, jimin 15& speaking english, 1tym teddy speaking english, top 10 english speaking countries, english speaking part 1, english speaking practice lesson 1, learn english speaking 1, english speaking practice 1, english speaking english conversation lesson 1, english speaking practice part 1, english speaking class 1, english speaking for grade 1, tiffany speaking english 2014, jessica speaking english 2014, taeyang speaking english 2014, tablo speaking english 2014, gd speaking english 2014, 2ne1 speaking english 2014, rain speaking english 2014, neymar speaking english 2014, tiffany snsd speaking english 2014, hassan 2 speaking english, invincible youth 2 speaking english, roommate season 2 speaking english, english speaking practice title 2, english speaking lesson 2, 2pm speaking english, learn english speaking 2, english speaking practice title 3, 30 days english speaking course, sims 3 speaking english, english speaking lesson 3, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 30, 4minute speaking english, english speaking practice title 4, the sims 4 speaking english, learn english speaking 4, english speaking practice 4, english speaking lesson 4, 4 minute speaking english, english speaking practice title 5, 5zic speaking english, english speaking practice 5, english speaking practice title 6, english speaking lesson 6, english speaking practice title 7, english speaking 7 rules, speaking english subtitle part 7, english speaking practice title 8, 9muses sera speaking english, english speaking practice title 9, 96neko speaking english, 9 muses sera speaking english, english speaking practice title 10, learn english speaking 10