Skip to content
Surprising Science

Why Do We Cry?

“As far as scientists can tell, we humans seem to be the only species that shed tears for emotional reasons.” Is there an evolutionary advantage to being inspired to weep?

“As far as scientists can tell, we humans seem to be the only species that shed tears for emotional reasons.” Is there an evolutionary advantage to emotions inspiring weeping? “Tears are universal. We need them to keep our eyes lubricated, but why on earth should streams of salty drops spew forth from our eyes, blurring our vision and making our eyes puffy when we get emotional? One theory is that crying may have evolved as a kind of signal—a signal that was valuable because it could only be picked up by those closest to us who could actually see our tears. Tears let our intimates in—people within a couple of feet of us, who would be more likely to help.”


Related

Up Next
“If u really r annoyed by the vocabulary of the text generation, it turns out they were doing it in the 19th century—only then they called it emblematic poetry, and it was considered terribly clever.”