Probably a large misunderstanding of human anatomy but why does it seem that coughing is really inefficient at removing whatever the body is trying to expel from the lungs. As a comparison, vomiting, diarrhea, sneezing are all very forceful without really any effort on the part of us. However, coughs seem to barely expel anything without help from medication and continue WELL after the actual infection is resolved unlike those other body expulsion techniques mentioned above. I type this with a non-productive cough two weeks after a cold.
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It’s because we evolved to stand upright. Imagine the shape of a dog’s neck standing normally. Then, bend the dog’s neck 90 degrees downwards so the rest of the dog’s body stays the same but the head is now staring straight at the floor. Imagine the chokepoint this creates in the throat. That’s what has happened to human throats. A normally straight pathway is now weirdly bent and jammed. This is why animals can seem to devour food bigger than their head while we must eat in tiny chewed bites. Animals don’t get stuffy noses the way we do. Animals don’t get chunks of flehm that can’t figure out whether to go out or stay in. Animals don’t choke on small objects the way we do. It’s all from how our neck was bent after evolving to stand upright.
EDIT – looks like it was the ability to speak not stand.
https://medium.com/100-podcasts/words-kill-e99e7cbc11df#:~:text=But%20it%20also%20means%20that,can’t%20talk%20like%20us.
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