Why chimps stink at baseball

And what that means for human evolution

Chimps
(Image credit: AP Photo)

For all the frightening strength primates are capable of, many are downright terrible when it comes to throwing things with force. Such is not the case for the relatively weak and hairless Homo sapien, which is capable of hurling anything from snowballs to hunting spears with ferocious velocity.

Take Aroldis Chapman, a gifted pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds. He once threw a heater clocking in at a staggering 105 mph — the fastest baseball pitch on record:

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.