he New York Times has published a science article lamenting that the invention of fire, a critical development for early humanity, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be because it’s also to blame for causing global warming and “the patriarchy.”
“First We Made Fire!,” roars the headline for the piece, published Friday afternoon. “But It May Have Come With Some Downsides.” A tweet touting the piece notes that, while fire is great and all, it also paved the way for smoking thousands of years later.
Much of the article deals with the interesting side effects of humanity learning to create and utilized fire. For instance, human lungs gradually evolved the ability to metabolize certain harmful toxins contained in smoke, which may have become an evolutionary advantage for humans against Neanderthals. The article also discusses scientific speculation that human communities gathering around a fire may have led to the emergence of the disease tuberculosis. (RELATED: NY Times Crossword Denounced As Sexist, Offensive)