The History Of Visual Effects

The History Of Visual Effects The moving images has always enthralled and surprised its viewers. Since the first ever video of horse running to prove his animal feature to the latest video featuring Akon or Eminem, or to the latest film avatar which took 10 long years for its completeion, this medium of Moving Visual Images has come a long way and still far more to go and explore. The most influencial among these moving images is the medium of cinema. I has a strong hold on people, they never get tired of movies. This is the key thought behind movie making . If the people are showing any hesitation towards the movies, the makers would soon come up with new ideas and technologies. If the Improvement is in the field of technologies it would certainly be containing the word Effects in its priority list. Effects is the most important and key part behind the film Industry now. More than 90% of films releasing today has a Special or Visual Effects sequence in some part of its running time or may be the entire movie would be VFX showcase. The first film screening was done on December 28, 1895 showing 10 short films of 20 minutes in total was held in the basement launch of the Grand cafe on the boulvard des capucines in Paris, and the inventers of this technique of capturing and projection of sequence of images were by the Lumere Brothers. And now A single film is releasing world wide on the same day in more than thousands of theatres. The growth of the Industry was in tick of a time but this tick of time has a lot more to say. Louis Lumiere once said about cinema Cinema is an invention without any future. He might have been right when he made this statement, The period of invention, Invention of usabel electricity, steel and petroleum products which inturn lead to the second Industrial revolution. But that statemnt of Louis Lumiere would be a joke at this poit of time, In this era of technologies and development, A period when manpower is questioned by the machines. Experiments were the key to improvement, innovation and inventions. The technologies dint come up by itself There is a lot of hard work and lot of man power behind it. A small brief of the eveolution of Effects. Special Effects Smokes and mirrors were the first visual effects tool used in the begning of movie making to create Effects. The smoke and mirrors with the help of tricky camera techniques startled the audience. This was achiedved with the help of human inablity of vision, that they will see sequence of images as they are in motion and not as single images. These was scientifically called as the persistance of vision. These simple techniques were produced within the camera, such as simple jump-cuts or superimpositions, or were created by using miniatures, back projection, or matte paintings. The first ever Special effect used ina motion picture is called Stop trickand It was the first type of photographic trick in motion pictures. The trick is simple,Executed by Alfred Clarke in 1895. While filming a reenactment of the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, Clark instructed an actor to step up to the block in Marys costume. As the executioner brought the axe above his head, Clarke stopped the camera, had all of the actors freeze, and had the person playing Mary step off the set. He placed a Mary dummy in the actors place, restarted filming, and allowed the executioner to bring the axe down, severing the dummys head. George Melies a French magician is a personality whom I shouldnt miss when speaking about the History of Special Effects. He is also reffered as the Cinemagician. George melies accidently discovered the same Stop trick. While he was filming in the streets of paris, his camera got jammed. And later when it was screened He found that Stop Trick has caused a truck turn into a hearse, Pedestrians to change direction and men turned into women. Melies the stage manager at the theatre Robert-Houdin, was inspired to develop na series of more than 500 short film, between 1896 and 1914, in the process developing or inventing such techniques as multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand painted color. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality with the cinematography. He used this trick when shooting his eight-and-a-half minute famous Nickelodeon based on Jules Vernes From the Earth to the Moon. This video featured a combination of live action andanimation, and also incorporated extensive miniature and matte painting work. Introduction To Visual Effects Visual Effects or VFX is a subsidiary part of special effects. What is VFX Visual Effects (Visual FX/VFX) is the various process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live action footage. Visual Effects involve the Integration of computer generated Realistic Environments, characters or Effects which is dangerous, costly or simply impossible to capture on film. The technique of Visual Effects is now commonly used in Big Budget films as the generation is a costly business. The Availability of affordable Compositing and 3D softwares creates a wave among the amateur film makers to include these techniques in their films too. Different Techniques Involved or Integrated with Visual Effects Animation: Animation is the technique by which images which would be 2D or 3D artwork or model position shown in a sequence such that it creates an illusion of motion. This is due to the optical illusion of motion which is in turn by the persistence of vision of our eye. The most common method of presenting this would be motion picture or a video program although there are plenty of other methods. Chroma key: Chroma key compositing or Chroma Keying is the technique of compositing two images or frames together in which a color or small color range from the above image is removed or made transparent revealing the image behind it. This technique is also referred as Colr keying or Color separation overlay green screen or Blue screen. Compositing: Compositing is the combining of of visual elements from various sources to one image, creating an illusion that all these elements are the part of the same scene. Live action shooting for various compositing are called, chroma keying, green screen, blue screen etc. All compositing involves replacing one part of an image with another part from another image. In the digital method of compositing the software command designates a narrowly defined color as part of an image to be replaced. Then every pixel from the source image is replaced by the pixel from the image which has to be in place. That should be aligned in such a way that the whole composition should look like a single image or frame. Computer Generated Imagery: Computer Generated Imagery or CGI is the application in the field of Computer graphics or more precisely 3D computer graphics to special Effects in films, Television programs, Commercials etc. CGI is used for films because its controllable than the other physical processes like Constructing miniatures or calling Extras for the crowd sequence. And the advantage CGI has over other mediums is that It can be controlled and edited by one individual/CG Artist without the help of Actors, Expensive set pieces or Costly props. Matte Painting: A matte Painting is the painted representation of a landscape, Set or Distant location that allows filmmakers to create an illusion which would rather be very much expensive, impossible to visit or shoot on a live action film. During the course of time since its first usage, The artist have used and experimented different techniques on matte painting. But the quality of output of matte painting is seamless and is directly proportional to the skill level of the artist and his imaginations. Rear Projections: Rear Projection is an in- Camera special effect technique used in film productions to combine foreground performance with pre-filmed backgrounds. It was widely used and still being used to show background motions like driving or a distant Background motion. The projector is placed behind the screen which is called plate and casts a sequence of images on to the screen. As the projector is behind the screen a reversed image is casted which makes the image looks fainted or washed out . A large area of space is occupied for this kind of projections as the projector is kept at a distance from back of the screen. Since the screen is called plate, Roll Plate was the command given to the crew to roll the projector according to the time. Front Projection Effect: In contrast to rear projection, in front projection the background image is projected onto both the performer and a highly reflective background screen, with the result that projected image is bounced off the screen and into the lens of a camera. This is achieved by having a screen made of a retroreflective material such as Scotchlite, a product of the 3M company that is also used to make screens for movie theaters. Such material is made from millions of glass beads affixed to the surface of the cloth. These glass beads reflect light back only in the direction in which it came, far more efficiently than any common surface. The actor (or subject) performs in front of the reflective screen with a movie camera pointing straight at him. Just in front of the camera is a two-way mirror angled at 45 degrees. At 90 degrees to the camera is a projector which projects an image of the background onto the mirror which reflects the image onto the performer and the highly reflective screen; the image is too faint to appear on the actor but shows up clearly on the screen. In this way, the actor becomes his own matte. The combined image is transmitted through the mirror and recorded by the camera. Schà ¼fftan process: Its a special Effect technique used in the first of 20th century before being completely replaced by traveling matte. This process is named after its Inventor Eugen Schà ¼fftan(1893-1977)Schà ¼fftan placed a plate of glass at a 45-degree angle between the camera and the miniature buildings. He used the cameras viewfinder to trace an outline of the area into which the actors would later be inserted onto the glass. This outline was transferred onto a mirror and all the reflective surface that fell outside the outline was removed, leaving transparent glass. When the mirror was placed in the same position as the original plate of glass, the reflective part blocked a portion of the miniature building behind it and also reflected the stage behind the camera. The actors were placed several meters away from the mirror so that when they were reflected in the mirror, they would appear at the right size. . Visual special effects techniques in rough order of invention practical effects in-camera effects miniature effects Schà ¼fftan process matte paintings rotoscoping Dolly zoom optical effects travelling matte aerial image effects optical printing bluescreen prosthetic makeup effects motion control photography Audio-Animatronic models digital compositing wire removal morphing match moving Virtual cinematography Landmark movies 2001: A Space Odyssey (Pioneer in spaceships models) Amadeus (Old age stipple, era effects) The Birds (Male/Female Matte developments) Buddy (Animatronics) The Day After Tomorrow (Prolonged digital shots, playing with weather effects) Independence Day (Digital effects combined with small-scale models) Jurassic Park (Large animatronics, creating creatures from scratch) King Kong (2005) (Motion Capture) The Lord of the Rings film Trilogy (Created Massive Software, prosthetic work, digital effects, motion capture) The Matrix Trilogy (Bullet Time) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest (Motion capture from a 2D image) Star Wars (Creation of original, practical effects, destruction effects, pioneer in spaceships models) Superman (Human flight) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (3-Dimensional Morphing and 3D Human Body) The Terminator (Digital effects) Titanic (Model work, computer generated water, motion capture) Toy Story (Complete Computer Animation) Tron (Computer animation, virtual sets) The History Of Indian Cinema History Of Indian Cinema The first ever screening In India was held in Bombay at Wastons Hotel in the year 1886, six soundless short films were screened by Lumiere Cinematographe just on year after the first ever screening by Lumiere Brotheres in Paris. Soon after, Hiralal Sen and Bhatavdekar started making films in Culcutta(now Kolkatta) and Bombay(now Mumbai) respectively. First acuality films were made by Bhatavdekar in 1899 just like the Lumieres did. Thogh there were many efforts in making feature films since the introduction of Film in India, The first feature film Raja Harishchandra was made in the year 1913 by Dada Sahab Phalke, He was later known as the Father of Indian Cinema.By the year 1920, The begning of Indian film Industry was started and started with 27 films per year, reached 207 films in 1931 and today India makes about more than 1000 films per year. A world record has been set in 2009 by producing about 2961 films on cellulloid which includes a staggering figure of 1288 feature films. Visual FX in India The History of Indian Visual FX dates back to the silent era, At the same time as hollywood films were experimenting and Executing VFX, India has also closely followed and caught on. Dada Saheb Phalkes silent movie Kalimardhan in the year 1919 is one example wit such work. Later came movies like Padhala Bhairavi and Mya Bazar which took VFX to greater heights. The Golden Era(1940-1960) Of Indian Cinema: This was the era when Indian films where well acclaimed and Appreciated along with the growth of world Cinema. The films were treated well in the Industry. This nourished and helped the Indian film makers to Explore and Experiment both technically and story base. There were many experiment in the field of cinematography innovating new techniques and experimenting with new Ideas. Cinematographers like Subrata Mitra were pioneers in that. His techniques had an Impact on the cinematography of the world cinema. His techniques included Bouncing the light thats using the daylight on the sets. Then came the major twist, which has made the Indian films to lack behind in Techniques. The reason are many, But two main reasons would be The usage of computer generated technologies in world cinema where Indian filmmakers were drawn back, as the Indian Scientists and technologist may ot have helped the field of cinema in improving its quality. The second reason would be, Eventhough the scientists and Technologists were keen in helping the Indian film for producing the special effect techniques, Indian film makers might have more preferred creating Masala Movies( A colocial word used for the Typical Indian Commercial Film) fledged with Darama, songs, Tragedy and all. As the medium of cinema is a Pure process of Business through Entertainment. Even then Few movies were released in Indian Cinema with magnificant Films with special Effects, Makers being the pure lovers of Cinema, and whoe adored the growth of world Cinema. The 90s: Begning of The Visual FX The 90s has to be considered as the milestone decade for the Visual FX Of Indian Cinema. This decade show us first that Indian Cinema has the strengh and courage to Compete with the world cinema in Visual FX. The first live action movie incorporating animation in India was O Faby in 1993, A malayalam feature film. Then Came a film in the year 1994 where the lead Actor was dancing with his heroine for the song Mukkala Mukkabula but the surprise was that only his clothes were visible and his body parts were just blank or Invisible. This was the first time when Indian Audience as well as the makers were experiencing such a technique in an Indian cinema. The Indian Government had been too impressed with this dance I think, From the next year onwards, 1995 The rajat Kamal or Silver Lotus for Special Effects have been Included in the National Film Awards. The first award went to none other than the creator of this piece of Effect Mr. Venky. Venky has shown his talent in the 1993 released film Gentleman and did some charisma in the movie, and then he came to work in Kadhalan and grabbed the award. But it would be too Unfair If I dont mention the Director Both the films, which is the same person, who has shooked each and everyfilm maker in the country with his love toward Visual FX, with his love towards Cinema, with his belive in the Visual FX, and shooked the whole country with his latest film Endhiran/Robo( 2010), Simple but fledged with Innovative ideas Mr. Shankar.

Factors Influencing the Use of Presidential Veto Essay

The democratic system of government relies mainly upon the proper functioning and the harmonious relationship between its three main branches: The Executive Department which has the power to execute the law; b) the Legislative Branch which has the power to propose, enact, amend and repeal the law; c) the Judiciary which has the power to interpret the law. Our constitution has divided these three most important functions to these three departments which are considered co-equal and supreme authority within their own domain. The principle of separation of powers has for its aim the prevention of the over concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to an error or abuse to the prejudice of the whole state. The idea is that the separation of power will produce greater action on the part of these three departments, prevent any of these three departments from over-extending their authority to the point of encroaching into the domains of the other department, to prevent the possibility of abuse by any department in the exercise of its power and to obtain maximum efficiency in the delivery of public service. Austin Ranney (1995) once said that any concentration of powers in a single branch is tyrannical and only true separation of powers will protect the liberties of the people against the aggressions of government. (Austin Ranney, p. 240) Checks and Balances The US Constitution has provided for the principle known as the checks and balances. Under this principle, the constitution has given each department certain powers by which it may restrain the other department from improvident action. This enables the whole state to maintain the right balance among them and preserve the will of the sovereign as expressed in the constitution. Thus, pursuant to the principle of Checks and Balances, one department is allowed to resist encroachments made by one department against another or to rectify mistakes and errors committed by the other department. The principle of separation of powers should not however be interpreted to mean that there is a sibling rivalry of some sort in the exercise of the powers of these departments. The fact remains that even if one department may control, interfere with or encroach upon the acts done by another department pursuant to the constitution, it is still the policy that each department have to interact with one another to achieve a unity of purpose. There is therefore no wall of isolation or animosity among the three departments. Blending of Powers Corollary to the principle of separation of powers and the checks and balances is the principle of blending of powers which is very evident in the manner every democratic government runs. In the performance of a constitutional task, one department acts in a manner complimentary to or supplementary to the other. The principles of separation of powers, checks and balances and blending of powers can be adequately explained in the manner of enactment of laws and statutes. The principle of separation of powers provides that to the legislative belongs the power and authority to enact, amend and repeal a law. To the executive department belongs the power to implement the law. Thus bills are passed by Congress and sent to the President for his approval. The principle of checks and balances is manifested in the way the president vetoes the bills passed by the Congress. The power to veto bills passed by Congress is stated under Article 1 Section 7 of the United States Constitution, to wit: â€Å"Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. (Article 1, Section 7, United States Constitution) Though the Congress enacts the law, the president has the prerogative to reject the law through his exercise of the veto power. In effect, the President, theoretically, can indirectly become a lawmaker by rejecting bills passed by Congress and by proposing to the Congress that certain bills be passed. The same is true for Congress which may greatly influence the exercise of the President of his authority to implement the law. It is clearly stated in the US Constitution that it has the power to override the veto power of the President provided it has the required numbers supporting it, to wit: â€Å"If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. † (Article 1, Sec 7, United States Constitution) In addition, to its power to override presidential veto, Congress may opt to exercise pressure to the president by not confirming certain presidential appointments which the constitution has delegated to the Legislative Branch. In addition, the Congress may also exercise its power to commence and initiate its power of Impeachment. (Gary W. Copeland) In effect, the Congress if it really wants to enact a bill into law may convince the President with the exercise of its power to sign the bills into law. Factors Why the President Veto Legislation There are different views on the president’s exercise of his veto power. Some say that the more the president exercises his veto power the more effective leader he is. (Jong R. Lee) The theory is that a president who can influence the Congress is more likely to veto a bill and once vetoed this bill will not be overridden by Congress. This appears to be conclusive considering the following statistics: from the time of Washington to Nixon the veto was used 2,257 times. Out of these, only 75 vetoes or only 6% have been overridden by Congress. On the other hand, some say that the president’s exercise of veto is a sign of weakness on his part. The idea here is that if the president really had control and influence over the Congress then they would not have passed these bills that prompted the president to override them in the first place. The veto power is one of the potent weapons which a president may exercise under our democratic system of government. It is even stated that it is the power of the President to veto legislations that make him a dominant American political figure. Copeland) The veto power of the president serves as a check to the power of the Legislative branch to make laws by exercising its veto power. One of the reasons cited for the exercise of the veto powers is because the bill is unconstitutional. The primary function of the President is not to please his political party or to please the electorates. His main responsibility is to protect the constitution and to ensure that the laws are passed i n accordance with the United States Constitution. As its protector, the Constitution has expressly given the president the power to veto bills which are unconstitutional. Thus, several presidents have in the past vetoed bills on the ground of their unconstitutionality. Thus, consider President Andrew Jackson who vetoed bills that seek to extend the charter of the Second Bank of the United States because he insisted the Bank was beyond the power of Congress to create. (Bruce Fein) Aside from the bill’s unconstitutionality, the president has also in the past vetoed bills based on serious ethical and moral grounds. One particular example is HR 810 or the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2006 which authorized the Secretary of State to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic cells. This bill was vetoed by the president. (â€Å"Message to the House of Representatives†) In his veto message dated July 19, 2006, President George W. Bush states that as though he is in favor of exploring the potentials of the research on stem cell, he however is apprehensive about the ethical repercussions of the said research. Signing this bill will allow the deliberate destruction of human embryos for the purpose of research which is damaging to our nation. In addition, it is widely acknowledged that the past president have used the veto power not merely to protect the constitution. The president has in the past used the veto power not merely as a means for protecting the constitution but also for various political purposes. It bears stressing that not all presidents have the support of the Congress. Several presidents in the past have to contend with a hostile Congress to get the needed legislations they wanted. If the president would not be firm in his response, it is possible that certain important pieces of legislations may not be passed at all. To avoid this from happening some presidents in the past have resorted to the extreme method of vetoing more laws to remind that that he holds the power. Consider the case of Franklin D. Roosevelt who in the past occasionally vetoed a piece of legislation simply to remind Congress that he is still in control (Richard E. Neustadt 1976) Harry Truman and Gerald Ford used the veto power for the purpose of determining differences in Congress to build a political base. (Neudstadt) It is the essence of democracy that the legislative and executive departments though they perform different tasks are co-equal. This may or may not be advantageous for the whole citizenry depending on the condition of the nation. It may happen that the country may experience economic difficulties. During this time, laws must be swiftly passed so that the needs of the people will be addressed more quickly. The ideal reaction would be that the Congress should communicate with the President so that they will have an understanding of what kind of laws need to be passed that can help improve the lives of the people. However, the exact opposite happens during economic difficulties. It is at this point that everybody wants to go grandstanding thinking that it is his best time to point the blame to another politician. It is at this time when every politician wants to be recognized for the littlest things he has done in the past. It is because of this reason that during economic difficulties and hardships there are more bills that are being vetoed by the president. Research has also shown that the president who feels that more voters are in his favor are more likely to use the veto power. The idea here is that the more the president thinks that he has the electorate on his side the more that he will tend to exercise this power to veto legislation. This could be measured by analyzing the results of the election in the past, the higher the votes the president gets the more likely it is that he will exercise this power. The political party who sponsored the bill may also influence the decision of the president whether he will veto it or not. The theory is that the more votes the bill receives from the members of his own party in Congress, the more likely that the president will sign the bill into law. On the other hand, the less votes the bill receives from the members of his own party, the more likely it is that the president will not sign the bill into law. Normally, when a bill is sponsored by a representative from a political party different from that o the president, the best thing for him to do if he seeks to have the bill passed into law is to compromise with the president and the other political party. Compromise can be manifested by deleting some portions of the bill which is objectionable on the part of the other political party. It bears stressing that if the sponsor of the bill refuses to eliminate these objectionable portions it is more likely that the president will likewise refuse to sing the bill into law and veto it. Conclusion The democratic system of government is indeed a complex system which requires the proper balance among its three branches. Based on the foregoing, there are many factors why a president may make use of his veto power. It could be because of the personality of the president. There are some presidents who are more inclined to veto legislations because they feel they have support of the electorate. President may also veto legislation because of the person sponsoring the bill. It is possible if the sponsor of the bill is someone other than a party mate of the president and the former does not make any compromises with the president such as deleting any objectionable portion of the bill then it is possible that the bill may be vetoed. Also, it could be because of the defects in the bill itself such as it is unconstitutional, unethical and immoral or may be because it is not yet timely.

Opera Critique Rigoletto

The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center is home for the world’s most creative and talented artists working in opera. Upon entering the building, the vicinity at Lincoln Center is unique and elegant. Approaching the Metropolitan Opera, a stylish and well-structured water fountain full of water is gushing while the off-white marble floor allures the visitor to the building. Entering the building, the glamorous and sophisticated snowflake-like chandeliers and winding staircase gives the visitor a welcoming feel. Before sitting, the visitor will notice the red carpets and the particular set-up of the theater. As the seats are elevated upward, there are sound cushions to promote a higher quality sound on the side balconies. What felt very informative were the captions in front of the seats, that also were available in other languages, to understand the singers. Guiseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto was written between 1850 and 1851. When the stage is first viewed, it is evident the time frame Verdi had written in. Rigoletto, played by George Gagnidze, is a hunch-baked jester that acts out the part very well. Costumes in the play were very detail- oriented and focused primarily on the way individuals dressed in the 19th century. The stage settings were altered according to Act, which represented very hard work and skill. During Act II, Gilda played by Christine Schafer, and Rigoletto join together in a duet that explains the courtship and Gilda’s abduction. The costumes, although could not be seen up close, were elegant for the time period. Rigoletto is dressed during this Act in a white, somewhat formal shirt beneath his regular vest – which was a dark brown, along with white tights underneath knee length shorts. As opposed to how individuals dressed today, it seemed outlandish but well- designed. The opera singers and orchestra had the most contribution to the performance. The pitch and vocals of the performers proved to be rich with character insight. Rigoletto contains a wealth of musical empowerment and melody. As the conductors of the orchestra are observed, it is apparent the time and practice placed into the performance were well spent. Compared to modern music, the orchestra conducted music that was pleasing to the ear that gave a new cultural view of other genres of music. Overall, the performance of Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera House at the Lincoln Center was an enriching experience. After only viewed one other play, The Christmas Music Spectacular at Rockefeller Center, it certainly offered a cultural background for the Italian culture. The theater itself was definitely an exquisite and elegant building that often is not found in the local area. The performance was an excellent portrayal of the 18th century as far as costumes and stage set-up while the musical aspect depicted the inspired drama set in Rigoletto. This experience has given an eye-opener to a different genre of music while setting an appreciation for other cultures.

Vestigial Structures Evolution Definition

A vestigial structure or vestigial organ is an anatomical feature or behavior that no longer seems to have a purpose in the current form of an organism of the given species. Often, these vestigial structures were organs that performed some important function in the organism at one point in the past. However, as the population changed due to natural selection, those structures became less and less necessary until they were rendered pretty much useless. They are believed to be leftovers, only vestiges of the past. Keep in mind the evolution is a slow process, with changes in species happening over hundreds or thousands if not millions of years, depending on how significant the change is. Although many of these types of structures would disappear over many generations, some keep being passed down to offspring because they do no harm—they arent a disadvantage for the species—or they have changed function over time. Some are present or functioning only during the embryonic stage or fetal development, or maybe they just have no function as we get older. That said, some structures that were once thought of as vestigial are now thought as useful, such as the whale pelvis or the human appendix. As with many things in science, the case isnt closed. As more knowledge is discovered, the information we know is revised and refined. Examples  of Vestigial Structures The animal kingdom is ripe with vestigial structures in their skeletons and bodies. Snakes descended from lizards, with their legs growing smaller and smaller until all that was left is a small bump (leg bones buried in muscle) at the back of some of the largest snakes, such as pythons and boa constrictors.Blind fish and salamanders who live in caves still have eye structures. One explanation, in the case of the fish, is that mutations in the genes that increase taste buds degrade the eyes.Cockroaches have wings, though the ones on the females arent developed enough for them to fly.The whale  shark is a filter feeder and its rows of teeth couldnt bite anything if they tried.The Galapagos cormorant has vestigial wings that dont help it to fly or swim, though the birds still dry them off in the sun after they get wet, just as if they would if they still could use them to fly. This species diverged into a flightless bird about 2 million years ago. Vestigial Structures in Humans The human body contains many examples of vestigial structures and responses. The coccyx or the tailbone: Obviously, humans no longer have visible external tails, because the current version of humans do not need tails to live in trees as earlier human ancestors did. However, humans still have a coccyx or tailbone in their skeletons. In fetuses, any tail is absorbed during development. The coccyx currently serves as an anchor for muscles; that wasnt what it was for originally, so thats why its considered vestigial. SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images   Male nipples: All people inherit nipples from both their parents, even males. Natural selection hasnt selected against them, even though they dont have a reproductive use in males. Goosebumps: The pilomotor reflex, which raises the hair on your arms or neck when you feel alarmed, is vestigial in humans, but its pretty useful for porcupines who raise their quills at a sign of danger or birds, who fluff up when it gets cold. Bele Olmez/Getty Images Wisdom teeth: Our jaws have shrunk over time, so we no longer have room for wisdom teeth in our jawbone. Your Appendix Actually Has Uses The function of the appendix had been unknown, and it had been thought to be a useless, vestigial structure, especially because no domestic mammals have one. However, its now known that the appendix serves a function. These endocrine cells of the fetal appendix have been shown to produce various biogenic amines and peptide hormones, compounds that assist with various biological control (homeostatic) mechanisms, Professor Loren G. Martin told told  The function of the appendix appears to be to expose white blood cells to the wide variety of antigens, or foreign substances, present in the gastrointestinal tract, Martin said. Thus, the appendix probably helps to suppress potentially destructive humoral (blood- and lymph-borne) antibody responses while promoting local immunity.