- My Little Flower Store
- Parent Category: ROOT
Why Do Humans Find Flowers Beautiful?
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An interesting thought. Ever notice how humans will stop and enjoy a flower. They will stop to sniff it and marvel at its beauty. Now compare that to a dog who would just as gladly stop to sniff another dogs butt and will ignore a beautifully scented flower.
There is a theory that we are attracted to flowers because they mark the place where later in the season there will be fruit. And if it is the right kind of fruit we will be able to eat it and enjoy it later. As humans our ability to map out a relational view of the world around us could mean that we pay attention to flowers as markers of food to come. Its almost like seeing a sign in the grocery store that says “Raspberries coming in 4 weeks”.
Flowers Have Acted As Symbols Of Human Emotion
Love in particular. In fact, The practice of giving flowers reached its height in the Victorian era, when the symbolic language of flowers evolved. Their power to convey human emotions is not found with any other objects. Flowers are common at times of celebration, and during times of mourning. Colorful flowers heightens feelings of life satisfaction, triggers happy emotions and memories, and influences social behavior in a positive manner.
But flowers have been used as gifts even before the Victorian era. There is evidence that people were presenting each other with bouquets as long ago as 3000 BC. And pollen deposits found at ancient burial sites dating from 100,000 years ago suggest the practice is even older.
Humans Are Not The Only Species Attracted to Flowers
Humans are not the only species attracted to flowers purely for their decorative value, in fact, the bower birds, native to Eastern Australia, are famous for their elaborate decorative nests, which the males build and then decorate with flowers, chewed up berries and charcoal for the females to inspect. They build incredible displays and decorate their bowers with colourful objects. They are known to steal decorations from each other. When then the females inspect them and when it comes to choosing a mate they choose the best artist.