[life] Evolution fell asleep at the wheel

So my dad, who is 60+, just had an emergency appendectomy. Our family is a pretty healthy bunch - the last time one of us was in the hospital it was my mom for gall bladder surgery, way back when I was 9 or so. Appendicitis isn't particularly life-threatening, although certainly not pleasant, and my dad is fine. It is a bit weird though, seeing him in the hospital, and thinking that hey, he's not so young anymore...

Seriously, though. The appendix. How useless a bit of tissue is that? It does nothing useful - is completely without purpose other than to occasionally swell up and threaten to burst open, thus flooding toxins throughout the body. The surgeon said that they don't know why appendixes do this. There is no medical knowledge about the causes of appendicitis. How weird it that?

Dad is well rid of his, little troublemaking waste of tissue.