Turns out, the cheek-reddening reaction is a universal human response to social attention. Everyone does it — some more than others. Common blushing triggers include meeting someone important, receiving a compliment and experiencing a strong emotion in a social situation.

Blush biology works like this: Veins in the face dilate, causing more blood to flow into your cheeks and producing a rosy complexion. However, scientists are stumped as to why all that happens, or what function it serves.

any ideas?

The face also blushes when the owner is pissed. Maybe it’s the body’s way of suggesting everyone might be a lot more comfortable with a few drinks under their belt?

My hypothesis is as follows: find out what chemical causes the face veins to dilate, then see what other situations cause that chemical to be released.

Rule 303 said:

The face also blushes when the owner is pissed. Maybe it’s the body’s way of suggesting everyone might be a lot more comfortable with a few drinks under their belt?

but the alcohol is affecting the system, blushing occurs anytime..

when someone blushes in front of us, we often ‘feel sorry’ for them. Perhaps a blush is a way of indicating need for care or protection? a social function.

Divine Angel said:

find out what chemical causes the face veins to dilate, then see what other situations cause that chemical to be released.

Being a teenager, drinking, sex, giving birth, heart attack and death.

So pretty much everything that will ever be important in your whole life will be happening with a bright red face.

Well that narrows it down… Hmm, this may need some more thinking.

I doubt that it serves any function. It’s presumably associated with the same sort of chemical triggers that cause other circulatory and respiratory hyperactivity when the subject is excited or upset or aggravated etc – the body preparing for fight or flight and so on.

Arts said:

when someone blushes in front of us, we often ‘feel sorry’ for them. Perhaps a blush is a way of indicating need for care or protection? a social function.

How would such a complex cognitive association evolve? It would actually require that people who don’t blush when embarrassed don’t get to reproduce as frequently or successfully as those who do, and the same would have to be the case for those who don’t interpret blushing sympathetically. Doesn’t sound at all likely.

Blushing is usually also accompanied by accelerated heart rate and respiration, sweating etc, common to many over-excited and over-anxious states. Possibly more blood is pumped into the face because an embarrassed person usually tries to appear still and calm, thus blood that might be pumped into muscles ends up in the cheeks :)

Rule 303 said:

Divine Angel said:

find out what chemical causes the face veins to dilate, then see what other situations cause that chemical to be released.

Being a teenager, drinking, sex, giving birth, heart attack and death.

So pretty much everything that will ever be important in your whole life will be happening with a bright red face.

breathing carbon monoxide