Why do men have an "Adams apple"?

It’s because Adam ate off the tree in the Garden of Eden silly.

Or possibly if you want to take the new-fangled sciency approach…

It’s actually called prominentia laryngea. It is composed of cartilage which surrounds the larynx. As the larynx grows during puberty, the cartilage enlarges to accommodate it, creating a bump.

As to why us manly men have it and women don’t is simply because the male larynx is larger in men than in women. Simple.

Isn’t science crazy, go with the Adam/Garden of Eden theory. Much more believable.

Look mom, I used some big words just then

Great answer, osullivanbr.

The only thing thing that I have to add is that a man’s larynx is larger than a woman’s because of the higher concentrations of testosterone in a man. The higher concentrations enlarge the larynx, deepening the voice and make the Adam’s apple larger.

I’d like to add that women have them too, but in most women they are much less prominent.

Yup. I was going to day the same thing Marina. In most women it’s just less pronounced.

In puberty a guy suddenly has MASSIVE and absurd amounts of testosterone rushing through his body. This stimulates growth of cartilage, some of which is w/ the hyoid in the throat. The cartilage then creates pressure which deepens the voice.

Where is PnL when you need her?

Some women have them too.

@Spargett Ann Coulter may very well not be human, much less a woman.

I’d just like to add for those who don’t know your larnyx is where your vocal cords are. So men’s voices are deeper than women’s for the same reason that they have adam’s apples: longer vocal cords.

I barely notice mine, but it’s there :s