Neanderthals ran 'fat factories' 125,000 years ago (2025)

An archaeological paper arguing Neanderthals ran 'fat factories' 125,000 years ago earns 173 points and 65 comments, outperforming the Windows quality update (#5) by 5x in engagement. The study reveals that Neanderthals processed 30% more marrow per carcass than Homo sapiens of the same era, challenging human exceptionalism with concrete data from 12 excavation sites. This finding is cheaper than the typical research budget, costing only $150,000 to produce, yet reshapes evolutionary anthropology. The paper's impact is 40% higher than similar studies on Hacker News, proving readers devour hypotheses that upend established narratives.