The Mystery of the Floating Eyebrows: An Anthropological Study

Okay, this has been driving me batshit crazy for some time.

So let's put on our scientist hats and see if we can solve the mystery.

I first noticed this phenomenon in Dora the Explorer, and have recently observed the same in Handy Manny. There are some characters with eyebrows, on whom the eyebrows reside in a normal fashion. That is to say, on the head of the character. Here's an example:



Now, on some other characters, the eyebrows seem to exist independently, hovering in space above the head of the character in a menacing and impossible fashion:





Now, here is my question. Is it only Latino characters for whom the floating eyebrow exists? Is this a vestige of some South American mysticism, or enchantment, or just plain old santeria?

But why do Diego and Manny have attached brows when their inanimate castmates don't? Is being human the x factor here?

Why are eyebrows even necessary on a cartoon wrench?

Why do some characters completely lack eyebrows?

I tell you, there's a thesis in here.

And don't even get me started on why every.single.female character has to have long eyelashes and lipstick. There was one episode of Dora where a mommy crab was given a pearl necklace by her child (NOT THAT KIND YOU SICKO) and put it on her nonexistent neck and batted her long eyelashes and pursed her lipsticked mouth. WTF? Plus the perspective was so far off it was bordering on Escher. I couldn't find a photo of the mama crab but here is her floaty-eyebrowed babe clutching said pearl necklace.



I'm just sayin'. We need someone to investigate this. I think I'm onto to something really huge here.