The human body can be capable of many wondrous things, especially if trained well and with a certain state of mind. No wonder there are people who can survive inside of an ice bath, even if they weren’t trained, their bodies can do amazing stuff. There are hundreds of operations and processes in our bodies that we are not even aware of. Some features are special and make a huge difference. You are basically one in a million if you have these 6 rare features. And it’s incredible just how different, yet similar, we all are.
1. Some people possess a special variant of the BHLHE41 gene.
This means that some people are genetically resistant to the effects of sleep deprivation, and they don’t need to sleep as much as other people! People who have this condition are familial natural short sleepers (FNSS), and on average they can have two hours less sleep than the rest of us. Many famous people have this condition, most notably Margaret Thatcher. Isn’t this condition just dreamy? Wish I could have it.
2. Tibetans can survive extremely high altitudes because of genetics.
Tibetan Sherpas are known for their incredible ability to survive at high altitudes, such like that of Mount Everest. To test whether they had an evolutionary advantage, researchers tested 50 Tibetans, along with 40 Han Chinese. The latter were split from Tibetans around 2,750 years ago. The study found that 34 of the Tibetans had different genes from the Han Chinese. In particular, one of these genes codes for a protein involved in responding to falling oxygen levels. This mutation appears to have taken place less than 3,000 years after the populations diverged, and that makes it one of the fastest evolutionary mutations ever recorded in humans.
3. Distichiasis causes a second row of eyelashes.
It may seem strange, but it’s not very noticeable in reality. This condition causes a second row of eyelashes growing from the inner mucosal layer of the eye. There is a scientific explanation for the condition. It may be related to the epithelial germ cells failure to differentiate completely to meibomian glands, so instead, they become pilosebaceous units. To put it simply, some of the cells get confused and start to grow eyelashes instead. This condition does not have any health risks, but it was found to be associated with certain congenital heart defects. Elizabeth Taylor was one of the people who had this condition.
4. The palmaris longus is an interesting remnant of a tendon.
To test whether you have this feature, you just need to move your thumb and pinky finger together and look at your wrist. The palmarius longus is thought to be a remnant of a tendon that we used to climb trees early in our evolution. It is in fact, a useless part of the body, so don’t worry if you don’t have it. You are just a part of 14% of the population.
5. Tetrachromats have four cones in their eyes.
The majority of the population have three cones in their eyes, which allow the eye to collect information about color and transmit it to the brain. If you are colorblind, you only have two cones, which explains why you can’t see certain colors. However, a very tiny percentage of the population actually have four cones, allowing them to see 100 million distinct colors. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to track down tetrachromats, because these people rarely realize that they’re different. As a result, they may never “train” their eyes to look for the additional colors, which prevents them from seeing them. Sad situation. Do you think you could be one of these people?
6. It’s very unlikely to have an outie belly button.
Many people think that the shape of their belly button is determined by how your doctor cut your umbilical cord, but this is a myth. Most outie belly buttons are actually caused by an umbilical hernia, where your inner parts push out your outer parts. Most of these hernias close on their own by the time a child turns 5, but in some cases, your doctor may have to close it for you. Interestingly, by the time you become an adult only around 4 percent have an outie.
