6/ Extra ribs
One out of five hundred adults have an extra rib. Normally we have about two dozen ribs however some people (in particular women) have between 25 or 26 ribs.
7/ The ability to see invisible colours with the naked eye
Tetrachromacy is when you can distinguish more shade of colour with the naked eye than others. Take a dandelion, for example. Where you see yellow, a tetrachromatic person will see many other nuances. Your retina must have certain types of cones and sticks even in low light for you to see these nuances. Scientists believe this disorder is an X-chromosome mutation which allows those affected to see more than 99 million colors instead of 1 million for an average person!
8/ Chimera cases
Do you know what a chimera is? Ancient Greeks defined it as a mutant creature, which was a cross between a lion, goat, and snake. However human chimerism is extremely rare with very few people being affected by this disorder. A person affected by chimera has an additional DNA parameter. This disorder can appear in twin pregnancy cases and even more frequently following Artificial Insemination. The phenomenon can result in a “mosaic” skin (specific pigmentation) or heterochromia (eyes of different colors).
9/ Resting time that is two times shorter than normal
Those lucky people that only require a very short resting time need around twice as less sleep than normal people. This was the case for famous characters like Salvador Dali, Margret Thatcher and Winston Churchill. This physical peculiarity is apparently caused by the mutation of the DEC2 gene.
10/ Palmaris Longus tendon giving your hand super strength
While our ancestors were still climbing trees, they had a specific muscle in their hands that helped to support them. It was a sort of iron clad tendon. However nowadays, according to a recent study around 16% of the human population lack this tendon.
If you want to know whether you have this tendon carry out the following exercise. Place your hand on a flat surface with your palm facing upwards. With you thumb touch your pinky finger and then raise the two fingers slowly upwards. If you see a ligament on your wrist that means you have it! Although this tendon might have given our ancestors super strength these days it has no use. So much so, doctors often remove this tendon for replacement surgery…
Find out more about peculiar characteristics in the video below (In French):
