30 Netizens With Various 'Medically Cool' Body Traits Share Things They Are Happy (Or Not) To Have

The selection we present to you today is based on this viral, albeit, quite old thread from the AskReddit community, where the user u/Legendary888 once asked: "What's something medically cool/unique about your body?" In full accordance with the username of the thread starter, it turned out to be legendary, eventually gaining over 19K upvotes and 22K different comments.

I didn't even know people could have so many different body features, and also—that literally every "unique" feature in the comments immediately found people who said that they have the same thing. Or, that they know someone with something similar. So, just let's read on.

In general, all the features of the body can be divided into four main groups: small genetic changes, rudiments, atavisms, as well as some acquired features. With the first, everything is quite clear—due to some change in the human genome, a person receives (sometimes inherits from parents) certain features.

For example, polydactyly—when a person has extra fingers on their hands or feet. In the future, by the way, these changes can either be inherited or not—if, for example, the spouse's genome contains a special gene that blocks these changes.

Rudiments are the remains of some organs that were vital for our very distant ancestors, but in the process of evolution, they lost their significance for humans. For example, we have ear muscles—which were actively developed thousands of years ago, but are now almost completely reduced.

And yet, some of us can move our ears—this means that these muscles are simply slightly more developed than they are for other people. Or, the so-called "goose bumps"—our skin's reaction to cold or stress. The thing is, we were once almost completely covered in fur—and reacted to strong irritants in much the same way as cats do now.

Only, there is almost no fur left on us today—only the goose bumps remind us of the "glorious" prehistoric times... So, for some people, rudiments may simply be more developed than they are for others.

As for atavisms—this is a manifestation in the human body of some features that were also inherent in our ancient ancestors. The thing is, the genes "responsible" for these features can still remain in our genome, but their action is usually blocked. However, for some reason, this block can be removed.

This is how people develop, for example, excess hair, a tail-like appendage, additional pairs of mammary glands, and so on. By the way, one should not perceive atavisms as something simply harmless or even funny. For example, a congenital heart defect in humans is also a kind of atavism. So one should always consult a doctor, just in case.

Finally, as a result of some changes that have happened to us during our lifetime, our body can acquire certain features, too. For example, as a consequence of illnesses, physical injuries, or even surgeries. In any case, this also requires a consultation with medical specialists—so as not to cause a threat to life or even discomfort in the future.

Well, if one of us also has something similar, then we can only perceive it as an annoying misunderstanding in life—or a superpower. Or, just so we share our own medically unique features in the comments below this post. And then, perhaps, you could find new friends who have similar features—why not? After all, curiosity and friendship are also our features—but very common.