People Are Talking About The Random Genetic Traits They "Lucked Out" On, And I Am Suuuuuuuuper Jealous
Recently, a member* of Reddit posed the question, "What’s the one random genetic trait you lucked out on?" to the good folks of r/AskReddit. Here are their top-voted wild, funny, and, frankly, envious responses:
*The Reddit user has since deleted their post, though the responses remain.
1."After getting cancer, I found out my DNA type doesn’t spread it as easily as others. Saved me from Chemo! I'm 10 years cancer free now…"
2."I work in veterinary medicine and used to work in a cat-only specialty hospital. We would frequently get in diabetic cats and I could ALWAYS tell when a suspected cat was diabetic because of the smell. To me, diabetic cats always smell vaguely like that waffle-crisp cereal. The vet I worked with told me, 'You can smell ketones!' Apparently, not everyone can smell ketones, and I can smell them very well. So if anyone needs me to smell their cat to see if they’re diabetic, LMK."
"Some diabetics smell sweet to me. I can often also smell insulin-dependent diabetics because they smell like Band-Aids to me. I discovered years later that the preservative used in insulin is the same stuff used in Band-Aids, and insulin does indeed smell like Band-Aids."
3."As a woman, my period is always 2.5–3 days, super regular, and I’ve never experienced extreme pain with it. Some discomfort, sure, but nothing that’s ever stopped me from living my life."
"God's favorite human, I see. I bleed for like 10–14 days. And heavy!"
4."I have the CCR5 double deletion that makes me effectively immune to HIV. About 1% of people of European descent are homozygous. (Heterozygosity seems to provide partial resistance to HIV as well.) It's believed it also conferred resistance to the Black Plague as it is believed to be a very recent mutation. This mutation is how the handful of people 'cured' from HIV were cured. They do a bone marrow transplant from a CCR5-32d individual to a person with HIV. It's not feasible on a large scale because you need a tissue match to a person with the mutation, but if one exists, it does work. I am on the bone marrow registry for this reason. :)"
5."My teeth are aligned. No braces needed."
"Here it’s common among friends to jokingly say, 'Congratulations, but also fuck you.'
6."Dentist told me I have a special mineral makeup in my saliva which makes it very hard for me to get caveties."
"My dentist told me I have the opposite of that. I manufacture plaque"
7."One of my favorite flexes: I have zero allergies 😌."
"Careful with that flex. I, too, wasn’t allergic to anything until a few years ago and now can’t eat any black pepper or peaches without severe hives. The allergist said one day your body just decides it has had enough and starts rejecting it."
"Yup! One time, I had a granola bar in the morning (the Quaker Chewy bars), and then 12 hours later, I ate one on the way home from work, and my tongue swelled up, and I ended up going to the ER. Same brand, flavor, and box as the one I ate in the morning, but at some point during my shift, my body noped out."
8."I don’t grow hair on my legs, armpits, pubic area or my arms. I never have to shave. I don’t even own a razor. (I dont have alopecia nor am I prepubescent. I’m 23 😂.)"
9."Not sure if it’s genetic but I imagine it is. I have hypersomnia and can fall asleep whenever (and wherever) I want, no matter how much sleep I’ve gotten. I always get good sleep. And I still wake up relatively easily (no more difficult than anyone else)."
"My dad is like that. He can fall asleep anywhere in under 60 seconds and wake up completely refreshed after just 10 minutes. I’m hugely jealous because instead of inheriting whatever that is, I got insomnia. Thanks, Dad."
10."Blessing and a curse: rapid hair growth. I can cut my hair above the shoulders tomorrow, and it will be back down to mid-back by the time summer rolls around. And I’m talking curly hair mid back not straight hair mid back. That does mean, however, that if I sneeze after freshly shaving, my leg hair reappears like it’s getting paid to do so."
"Hehe, my daughter is like that; she was born with a full head of hair and needed a haircut at three months to trim her bangs. I literally had to learn to cut hair because she was starting to cost a fortune for upkeep 😂. We cut her hair at chin level (her preference), and its bra strap length by the end of the year."
11."My eyelashes are dark, curly, and don't require mascara."
"Same, but I’m a guy so it doesn’t really serve me much. But I get compliments all the time. Also, my son has them, which makes my wife mad."
12."Thick hair. Sure, I shed like crazy every day, but my hair still stays ridiculously thick."
13."Looking remarkably young for my age. I’m 43 and all my work colleagues thought I was about 26. I live in a university city and still get asked on buses and shops if I want student discount."
"Same. Blessing and curse because in a professional setting it is hard as a woman to be taken seriously."
14."I don't really have any body odor."
"Same. A non-functional/inactive ABCC11 gene causes it. Very nifty. It also gave me dry earwax. I never have to clean my ears. "
15."I've literally never experienced brain freeze. I can hold ice cream against the roof of my mouth or eat it as fast as possible and never get any discomfort. When I was younger, I would watch my peers freaking out when they got brain freeze, so I would often copy so as not to be left out in some way."
Cute and lovely mixed race siblings enjoying their time together in a city public park, eating ice cream.
16."I lost nearly every single genetic lottery, but at least I have a crazy immune system. I can count the number of times I’ve been sick in all 19 years of my life on one hand. "
"That’s the best flex of all time — health is your wealth."
17."I can’t taste bitter. Example, orange peels straight up taste like orange to me."
"I am the opposite, bitter is like 50 times stronger for me. It's horrible, and hasn't ebbed as I age."
18."My Disney Princess hands. They're small and well formed, and my nails are naturally beautiful. I even hand-modeled once for a New Balance ad."
19."No stretch marks after two pregnancies."
20."Photographic memory. Has made my life of exams, etc., very simple."
21."Very little gray hair or wrinkles at 60."
"Conversely, I’m 41 and have been completely silver for about a decade. I get it from my father’s side of the family. Genetics are fascinating!!"
22."I have lupus. (Unlucky) I do not have joint pain as a symptom. (Incredibly lucky)"
23."I’m 54, and still don’t need glasses. Everyone else in my family wears them."
24."I have super straight hair. I can go to sleep with it wet and wake up with it dry and straight. No creases or anything"
"Lucky you, I wake up and it looks like someone’s had a party in my hair."
25."My teeth stay super white even though I drink coffee."
26."I don’t know if this is inherited, but I have a naturally good ear for pitch and singing voice. I can replay any tune I hear and can quickly grasp instruments. Both my parents are/were musicians and my dad can do the same thing (I can play him a tune once and he can play it on the piano)."
27.Finally, "I am immune to mosquitoes. They bite, but I don’t get itchy."
"Okay, this is the winner here. I’d do anything to have this"
Welp...I guess some people are just lucky. What about you? Do you have a random genetic trait you "lucked out" on you wanna share with the group? Tell us in the comments below or via this totally anonymous form, and, who knows, maybe there'll be a part two!
