Declare your mutation! Perhaps you could help save the world!

[Scaramouche]

Short time reader, first time post.

I was reading that ivory tower of all things geek (slashdot)when I came across a thread called "Science: Mutant Tetrachromat Females Found ". It turns out this was an exaggeration as the thread dealt with the POSSIBILITY of a tetrachromat* being significantly high but none had been found yet. Within the thread someone mentioned that this would be a bona fide mutation but that "I'm sure if you looked closely enough, most of us have some sort of genetic mutation in our DNA, but they just aren't significant enough to manifest themselves in any noticeable way."

*tetrachromat - go look it up; I don't understand them big science words.

This got me thinking, what UNNOTICED mutations are there out there? How many mutants walk among us, right now? What percentage of the population has to have a traight before it enters the 'mainstream'? Something like tetrachromatic vision would be for the most part invisible but the archtypal third hand would probably stand out.

If possible gentle 'dopers could you share your mutation with the rest of this humble online community? The anonymous nature of the forum would likely protect you from persecution. I'll start myself:

My mutation relates to the nervous system; according to my personal physician I have "thicker myellin sheathing" around my nerves (medical gobblygook half-remembered on the fly as it was irrelevant to the real problem). The upshot is that I'm extremely resistant to pain, especially in nerve centres such as the base of the throat, wrist, etc. The down side is noticeable temperature insensitivity (I've burned/frostbit myself many a time without noticing) and diminished tactile response. I'm not too sure if this is a nature/nurture sort of thing (or if it is in fact a real mutation) but it was the best thing I could think of L:)

Anyway, feel free to relate your own bizarre genetic characteristics. It would help if you listed the advantages and disadvantages like I've done and if possible the SECRET ORIGIN of your mutation.

PS-While disgusting freaks like those who are left handed, have lobeless ears, cannot roll their tongues, etc. are probably mutants we've seen enough exploitative freakshows on the topic to probably sour any academic use that relating these mutations might provide. I'm looking for REAL mutations that people don't usually consider when they think of the term, much like the tetrachromatic example above.

PPS-This post better work as it's the 3rd time I've tried writing something on these @#$@#$ forums.

[Coldfire]

Originally posted by Scaramouche
PPS-This post better work as it's the 3rd time I've tried writing something on these @#$@#$ forums.

Before I move this to General Questions, could you please explain the last sentence of your post? Specifically, why did you not succeed in posting on our %$##^%$ forums before?

[Scaramouche]

Whoops - I guess I didn't guage the subject matter of the forums properly. Head hanging will now commence.

The previous two experiences with the lovely ubb product were ambiguous. The first was likely a client problem in that the entire OS cratered when I pressed the submit button (though it was in a suspicious manner... my people are still looking into it). This was a few months ago.

The second was a network timeout which seemed perverse in that the only thing on the network I COULDN'T hit was the web site. I could ping, tracert, nslookup, whatever else you can name any address I could think of including boards.straightdope.com but for whatever reason that particular thread timed out and the reply never appeared (I wasn't about to try to 'multi-post' it in some misguided attempt to look cool). This was trying to respond to a threat earlier in the month.

Anyway, please don't send the teeming millions to my house to wreak horrible vengeance on my crippled body. I didn't mean anything uncomplimentary about the forums themselves. My madcap punctuation swearing choice was more influenced by my transient frustration than any real discernable "beef".

[Coldfire]

OK, off to General Questions it is then.

Should you have any previous screen names (which I think your story and current sign-up date indicate), please report them to our administrator Tubadiva at Tubadiva@aol.com, as multiple identities are not allowed on the Straight Dope.

Having finished the formalities, allow me to wish you a pleasant stay here!

[Guinastasia]

Um, off topic, but did you get your screen name from the kid's story, "Six Dinner Sid?"

[Hamadryad]

Well, back on-topic, the second and third toes on both of my feet are webbed together. I don't mean webbing like everyone has, I mean most of the way up the toes. One Christmas my mom actually forgot and bought me a pair of those little "toe socks." She ended up having to cut them apart and darn the second and third toes together so I could wear them.

And no, I can't swim any better than anyone else. And yes, I've been asked that question approximately 50,000,000 times.

[Doubleclick]

I have extreamly sensitive hearing abilities.

I can hear a wider range of higher and lower frequency sounds.

Really comes in handy when the cat tries to sneak up on me. =)

{drumroll} I have SIX (count'em) nipples! {/drumroll}

I was born with them. When I'm chilled or thrilled they become erect. Four on the left, two on the right.

Is it TMI yet?

The only superpower that they endow me with is the ability to make people go "Ewwwwwww!" at parties.

p.s. My sister has those toes like Hamadryad. It's a family trait--our Grandmother had them too.

[Doubleclick]

Originally posted by E d'Mann
{drumroll} I have SIX (count'em) nipples! {/drumroll}

I was born with them. When I'm chilled or thrilled they become erect. Four on the left, two on the right.

Is it TMI yet?

The only superpower that they endow me with is the ability to make people go "Ewwwwwww!" at parties.

p.s. My sister has those toes like Hamadryad. It's a family trait--our Grandmother had them too.

Ewwwwwww!

Ever watch Red Dwarf?

Cat: "Oh, I'm so excited, all six of my nipples are tinglin'"

[Osip]

Osip was born with pointed ears.
they were trimed before Osip could protest.
There is still some extra on the right ear where they did not cut it correctly.

Osip

[Smeghead]

Uh.....

There's a possibility that I make slightly unusually high levels of hemoglobin with somewhat low affinity for carbon monoxide. Or not. That's the kind of stuff we're talking about when we say that everyone has some mutations. Usually, there's just some minor enzyme with a slightly altered function.

Oh, and then there are the horns, but that's boring.

[DrFidelius]

I can project a patronizing attitude to anyone I encounter. This has not enhanced my career path in any appreciable way.

[TheNerd]

Like Doubleclick, I have extremely sensitive hearing. As an example, one time as a kid when playing a game with my brother, I tracked him throughout the room with my eyes closed, pointing directly to him the entire time. The downside is that I frequently forget to actually have eye contact with people when I talk to them, which is often considered rude.

I also have a heart condition, Mitral valve prolapse, which occasionally causes palpitations. Quite fun to freak out my med-school friends. The docs say that people with this condition live longer on average. Perhaps as a side effect, I've learned to consciously control my heartbeat somewhat. I can't induce palpitations, but I can momentarily stop my pulse. bum-bum-bum--------BUM-bum-bum-bum.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Abnormally keen sense of smell. {"Bosda smells?" No. Bosda smells real keen! Beat that joke! ;) }


On the down side, abnormally high cholesteral levels & a predisposition to clinical depression, both inherited. :(

[red_dragon60]

I am double jointed in my thumbs. My dad is to, but my bro is not. I guess it falls under "things that will become very useful in one facet of your life". I am very good at thumb wrestling, because I can bring my thumb farther than perpendicular to my wrist only by popping the joint. I don't even have to move it with another hand. Very cool.

[ubermensch]

i'm missing 2 teeth in my upper jaw (canines i think?). and i guess it's fairly common. everyone i know on my mom's side of the family is missing them. genetically, not because of fighting, rasseling, or hockey. but maybe inbreeding...

[Kyberneticist]

I have a compulsive desire to classify things as really belonging in IMHO even though I have no moderator power.
Oh, and knobbly joints that make my fingers kinda bamboo like and the wedding ring loose. I hear that may mean arthritis later?
Are we talking beneficial mutations? 'Cause I'm not too certain about that one - and for all I know it was really caused by years of piano/typing.

Oh, and in one area I'm a throwback, my four wisdom teeth came in perfectly, the gaps between my teeth filled in nicely. No need to yang anything out or get braces. Yet I don't have one those Arnold Schwarzeneggar type jaws, so I'm not certain if I'm a complete throwback.
Anyone here actually missing their wisdom teeth?

[iampunha]

Both my parents are right-handed.

I am left-handed, as is my sister. Scientists think I have a mutated gene.

Beyond that . . . um, I can twist my tongue a lot.

[black rabbit]

In addition to my third leg, I gotta Darwin's Ear Point on on the top of my right ear... a little mini-Spock knobby thing. I used to put a saftey pin through it. Punk Rock.

[Badtz Maru]

I can hear frequencies outside of the normal human range of hearing, up to 35,000Hz, but that isn't a mutation, the doctor explained it as a side-effect of my having asthma as a child (not entirely sure how that works). I also have very sensitive hearing in all frequency ranges, which may be related.

I wonder if the fact I move extremely silently is a mutation, as it doesn't appear to be a learned trait. I didn't notice this until I was 15 and walking (stoned) with a friend down a gravel road late at night - I realized that I could only hear one set of footsteps, my friend's. After that I payed attention and realized that the only time I could hear myself walk was when I tread upon something that was unusually noisey, and I didn't have to try. I said something to my Mom about it and her and my Dad both said that I had always been very quiet, they could always keep track of my older siblings by hearing them thump around but never me. When I thought about it I then recalled a time when I was a kid and was trying to make footstep sounds when 'sneaking' up on my nephew and how awkward it felt. I still have to consciously change my gait to make noise (and I am 6'5" and 280 lbs).

This is funny that this topic came up when it did. I knew a guy in middle school who had cat eyes (vertical slit pupils) and three nipples. Recently he moved in next door to my parents, about 30 miles from where we lived back then (15 years ago). My Mom recalled me talking about him and asked me his name, I could only remember his last but that was apparently him.

[Scaramouche]

All I can say is, yow! There really must be teeming millions to produce this level of genetic diversity. While I wanted this thread to reflect everyday sorts of mutations (like decreased carbon monoxide metabolism) we're getting some spectacular super power variety going on.

I particularly like E D'Mann's miscegeny of the multiple nipples. I think that'd make a great super power; you could call them "the distractor". When you're fighting bad guys just have "the distractor" jump out and whip up their shirt. Stunned bad guys would topple like ten pins when Badtz Maru sneaks up behind them ("The Sneakerator") and puts the boot in.

I've heard about that asthma/increased range of hearing thing too before. It sounds almost psuedo-sciency enough that we should get "CECIL-BOY" and "DOPE-MAN" to take a crack at it.

I've also seen the web toed thing before, but only in women (3 cases, 2 of which related to each other). They were very STRANGE women too. Might have to hunt that up.

For the person who asked, no my screen name didn't come from the story "Six Dinner Sid", which I have never heard of.

Anyway, let's keep those mutations flowing! Even if it is a repeat of someone else's mutation we can get an idea of the penetration of a certain gene. I'm curious to see how many pointy eared, multi-nippled teemers are out there!

[Doubleclick]

Originally posted by TheNerd
Like Doubleclick, I have extremely sensitive hearing. As an example, one time as a kid when playing a game with my brother, I tracked him throughout the room with my eyes closed, pointing directly to him the entire time. The downside is that I frequently forget to actually have eye contact with people when I talk to them, which is often considered rude.

I also have a heart condition, Mitral valve prolapse, which occasionally causes palpitations. Quite fun to freak out my med-school friends. The docs say that people with this condition live longer on average. Perhaps as a side effect, I've learned to consciously control my heartbeat somewhat. I can't induce palpitations, but I can momentarily stop my pulse. bum-bum-bum--------BUM-bum-bum-bum.

Thank gawd I'm not alone...

It's nice to know that people need your tallents when the power goes out.

Playing "Jail Brake" at night was also a lot easier for me. :D

[Doubleclick]

Originally posted by Badtz Maru
I can hear frequencies outside of the normal human range of hearing, up to 35,000Hz, but that isn't a mutation, the doctor explained it as a side-effect of my having asthma as a child (not entirely sure how that works). I also have very sensitive hearing in all frequency ranges, which may be related.

I wonder if the fact I move extremely silently is a mutation, as it doesn't appear to be a learned trait. I didn't notice this until I was 15 and walking (stoned) with a friend down a gravel road late at night - I realized that I could only hear one set of footsteps, my friend's. After that I payed attention and realized that the only time I could hear myself walk was when I tread upon something that was unusually noisey, and I didn't have to try. I said something to my Mom about it and her and my Dad both said that I had always been very quiet, they could always keep track of my older siblings by hearing them thump around but never me. When I thought about it I then recalled a time when I was a kid and was trying to make footstep sounds when 'sneaking' up on my nephew and how awkward it felt. I still have to consciously change my gait to make noise (and I am 6'5" and 280 lbs).

I think that has something to do with your acute hearing. I'm the same way.

Because we have the ability to hear the slightest noise, he have learned, over time, to be consious of the sound we make while walking. That in turn has allowed us to learn to walk a little quieter.

In addition to my OP, this make playing with the cat so much fun. :) We are basily on the same playing field. I can hear her sneek up on me, but she's not quite used to having someone sneek up on her. :D

[Annie-Xmas]

Another hearing sensitive person here. I hear people whispering two rooms away. I'm always telling people to stop yelling.

I had 8 impacted wisdom teeth taken out.

I also have very weird blood. It's an X-chromosome thing in
my family. Only 12 other people related to me have it. We
have our own blood bank.

[Hamadryad]

Kyberneticist:
Oh, and in one area I'm a throwback, my four wisdom teeth came in perfectly, the gaps between my teeth filled in nicely. No need to yang anything out or get braces. Yet I don't have one those Arnold Schwarzeneggar type jaws, so I'm not certain if I'm a complete throwback.
Anyone here actually missing their wisdom teeth?

Actually...yes. I have no wisdom teeth anywhere in my head. No buds, no nothing. Never had 'em, never will. My sister (who spent an entire Spring Break lying in bed bearing a significant resemblance to Alvin the Chipmunk) hates me for it, as do most of the people I tell. Also, my teeth are straight and I've never had braces.

However, in the Great Genetic Crapshoot, I got a weak chin, short waist, permanent pot-belly, chemical depression, an addictive personality, astigmatism and a big butt. *sigh*

[CalMeacham]

Guinastasia:

Someone else who's heard of "Six Dinner Sid"!

My wife picked up a copy of that book in Ireland. We read it to our three-year old all the time.

Where did you get it? Is it available in the US?





Regarding the OP -- on the pilot-try-out show "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video" Dan Ackroyd did a segment called "Celebrity Deformities". It consisted of him showing off his webbed toes. He demonstrated with a screwdriver.

[Schieschkopf]

But the only few genetic mutations I can claim is:

1)My fingers are abnormally curved inward, as in, none of them are straight except my middle finger, and even then the joints curve in while the knuckles curve out, it's pretty wierd.

2)I can comprehend some rather complex shit, understand quantum mechanics, but I forget my jacket when it's 10 below outside.

3)I'm extremely warm blooded, i.e. Cold weather doesn't bother me at all, whilst nice (70's) weather makes me sweat. (and I'm not overweight).

4)I used to have an extremely high tolerance to alchohol, back in my substance abusing high school days. Now I can't handle a few drinks.

My theory is I have a fast metabolism. Not really a true genetic defect, but hell, I had to post something.

[Arken]

I can do this weird thing with my tongue that apparently only one in 10,000 do. (No, it's not give oral pleasure... although I bet it would make for some interesting... never mind.)

Anyway, I can make a U-shape with my tongue and then fold that U back on itself making sort of a cloverleaf shape.

I was the hit of the third grade for about 10 minutes.

I'm also able to pop my ears whenver I want to. I can control the ear-popping muscle. It's always helped on airplanes and when I have a cold.

[Mashie]

I have very large Lymph Nodes in my neck with no known benefit.

Perhaps I have an overactive immune system. Perhaps in a few generations I will have disease resistant progeny.

Perhaps, my immune system has a deficiency in education... That is your system is suppose to "educate itself" to the foreign substances it comes in contact with so that you can avoid getting sick next time. So perhaps I get the same old uneducated response for the same old bacteria/virus, and my immune system just can't clear stuff away so good. Maybe vaccines won't be a benefit to me.

Stupid Immune System

[tevya]

I have 3 'deformities' that may qualify as mutations:

1. I have what I call a "double toe" on my left foot. My second toe (toe next to my big toe--index toe?) branches at the knuckle into 2 separte toes each with it's own little toe nail. The webbing between these 2 toe nails goes most, but not all of the way up. It makes kind of a heart shape or an ET head shape. I always imagined this gives me superior balancing abilities.

2. My finger also curve inwards. Most noticeable are my index fingers. When I hold them together (holding hands together along the sides of the palms and fingers with the thumbs tucked toward the palms) the index fingers start curving away from each other just past the knuckle. By the time you get to the tips of my fingers they are probably a good half inch apart. The only significant benefit so far has been to gross out my husband at will.

3. The iris of my left eye dips a tiny bit into the pupil. The only thing this has done so far has been to cause my eye doctor to say "wow" and drag 5 other doctors in to gawk at it.

[tevya]

P.S.

Scaramouche,
Can you do the Fandango?