# Declare your mutation! Perhaps you could help save the world! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2000, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170 "2000-11-29T11:24:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scaramouche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Scaramouche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scaramouche)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/21 "2000-11-30T07:48:54Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![Doubleclick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Doubleclick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubleclick)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/22 "2000-11-30T13:43:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doubleclick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Doubleclick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubleclick)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/23 "2000-11-30T13:49:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/24 "2000-11-30T13:50:40Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/25 "2000-11-30T13:51:14Z")
**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_ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/26 "2000-11-30T13:54:25Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Schieschkopf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Schieschkopf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schieschkopf)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/27 "2000-11-30T14:15:45Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/28 "2000-11-30T15:01:07Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mashie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e79b87/32.png) [@Mashie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mashie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/29 "2000-11-30T16:36:13Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![tevya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tevya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tevya)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/30 "2000-11-30T17:01:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![tevya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tevya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tevya)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170/31 "2000-11-30T17:10:12Z")
P.S. Scaramouche, Can you do the Fandango? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/declare-your-mutation-perhaps-you-could-help-save-the-world/43170.md?page=1)