Telepathy. Invisibility. Laser vision. If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Superheroes and superpowers hold sway in our society. In addition to their colourful costumes, these superheroes are recognizable because of unique traits. Spider-Man swings from webs he can shoot. Storm can control the weather. The Incredible Hulk has super strength.
Some fictional superheroes can instantly heal themselves from near-death. In reality, some people have bones so dense, they don't break. They don't even need to heal themselves! On the other hand, one in five people are born without wisdom teeth. That's four less teeth to floss! People with an eidetic memory can remember exactly what they've seen after looking away from it. This trait could save you time on note-taking! Meanwhile, ambidextrous people can use both hands equally well. Superheroes might not exist, but superhumans are certainly real.
We might not be able to see through walls like Superman. Maybe we can't shoot lasers out of our eyes like Cyclops. But our eyes can still perform some amazing functions. Most people have the capacity to see up to a million colours. Tetrachromacy allows a few people to see up to 100 million colours.
Vampires aren't real, but have you met a short sleeper? Most of us should aim for 6-8 hours of sleep to maintain our mental and physical health. However, a short-sleeper can survive on just a few hours of sleep. Some of the most productive people, such as Leonardo da Vinci, were probably short-sleepers.
Some recessive traits don't confer special abilities to us. There are some rare traits that make certain people stand out visually from the rest of us! The next time you get a haircut, take a look at your hair whorl. If it's counterclockwise, you belong to an exclusive club! Only 8.4% of people in the entire world have a counterclockwise hair whorl. Most people have an innie bellybutton. But only 10% of people have an outie bellybutton.
Melanin is a pigment that is most known for determining our skin and hair colour. The more melanin in the area, the darker the colour. It also determines eye colour. Mutations in some people's genes can lead to some striking visual rarities. Blue eyes are a recessive trait. Only 8% of people have blue eyes, which is caused by a mutation that reduces melanin in the eyes. Even rarer is heterochromia, which causes people to have different coloured eyes. A genetic mutation is also responsible for people with red hair!
We can thank modern medicine for helping us avoid many of the ailments of our ancestors. However, we're not completely immune to health issues. Cholesterol is a helpful chemical that the body naturally produces. Some people's bodies produce too much cholesterol though. This can be caused by genetics or by poor attention to diet and exercise. Too much cholesterol can interrupt blood flow and harm your heart. But some humans have a mutation of the PCSK9 gene that controls the cholesterol levels in their bodies.
Some traits offer superhuman abilities. Other traits provide superhuman looks. Not all of us get to enjoy these rare traits, though. If we did, they wouldn't be rare!