“My Feet Look More Like Paws Than Human Feet”: 35 People Confess What Body Anomalies They Have
InterviewEverybody is unique, and every body is special! From the shape of our belly buttons to the birth marks and freckles that adorn our skin, none of us are exactly the same. But some lucky individuals have particularly unique characteristics that deserve to be celebrated!
That’s why one curious Reddit user recently invited others to share the most unusual qualities about their own bodies, and they certainly did not disappoint. Below, you’ll find some of the cutest and most fascinating quirks people can boast about their bodies, as well as a conversation with Dr. Shahina Braganza, so enjoy scrolling through and remember to upvote the replies that you find most amazing!
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My heart is bionic at this point. I’ve had 4 open heart surgeries, aorta and mitral valves are now titanium. It makes a ticking noise like a clock. I’m only 30. Hopefully I live longer
When I was born, none of my organs were in the places they should be.
Had 5 surgeries after birth to get everything moved around, and put to right places.
Luckily, no issues since.
My hair started losing its color when I was 10 years old. I used to be brunette. My hair has been completely silver and white since my 20s.
We're all human beings, but there are infinite possibilities to how we can look. With over 8 billion of us on the planet, we're bound to share some traits, but we can't all have 10 toes or hearts that function properly without a little extra help. And there's nothing wrong with these unique quirks we might have. In fact, they should be celebrated! For example, I have unusually small nostrils, so if I inhale through them extremely hard, I can suck both of them in until they fully close up. My elbows and a few of my fingers are double jointed. I have a several quite visible birthmarks, one of which was fire-engine red when I was born but has since stretched out into tiny red splotches on my chest.
To learn more about how this fascinating conversation about the unique qualities of our bodies got started, we reached out to Reddit user MissingYouB, who posed the question, "What's unusual about your body?" They told Bored Panda that they had recently spoken with a friend who was depressed about a deformity that they have and decided to ask others if they have something unusual about their body to prove that none of us should be insecure about these traits. "You need to love your body no matter what," they added.
I was born with 1 Kidney. But my 1 Kidney is the size of 2 combined. So I have 1 super kidney.
In my 60s and I don't have gray hair. It's mousy brown, so when people insist I dyed it, I tell them I wouldn't pay money for such a dull color.
When i was born my umbilical cord was inside out and it was the first time the hospital i was born at had ever seen anything like it. So they asked my mum if it could be sent to a nearby university to be shown to students in order to show them what the inside of one looks like in real life. I am going to that exact university next year and will be on a quest to take back my umbilical cord. (Provided its not been thrown away idk how long they last)
We also wanted to gain some insight on this topic from an expert on the human body, so we reached out to Dr. Shahina Braganza, a senior Emergency Medicine doctor working in the public health service in Queensland, Australia. Dr. Braganza was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about how common it is to have an unusual quirk in or on our bodies.
"I’m pretty sure that most people would have a unique trait or quality - or perhaps a combination of them," she shared. "When you think about how a human is conceived at a genetic level, how the embryo develops, and then how humans develop after birth and throughout their life, it is highly likely that that each person has at least one unique feature, small or large."
Whooo. This is a big one.
1. Abnormal bone density. I sink in fresh water(fun playing Terminator though). Been hit by cars 6 times in my life and all Ive ever gotten was bruises; every vehicle has needed body work.
2. I require at *minimum* twice the recommended dosage for a lot of medications. Not fun when cost is factored in or the potential for damage. My liver is that of a demigod.
3. Abnormal temperature response. I act like a stroke victim(according to my wife) at temps above 85, but I can sit in a snow drift in a t shirt and shorts and the snow drift melts before I get bothered. I can bare-hand dry ice for short periods without issue.
4. My eyes are too large for my head. The only reason I need glasses is because my eyes kept growing waaaay longer than they should have, since my skull had decided early on it was going to quality for membership in Neverbrokeabone
5. I somehow outgrew cilantro tasting like soap. 20 yrs of that, then all of a sudden 'Naw my troll, you get to enjoy it again'
6. If you pop my right foot's pinky toe, my entire leg twitches. Full 'pull back shaking and twitching like I grabbed a 220v line.' Every damn time.
I’m 21 and going through menopause! I hit puberty at the age of two, had a lot of hormonal issues growing up but my mother was resistant to getting me help so I’m the same height and weight I was in 5th grade some 11 years ago. I can also type with my toes and do simple origami with my feet like a ninja star or paper airplane which is a fun party trick.
I can't even imagine going through that at 2! If mum wouldn't admit it was a problem they probably didn't get puberty blockers.
We also asked Dr. Braganza if she has ever come across any particularly fascinating traits in her practice. "I'm surprised every shift!" she told Bored Panda. "I work in an emergency department so, typically, we are seeing people for an urgent issue, and they may have an interesting bodily trait that may or may not be related to that issue. We may see people with hyper-mobile joints, for example a thumb that can touch the middle of the same forearm. We sometimes see people with extra digits on their hands or feet."
"At times, we X-ray or scan someone and will find something unexpected with their internal organs eg. dextrocardia where the heart is inside the right side of the thorax instead of the left, or situs inversus where all the organs in the thorax and abdomen at on the ‘wrong’ side," Dr. Braganza continued. "I once had a patient with left-sided lower abdominal pain - which made us think, 'Well, that’s definitely not appendicitis', but then they had a CT scan and their appendix was in fact on the left side!"
I have a third boob. Never even knew it was there til my milk came in after giving birth, and suddenly there was this giant baseball-sized lump under my armpit. When I saw my lactation consultant, she said it's a rare thing that can happen to some people. It has a teeny tiny nipple and even had milk coming out of it. I had to ice it for a week so it would stop producing milk.
Before anyone asks - no, I don't have any pictures of it. I was super sleep deprived and recovering from a traumatic labor, so the last thing on my mind was taking a picture of my new accessory boob. I wish I had, though.
When I was born, the doctor said he "had never seen a baby with this much nose hair". At 46 it is still my superpower.
And when it comes to whether or not we should be concerned about these quirks we may have, Dr. Braganza says, "It’s very variable. Of course different doesn’t mean abnormal or that there is cause for concern. It could just be a normal variant in that person."
"As a general guide, if there is an unusual trait, if it is causing pain, discomfort or an inability to function as usual, then it should be assessed by a health professional," she added.
When I was a kid I had such severe allergies to everything that even my medical allert bracelets made me break out in hives and being in the same room at peanuts would send me into anaphylaxis. I outgrew all of my allergies.
I hope I outgrow it! I have this but not anaphylactic. I get SEVERE hives whenever I’m too cold, too hot, eat corn, have painkillers, put chemicals on my skin such as chlorine, scratch my skin, and many more.
Two of my toes on each foot are webbed halfway. The index(?) and middle toe, each side. Nothing else.
I can’t swim any faster which I personally think is *b******t*.
There can even be benefits to having a unique trait. "If you’re super lucky, you may have qualities that increase your resistance to infection or that help you to heal rapidly," Dr. Braganza noted. "If nothing else, you have an ice-breaker for starting a conversation."
"I think society has become much better at recognizing the value of diversity in people, and we are now better at celebrating that which makes each of us unique," she added.
If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Braganza and hear her thoughts on her blog, you can visit her website right here!
I can taste when I'm sick and I can smell when others are too.
I have a rare condition in which my large intestine is smashed over to one side of my torso and my small intestines are smashed over to the other side. The only reason we discovered it is that one day, they decided to physically switch places causing extreme pain.
They have switched places a total of four times in my life. It's really painful and kinda gross hearing your goopy bits flop around inside of you.
My sweat is extra acidic. I can fully rust guitar strings in a week or 2, and have eaten holes on 2 laptops where I rest my hands, both happened within a year of use
My big toes are almost twice the size of normal big toes. They’re so wide that I can stand only on my big toes without it hurting. I’m told my feet look more like paws than human feet.
edit: no I'm not posting feet pics
Every spring and autumn, my palm sheds its upper skin. There is no exposed lower layers, I just literally regenerate and dispose of my palm skin like a snake. Doesnt hurt, doesnt bleed. It just happens.
I am biologically and male presenting, but I've got huge tits. Like stage 4 gynecomastia. I've had them basically my entire life, and they've never been affected by my changes in weight. Doctors have confirmed they are legitimately breast tissue.
I always hated them, made highschool a living hell. But now I'm a grown adult, I identify as non-binary so I no longer feel bad about not having a "masculine" chest.
I consider getting rid of them every so often but I legitimately wouldn't know what life would be like without them and I feel I'd look inproportionate without them.
I have a lot of extra things....extra toe, and a few extra teeth, there's one growing on the roof of my mouth rn, its like I'm a deformed vampire lol
I am a woman with a beard that can rival most 15 yr olds
The heart inside of me isn’t mine. And that I was on life support that caused nerve damage in my leg so I don’t get goose bumps on my left thigh.
When I was a baby I got a vaccine in my a*s cheek and it got infected. It was left alone so long that it got infected all the way down my muscle on everything the needle touched. They had to cut it out and for a couple of years I didnt have an a*s cheek, then my a*s grew in alright and now it just looks like I have a dimple. It's by my hip so it doesn't look weird and everyone that's seen it has said it adds character lol but to me it's just a crater on my a*s and theres no muscle there and if I touch the middle it still hurts
My stomach is 1/10 the size it should be. I’m a cheap date because I can get drunk off nothing and it’s nearly impossible for me to overdrink.
I was born with no wisdom teeth.
I sweat on the left side of my head when I even think about spicy foods. The worst part is I love spicy food.
I can vibrate my eyeballs
My torso is longer than it should be in comparison to my legs. Like, my legs stopped growing before my upper body did or something.
I have pectus excavatum and was born with a 3rd ear on my cheek.
The 3rd ear was removed with plastic surgery when I was a child but now I have a patch on my cheek that can't grow facial hair.
I have one ear that's a carbon copy of my father's (left ear), and the other my mother's. Thus, one is slightly longer and significantly harder(cartilage).
I have microtia type 2 in both ears which makes them look like elf/orc ears. Also deaf in my left ear thanks to this.
Funny thing is, until I was like 15 years old, I did not know that I was deaf in one ear. Which was surprising to me but the doc said it is because you are so used to hearing from one ear that you do not feel the difference until a point. I just thought my left ear was obstructed with something.
Same here! I was 15 when I found out I was deaf in my left ear and diagnosed with Ménière’s disease at the same time (it’s what caused my deafness)
Small hole at the base of my spine just before my a*s hole
To clarify I’m not talking about the actual a*****e it’s self I’m talking about a small hole a inch above it
It’s not a cyst I was born with it
I have a large facial scar, literally just like Scar from the Lion King. My hair and beard just make it worse. Sucks meeting new people, especially kids.
I have the gigachad chin, like, it's VERY square
I was born with a double genital tubercle, one developed male and one developed female. As a result, I have some very interesting doubled reproductive anatomy which has different forms due to the differing development.
My right hand pinkie has 4 knuckles. Still to find a practical use for it apart from freak out people when they touch it 😆
my dad had a tumor on his heart discovered by accident. of course, he had open surgery to remove it and it was sent off to pathology. he is now an oncological curiosity at the hospital because was discovered that the inside of the tumor was a type of aggressive cancer but the tumor that surrounded it had a very thick membrane around it which kept it contained. also, open surgery was on monday; he was released on wednesday because incision had completely healed-another curiosity. this is an 80 yr old man who has had a couple of normally life threatening illnesses/accidents which had zero affect on him. the joke in the family is that it will be something stupid that will take him out like a banana peel. he says it's because, as a farm boy, he ate dirt.
I can turn both my arms a full 360 degrees by just holding out my arm and turning my hand, and I can bend my thumb to touch my arm. Also, my legs don't feel cold. They get goosebumps, but it never feels like they change temperatures.
I found out on Monday that I have very stripey retinas. My Opthalmologist showed me the images after my eye tests. They are called pigment striations and he said they are very unusual for someone of caucasian heritage, especially given that I don't even have dark eyes. My eyes are Hazel in colour. :D
I had a huge birthmark on my back that looked like a bruise it faded and know it is smaller, I was really hairy as a kid, I cant smell but I still taste, had a huge bump on my head when I was born, I can write with my toes, and I have the same exact crooked tooth as my mom.
i can whistle with my throat, and i also have a bump on the side of my feet. like, normal foot, then a big bony bump, then back to normal. my mom has it too.
I had a hole in my eye which had cervical fluid leaking in it, I have a spur above my knee and had an ovarian cyst that twisted the ovary that I didn't know about until it was10x10cms big,
My knuckles on both of my hands are double jointed since I was a kid. Now it's to a point where they lock up from time to time. Then there's my husband who had a full beard and mustache in the 7th grade and was often mistaken for school faculty...but had the added benefit of allowing him to pretend to be his friends "Uncle" and get them into R-rated movies. I didn't find out until my husband admitted seeing Alien in the theater. Knowing his mother would never take him to such a movie, the secret was out.
My oldest kid was born without a tailbone. He likes to joke that it makes him more evolved that us. (But I've seen him crouched on the floor shoveling shredded cheese in his face like Golem with a fish.)
My mother and my brother have Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioopthalmic Outburst (yes, ACHOO). They sneeze when exposed to bright sunlight.
I sweat alot but the odd thing is that my sweat or body do not stink (yes this has been verified). I never wear deodorant but do shower daily. I believe my condition only effects. 3% of the population.
I'm double jointed in my elbows...can make my arms look like they're broken
I have a tail. I only ever noticed it after I gave birth to my first baby. Sometimes it hurts to sit down for long periods of time. And it will really hurt if I sleep on my back in a hard surface. And my ears also uneven and they stick out. I call them my Mickey Mouse ears. Better for me to make fun of myself before others will do it for me. Sad actually.
I can smell sounds. My own voice smells like Toasted Coconut. Which is odd, because I'm FAR FROM TROPICAL.
Not really all that weird but one of my thumbs is significantly longer than the other (I've also been told my thumbs look like amongus characters)
Both second toes are longer than the big toe. Makes shoe buying difficult.
My second toe on my right foot is longer than my big toe but the one on my left foot is normal length. Makes it hell to get shoes that fit properly
I have a bony protrusion on my forehead. Luckily, so far, it does not grow and is not visible. You would only know about it if you touch it. I pointed it out to my doctor and she said it was just a bony growth. I said "so its a horn?" she, knowing me since I was a kid said "sure, its a horn if that's what you want to call it." So I have a horn. unfortunately its only one and its slightly off center.
I have a genetically very high resistance to temperature and pain. It’s been on my paternal side for at least a few generations. The weird thing is that none of us affected seem to have any loss of our sense of touch as a whole, just a greatly reduced sensitivity to pain and temperature. It has benefits and disadvantages
I have a few goods one myself. My sweet smells citrus. I have extremely high adrenaline. The last oddity is my vision that can see people arua.
Nothing wildly exciting, but I was born with my top two vertebrae fused (Klippel-Feil syndrome). I have a slightly limited range of motion in my neck and I have to keep clicking my skull back into place, or I get awful headaches. Only found out about it because I went to see a spinal specialist to find out if I should be concerned about the headaches.
I gave myself whiplash from a bad dream in middle school. I have pernicious anemia, but am always too hot. I have allergic reactions to sensitive skin facial soap, but glow after using exfoliating body wash. I'm allergic to sulphur in any form, and anything remotely derived from morphine. I had 2 heavy periods a month for 20+ years, and no doctor was ever able to figure out why.
I have ocular albinism is my left eye they said it was asymptomatic but I've found a drastic improvement in wearing dark glasses my eyes dont get tired I'm not rubbing my face constantly and i don't suffer tension headaches. The worst was I would walk into people if it was too bright or my eyes wernt properly adjusted cuz it's like a giant torch in my face it was embarrassing
I have missing ligaments in my knees. Who wants to see me bend my legs backwards? Freaks people out.
I have some many conditions, some extremely rare, that my doctor has next to no way on how to actually treat me. Downside is it causes so many problems that the A&E staff know me by name. At this point they just ask me what happened this time. This is excluding the fact that my right knee is fake, and my spine went at 16 years old.
I have a couple of the things listed. I have ultra hard bones and heal about three times faster than anyone I know. The drawback is that while I heal fast everything leaves a scar. I can also vibrate my eyeballs. I had two sets of canine teeth. (I lost my baby teeth, my adult teeth came in then I lost my canine teeth as another set came in.), I used to be able to control my heart rate. As a scuba diver I would slow it way down to save air and I could scare the nurses by speeding it up until I almost passed out. I can no longer do this as one of my blood pressure medicines is a beta blocker. When I was born and up until my late teens I had spock ears and could wiggle them a lot. I burn through pain killers, especially Novocain extremely fast. I used to be able to trigger an adrenaline rush at will but lost that ability after I passed 40. One other thing more of a mental quirk than genetic or learned is that if I see someone in a cast or injured, that spot on my body will start to ache.
Apparently, as my hairstylist pointed out about a month ago, I have three cowlicks on my head (the spot that hair naturally grows away from).
I have shoulder dimples, passed them on to all my kids and most of my grandkids :).
I have a few uncommon things about me. I don’t sweat, I’m allergic to heat and touch, and I have a clover tongue. Just interesting, not serious though.
I have a weird one. My minds eye is strange. Can't see anything with my eyes closed, it's just black. But if I start daydreaming or just get lost in my thoughts, I can see things but only if my eyes are open. Can never visualize things with my eyes closed.
The ability to visualize imagery in your minds eye falls on a spectrum with some being better or worse at it. The complte inability is called aphantasia.
Load More Replies...I was born with a double genital tubercle, one developed male and one developed female. As a result, I have some very interesting doubled reproductive anatomy which has different forms due to the differing development.
My right hand pinkie has 4 knuckles. Still to find a practical use for it apart from freak out people when they touch it 😆
my dad had a tumor on his heart discovered by accident. of course, he had open surgery to remove it and it was sent off to pathology. he is now an oncological curiosity at the hospital because was discovered that the inside of the tumor was a type of aggressive cancer but the tumor that surrounded it had a very thick membrane around it which kept it contained. also, open surgery was on monday; he was released on wednesday because incision had completely healed-another curiosity. this is an 80 yr old man who has had a couple of normally life threatening illnesses/accidents which had zero affect on him. the joke in the family is that it will be something stupid that will take him out like a banana peel. he says it's because, as a farm boy, he ate dirt.
I can turn both my arms a full 360 degrees by just holding out my arm and turning my hand, and I can bend my thumb to touch my arm. Also, my legs don't feel cold. They get goosebumps, but it never feels like they change temperatures.
I found out on Monday that I have very stripey retinas. My Opthalmologist showed me the images after my eye tests. They are called pigment striations and he said they are very unusual for someone of caucasian heritage, especially given that I don't even have dark eyes. My eyes are Hazel in colour. :D
I had a huge birthmark on my back that looked like a bruise it faded and know it is smaller, I was really hairy as a kid, I cant smell but I still taste, had a huge bump on my head when I was born, I can write with my toes, and I have the same exact crooked tooth as my mom.
i can whistle with my throat, and i also have a bump on the side of my feet. like, normal foot, then a big bony bump, then back to normal. my mom has it too.
I had a hole in my eye which had cervical fluid leaking in it, I have a spur above my knee and had an ovarian cyst that twisted the ovary that I didn't know about until it was10x10cms big,
My knuckles on both of my hands are double jointed since I was a kid. Now it's to a point where they lock up from time to time. Then there's my husband who had a full beard and mustache in the 7th grade and was often mistaken for school faculty...but had the added benefit of allowing him to pretend to be his friends "Uncle" and get them into R-rated movies. I didn't find out until my husband admitted seeing Alien in the theater. Knowing his mother would never take him to such a movie, the secret was out.
My oldest kid was born without a tailbone. He likes to joke that it makes him more evolved that us. (But I've seen him crouched on the floor shoveling shredded cheese in his face like Golem with a fish.)
My mother and my brother have Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioopthalmic Outburst (yes, ACHOO). They sneeze when exposed to bright sunlight.
I sweat alot but the odd thing is that my sweat or body do not stink (yes this has been verified). I never wear deodorant but do shower daily. I believe my condition only effects. 3% of the population.
I'm double jointed in my elbows...can make my arms look like they're broken
I have a tail. I only ever noticed it after I gave birth to my first baby. Sometimes it hurts to sit down for long periods of time. And it will really hurt if I sleep on my back in a hard surface. And my ears also uneven and they stick out. I call them my Mickey Mouse ears. Better for me to make fun of myself before others will do it for me. Sad actually.
I can smell sounds. My own voice smells like Toasted Coconut. Which is odd, because I'm FAR FROM TROPICAL.
Not really all that weird but one of my thumbs is significantly longer than the other (I've also been told my thumbs look like amongus characters)
Both second toes are longer than the big toe. Makes shoe buying difficult.
My second toe on my right foot is longer than my big toe but the one on my left foot is normal length. Makes it hell to get shoes that fit properly
I have a bony protrusion on my forehead. Luckily, so far, it does not grow and is not visible. You would only know about it if you touch it. I pointed it out to my doctor and she said it was just a bony growth. I said "so its a horn?" she, knowing me since I was a kid said "sure, its a horn if that's what you want to call it." So I have a horn. unfortunately its only one and its slightly off center.
I have a genetically very high resistance to temperature and pain. It’s been on my paternal side for at least a few generations. The weird thing is that none of us affected seem to have any loss of our sense of touch as a whole, just a greatly reduced sensitivity to pain and temperature. It has benefits and disadvantages
I have a few goods one myself. My sweet smells citrus. I have extremely high adrenaline. The last oddity is my vision that can see people arua.
Nothing wildly exciting, but I was born with my top two vertebrae fused (Klippel-Feil syndrome). I have a slightly limited range of motion in my neck and I have to keep clicking my skull back into place, or I get awful headaches. Only found out about it because I went to see a spinal specialist to find out if I should be concerned about the headaches.
I gave myself whiplash from a bad dream in middle school. I have pernicious anemia, but am always too hot. I have allergic reactions to sensitive skin facial soap, but glow after using exfoliating body wash. I'm allergic to sulphur in any form, and anything remotely derived from morphine. I had 2 heavy periods a month for 20+ years, and no doctor was ever able to figure out why.
I have ocular albinism is my left eye they said it was asymptomatic but I've found a drastic improvement in wearing dark glasses my eyes dont get tired I'm not rubbing my face constantly and i don't suffer tension headaches. The worst was I would walk into people if it was too bright or my eyes wernt properly adjusted cuz it's like a giant torch in my face it was embarrassing
I have missing ligaments in my knees. Who wants to see me bend my legs backwards? Freaks people out.
I have some many conditions, some extremely rare, that my doctor has next to no way on how to actually treat me. Downside is it causes so many problems that the A&E staff know me by name. At this point they just ask me what happened this time. This is excluding the fact that my right knee is fake, and my spine went at 16 years old.
I have a couple of the things listed. I have ultra hard bones and heal about three times faster than anyone I know. The drawback is that while I heal fast everything leaves a scar. I can also vibrate my eyeballs. I had two sets of canine teeth. (I lost my baby teeth, my adult teeth came in then I lost my canine teeth as another set came in.), I used to be able to control my heart rate. As a scuba diver I would slow it way down to save air and I could scare the nurses by speeding it up until I almost passed out. I can no longer do this as one of my blood pressure medicines is a beta blocker. When I was born and up until my late teens I had spock ears and could wiggle them a lot. I burn through pain killers, especially Novocain extremely fast. I used to be able to trigger an adrenaline rush at will but lost that ability after I passed 40. One other thing more of a mental quirk than genetic or learned is that if I see someone in a cast or injured, that spot on my body will start to ache.
Apparently, as my hairstylist pointed out about a month ago, I have three cowlicks on my head (the spot that hair naturally grows away from).
I have shoulder dimples, passed them on to all my kids and most of my grandkids :).
I have a few uncommon things about me. I don’t sweat, I’m allergic to heat and touch, and I have a clover tongue. Just interesting, not serious though.
I have a weird one. My minds eye is strange. Can't see anything with my eyes closed, it's just black. But if I start daydreaming or just get lost in my thoughts, I can see things but only if my eyes are open. Can never visualize things with my eyes closed.
The ability to visualize imagery in your minds eye falls on a spectrum with some being better or worse at it. The complte inability is called aphantasia.
Load More Replies...