Yahoo Lifestyle "I Was 37 When I Learned This": People Are Revealing The "Unusual Body Things" They Didn't Know Were "Unusual" Until Someone Else Broke The News
If I had a nickel for every time I went into a medical office and the doctor looked at me with a confused huff...well, I'd be pretty broke still, but I'd be holding a hell of a lot of nickels. If you, too, have perplexed doctors or found yourself in an (admittedly unhelpful) Google rabbit hole trying to figure out why the heck your body is the way it is, welcome, friend!
Every few months, I ask BuzzFeed Readers like you to share the very normal, very casual thing their body does that they were shocked to learn is neither "normal" nor all that common. It's become a nice lil internet safe space for folks like myself with chronic illness or others trying to find names for things they've experienced. So, without further ado, here are 45 similar experiences people shared, starting with one of my very own:
1."Since I was a kid, I've heard this weird, TV static-y-sounding, rain stick-y noise coming from the back of my neck randomly. It almost feels like something is draining. I assumed that, kind of like when your stomach growls, it was just a weird body sound nobody really talked about. Well, fast-forward to this year and during a doctor's appointment, I mentioned it offhandedly. My doctor looked absolutely horrified — she'd never heard of that in her life. I told my partner, my friends, my parents...and not a soul had any idea what the hell I was talking about."
"After some googling and reading comments of fellow weird-head-noise-sufferers, it's believed to be the sound of your spinal fluid, though there's admittedly not a whole lot out there on it. People tend to hear it most when they're hungry and, after some personal testing, I can confirm that holds up."
2."I have synesthesia! Mine is called 'ordinal linguistic personification.' To me, most things that come in lists (numbers, colors, months) have personalities and genders. I can explain, for instance, that six is a very motivated, self-starting young man, whereas four is a slightly-masculine woman who is very pragmatic and rational."
3."My husband had surgery on a hernia and discovered that his large intestine was eight feet long. The average adult intestine is five feet long, so the doctor was shocked. He had to get three feet removed because of the hernia, so now it’s normal length."
4."When I was in third grade, there was a lump behind my front upper tooth. They assumed it was an abscess, put me on antibiotics, waited a week, then lanced it. It turned out to be full of tiny teeth. They looked like squirrel teeth to me. They saved a bunch of them and then put three stitches in my gum. Because of the tiny teeth and stitches, I got a whole $5 from the tooth fairy!"
"Then, the adult front tooth never grew in. I was missing that front tooth for four whole years. When I was in the seventh grade, they lanced the gum and watched as the tooth grew halfway out. Even now, that tooth isn't quite as long as it should be.
It wasn't 'til my dad went in for his second bypass in 2001 that we found out that we 'scar ugly.' I get it from my dad — we heal quickly enough that scar tissue grows fast and thick. When it took them two and a half hours to get through his 13-year-old bypass scars, that's when I realized it. We have the lamest superpower!"
—pahz
5."I have cataplexy — I lose the ability to grip/hold things, chew, sometimes even stand when laughing. Basically, my muscles shit the bed whenever I start laughing too hard. Me, my sister, and my dad have it. My sister has even dropped her children because of it (don’t worry, it's more of a gradual release than a full blown drop, and no one was hurt). I grew up thinking it was entirely normal, and my mind was blown when I found out it was not. I asked the next 10 people I saw — my friends, coworkers, drug dealer — if they got weak while they were laughing, and they looked at me like I had three heads."
6."I have perfect pitch. Somehow, a discussion about it never happened so I went through two and a half years of band learning notes and tuning the way I thought everyone else did. To make a long story short, I found out when my dad was trying to play a tune by ear, kept missing a note, and I finally yelled at him that he should be playing X note, which led to my parents freaking out and quizzing me, and me freaking out because I thought they were playing dumb. It took months and coming across a National Geographic article before it fully sank in that I had an entirely different relationship with sound than anyone in my social circle."
7."I have Cooks Syndrome. Only my feet are affected, and I passed it on to my daughter. Her father and I lovingly refer to her 'toes' as 'skin bags' since some don't have the medial and distal phalanges and are missing toenails. Of all the genetic mutations to get, it's relatively lucky to have something so benign."
8."My boyfriend has sneezing attacks when he's horny. I used to think it was weird, but 11.5 years later, I'm just used to it."
9."My eyes won’t go numb from local eye anesthesia. The optometrist kept putting in more and trying the test again, and finally, they had to use a tool they normally only use on babies. I laughed and said something like, 'Well I’m sure others have to do this, too, right?' And she looked kind of confused and replied, 'No. You’re the first person I’ve ever had to do this for.' LOL, damn."
10."Dermatographia. I have really sensitive skin with an overactive histamine response. When I’m gently scratched with a blunt object, I get a hive in the shape of the scratch. I can write my name in hives on my forearm."
11."Some of the women in my family grow a third set of teeth in their 30s. My great aunt had a nearly perfect set, only one came in crooked, but my mom's sister had hers come in next to her adult teeth, so she has two rows in some places, like a shark. My mom got a couple extra, but they were pulled, and I haven't gotten any yet, though I got to keep all my wisdom teeth, and they didn't."
12."Sometimes, when I look at an object, I see it completely out of proportion. Like a gigantic spoon, for instance. It used to cause me terrible anxiety when I was a kid, and no one would understand. Flash forward to a couple of years ago, and I found out that what I have is known as 'Alice in Wonderland syndrome.' Basically, there's a miscommunication between my cornea and my brain that causes it. As an adult, it is easy to just breathe through until it goes back to normal as it only lasts a few seconds, but as a kid, it was a complete nightmare."
"I have it, too; happened more in my youth. It's pretty wild! Never thought much of it until I talked about it sometime in my 40s. People were shocked, maybe disbelieving."
13."I’m allergic to dried stone fruits. I was maybe 12 or so and eating some dried apricots when I noticed my mouth/throat felt weird. I said to my family, 'These are good, but does anyone else’s mouth feel like they’ve swallowed little bits of glass when they’re eating them?' They looked at me like I sprouted a second head, and my mom said, 'Stop eating those and take a Benadryl. You’re having a mild allergic reaction.'"
14."I have a paradoxical response to almost every single medication. Benadryl is like speed. Pain relievers make my pain more intense. It’s so bizarre that my internal med doctor calls me his 'interesting patient.'"
15."I thought everyone saw static 24/7. When I was told that wasn't normal, I assumed that everyone still saw static in the dark, because it's a known phenomenon of human brains making things up in darkness. All my eye appointments were normal — there was nothing wrong on the visual end. I tried doing research, but nothing came up. On a whim about six years ago, I decided to try googling my symptoms again, not expecting to find anything, but sources about Visual Snow Syndrome popped up, and it explains all of the symptoms I have related to the static vision. Haven't been officially diagnosed yet, but it would explain a lot."
"I have Visual Snow. Best way to describe it: when the cable cord to the TV isn't screwed in all the way and the screen is slightly fuzzy. That's my entire field of vision. Not to mention the tons of floaters and shadow auras, migraines, and tinnitus that are also symptoms. I've found online forums of people with the same, but have never met someone in real life. Never knew I was different until one day mentioned it to a coworker, and she looked horrified. She asked, 'Like...how do you see??'"
16."I have a double uvula. That little hanging thing in the back of your throat...mine looks like a ballsack. I thought that's just what they looked like because, like, how often do you look in people's throats? I remember seeing cartoons as a kid where they'd zoom in on a character's mouth when they are screaming or something, and I just thought the artists were lazy, drawing a simple droopy line. But no, that's what most people's look like."
"When I was in my 20s, I went to the doctor for something unrelated, and she checked my throat and just said, 'Huh you have a double uvula. Neat!' I went home and told my roommates, and they all had to look in my mouth. I thought they would think the doctor was the weirdo, but they were all shocked. I'll never forget one saying, 'You've got balls in your throat!'"
17."I knew I always had a stuffy nose, but didn't think much about it. Got on medicine that finally helped, and my nose cleared up a bit, and I could smell a little better in high school. Didn't realize how bad it had affected my sense of smell until college, though. I had a chemistry lab where we had to determine the scent of some liquids, and I couldn't smell anything until I breathed through my mouth. I was suddenly able to figure out each one. That's still how I 'smell' things."
"My doctors are aware I am like this, and my septum has been checked. It's not off enough to cause the problem. I just have a long list of incredibly annoying allergies that cause the issue. For example, I'm allergic to just about every green plant."
18."I can taste words. For example, if someone says three, an image of a cupcake immediately comes to mind, and I sometimes will start salivating. The same word has always had the same food association. It’s called Lexical–gustatory synesthesia."
19."My sister and I both experience synesthesia, only ours is more color-related. Words, sounds, letters, and numbers all have associated colors, which can be especially frustrating when our colors are not the same. 'She'll be like, 'Well you know August is yellow,' and I'm like, 'Uh no? It's purple?'"
20."I thought I was bad at running because my throat would seize up and get painful whenever I ran for more than a minute. I mentioned this to my doctor when I was 30. Turns out I have asthma."
21."That I had eight wisdom teeth grow into the extra space in the back of my jaw (two for each side, top and bottom). They all grew in just fine after 20. On my last trip to the dentist, I found out that I have eight more growing in sideways. The normal amount of wisdom teeth is 4, not 16."
A woman holds her cheek with her hand with toothache and suffers from caries and dental problems
22."If I’m sorta tuned out or focusing on something and I hear a sound behind me or to one side, I can literally feel my ears attempt to turn toward the sound (like many animals do, such as cats). My ears don’t actually move around, but there’s some automated reflex that tries to do it. I mentioned it to my wife (in an innocent statement that began with, 'You know how you can feel your ears try to move to pinpoint a sudden sound?'), and she looked at me as if I had six eyes. I haven’t found anyone else since then who knows what the hell I’m talking about."
23."The first year of menstruating, I had intensely painful periods and severe constipation. The periods would last two weeks, with two weeks in between each one. Everyone told me things would calm down and even out. Then one night, at a friend’s sleepover, I was in so much pain that I was sobbing on the bathroom floor. My parents rushed me to the hospital. Everything I was describing, pain-wise, made it sound like I was in labor. But I was 14 and still very much a virgin."
"After a week of tests and painkillers, they finally figured out the issue. I then had surgery to open up my second uterus and cervix, which had been sealed shut by a membrane. I had been having periods for a year and had built up, like, two liters' worth of blood in my sealed second uterus. So once that was drained out and I was put on major antibiotics, I got to go home and tell all my friends that I had two uteruses.
I was also born with one kidney. Not sure if that’s related, but I sure am a mess down there lmao."
24."I sneeze when I get cold. I finally figured out it wasn’t common during COVID. I couldn’t understand why people would freak out if you sneeze. Because in my mind, they could just be cold. 🤷♀️"
25."Learned while I was pregnant with my oldest that I have a retroverted uterus, meaning my uterus is facing backwards. Not super rare — it occurs in roughly 20% of women — but certainly helped, because I didn't show until I was five months along with all three of my kids. Back labor is way worse, but the visible recovery was great... I was able to wear normal clothes almost immediately since everything was leaning back into my body."
26."I didn't know that I had aphantasia until I read a BuzzFeed article a few years ago. I can't visualize anything, and it's pitch black when I close my eyes — every time. I never knew that when someone said, 'Picture this,' other people actually SAW something. I thought it was just describing a situation. I was blown away when I learned people can 'watch' their memories, too. I just remember the order of events, certain details, and feelings."
"Oh, and I am an avid reader, so everyone I've talked to asks how I like reading if I can't see the story 'playing out' as I read. I'm just here for the plots. But, it does explain why I never liked certain books that were too descriptive and didn't get into the story quickly enough."
27."I’ve got ‘alternating exo,’ the eye doctor called it. I can choose which eye I can see out of and can switch as I please. Whichever eye is not 'picked' then 'turns off,' and I don’t see out of it since I chose the other eye. Since I've been able to do it all my life, both of my eyes can operate alone, so if I lose one, it won’t be as bad adjusting. Pretty nice actually, but the ‘exo’ makes me hate selfies because whichever eye isn’t picked drifts outward, which is noticeable to me at least."
28."Nobody told me this… I ended up learning this on my own in my early 20s. I have a third nipple. I always thought it was a mole on my rib cage, and I actually used to like it and kinda thought it was cute. As soon as I discovered the truth, I immediately started to dislike it. And it’s funny, but it actually does make me feel exposed when I’m wearing a bra or bikini and one of my nipples is showing."
29."I have Arnold’s Cough Syndrome, and I thought it was normal for a long time. What do you mean you don’t cough and gag when you put something in your ear? What do you mean you don’t have to have someone hold you down while someone else cleans your ears for you? 😅"
30."I've never had hair on my arms, legs, or underarms. When I went away to college, I was shocked to see my dorm mates shaving their legs and underarms. Later, I was diagnosed with a genetic blood condition called hemochromatosis, or iron overload. It's mostly found in Irish and northern Europeans. Excess iron accumulates in the body instead of being excreted. It's easy to treat by occasionally donating blood and avoiding high iron foods...but one sign is the absence of arm and leg hair. Plenty of hair elsewhere, however."
31."I was having a dance party with my bestie one night when we were, like, 30. We were having an absolute blast dancing it out, and after a bit, I asked, 'Don’t you just hate it when your knees get hot?' She kept dancing and said, 'What? My knees are cool as a cucumber!' I stopped dancing and had her touch my knees. They were hot to the touch, and she and I were both shocked to find out that my knees were not normal. That was the day I found out that other people do not get hot knees. :)"
32."I was getting in-depth testing for a chronic illness, and one of the questions they asked was if I ever get sharp shooting pains down my limbs that dissipate after a few minutes. I nonchalantly said, 'No more than most people.' I genuinely thought it was normal; it's always happened to me. The three doctors and my mother all looked at me like I had three heads, and eventually, my mom had to break it to me that it wasn't normal."
33."I have Snatiation. It's nice because I have an automatic trigger to tell me when to stop so I don't overeat. It was way worse when I was a kid — the whole family would count my sneezes after meals. Sometimes, I'd get up into the 30s. Now, it's just three to five sneezes."
34."Ear rumbling. I thought everyone could make their ears rumble on command and didn’t find out that its not normal until my mid-20s when I was talking to a friend about making my own white noise when I need to focus. I did some research, and it turns out I’m contracting the tensor tympani muscle inside of my ear, and it’s actually a very rare ability. I’ve done it almost daily my whole life."
35."For 27 years, I thought it was 100% normal to have constant, super-vivid dreams. Whether a short cat nap or a full night's sleep, I thought everyone had them. I even thought it was normal I could remember dreams I had when I was, like, 3 years old. I also thought it was normal to get super tired and need a nap after an argument or something stressful. Nope to all of that. 😆 A sleep study later, and I found out I'm the third generation to have effing narcolepsy."
36."Apparently, some people have an 'internal monologue?' My friends have described it as a continuous narration of your existence. I'm def missing that. No idea which side of this is 'the norm,' but it's definitely interesting."
37."My whole body is weird. I have every recessive trait they teach about in science class: attached earlobes, dimples, red hair. My teachers always used me as an example. I also have no appendix. I was born without one — about 0.001% of people are. I have really wide feet at the toes, but tiny short little toes that are almost nonexistent, which is a genetic thing. I am also super flexible because of Ehlers-Danlos. Thanks, Grandpa. When I was a kid, I could lay on my tummy and touch my feet to the floor in front of my head. I can also squirt liquid out of my tear ducts if I hold my breath and plug my ears. Found this out on a fair ride once…soda out of your tear ducts is painful, 0/10 do not recommend."
38."I was in college before I realized that 'normal' people can't control their dreams. Quite frequently, when I'm asleep, I will realize I'm asleep and will alter what is happening in my dreams. I'm also able to realize I'm sleeping and wake myself up."
39."That your brain never stopping is not normal. It’s actually a sign of hyperactivity. The first time I took meds and I only thought of one thing at a time? Overwhelming."
40."I've got bone growth on the inside of my gums, under my tongue, and just below my lower teeth on either side that almost touch each other. My tongue sits on top of them. Always thought as a kid/young adult everyone had it, until I was out with coworkers and was eating a club sandwich and said, 'Don't you hate it when you eat a toasted sandwich and it rips the layer of skin off your gums under your tongue?' And they were like, 'WTF are you talking about?' I lifted my tongue to show them, and they were instantly freaked!!! Turns out the lumps were totally not normal. Apparently, most people don't grow extra bone inside their jaws. Later in life, a dentist freaked out about it, too, and tested me for cancer, but it's just extra bone. I'm an oddball I guess! 🤷"
41."I’m very buoyant. I have a hard time sinking to the bottom of a pool at all no matter how hard I try, and float completely with almost no effort for very long lengths of time."
42."I have musical auditory hallucinations. Mine go 24/7, nonstop. I can tolerate most of the songs, but every once in a while, the national anthem gets playing, and I could really do with a dial to change the 'channel.'"
43."I sometimes experience exploding head syndrome. It usually sounds like someone knocking on a door. When I experience it, I look to my pets (if they're around) to see if they've reacted to a noise. If not, then I know it's just in my head."
44."I made the mistake of casually asking my friends and coworkers if it bothers them that their hands tingle when they pee. I got looked at like I had three heads. I still haven't brought it up to my doctor because of how wild everyone acted about it, like I was a freak. But I've experienced it my whole life. When I'm peeing, my fingers and hands tingle, kind of like the static-y tingle when you put too much pressure on your arm and it falls asleep."
45.Finally, "I was born with one leg longer than the other. It's about 2 cm (3/4 inch) longer, which doesn't seem like much but screwed up my knees and back really badly. The weird part is how it is. I don't have one specific bone longer than the other — the whole leg is proportionally longer. I had one doctor tell me that if you took an X-ray of me from the waist down and cut it in half, you'd think it was from two different people. Nobody knows why. No doctor I've ever seen has seen anybody like me. I even had to calm a podiatrist down once because he didn't know what to do, and it freaked him out. A physical therapist once brought students in to see how one side of my buttocks was visibly larger than the other due to the way I have to stand."
"I still, as an adult, cannot bear weight on both legs at the same time. I just never learned how because I couldn't until I got a correctly sized-lift at age 26. My official diagnosis is skeletal asymmetry, or even more specifically, 'significant idiopathic leg length difference and iliac rotational asymmetry.' For the most part, since I wear an in-shoe lift, it's an invisible thing, but it causes issues with all kinds of things like stairs and slippery floors. It makes me very clumsy."
Have you had an experience like these? If so, tell us about it (and how you found out it wasn't, in fact, "normal") in the comments below.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
