"My Feet Look More Like Paws Than Human Feet": 35 People Confess What Body Anomalies They Have

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.

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."

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!"

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.

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!