Doctor Reveals 4 Rare Physical Traits Only The Most Unique Individuals Possess
If you've ever bought lip liner, you're probably not one of them!
Roman Samborskyi | Shutterstock We all like to think that we're super unique, one-of-a-kind rarities, and we are to a point — but not as much as we might think. Everyone has one of two types of earlobes, for example, not their "mom's" or "dad's."
However, there are some traits that very few of us possess. Dr. Sermed Mezher is a London-based physician and social media influencer who creates content about medical and health-related topics. In a recent video, he shared four such features and traits.
From lip shape and eye functions to certain brain powers, these traits are truly unique and, in some cases, only show up in a fraction of the population. So if you have one of these? Well, you do get some special snowflake bragging rights!
Here are 4 rare physical and neurological traits that only the most unique individuals possess:
1. The cupid's bow lip type.
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This is that lip shape that everyone wants — and women often spend a fortune on lipliner to replicate — in which the top lip has two sharp symmetrical peaks with a curve between them. The name, of course, comes from the fact that the lipline is shaped like an archer's bow on its side.
Many celebrities have this lip shape, Taylor Swift and Rihanna among them, but Mezher said it's thought that only 5% of people overall have it. So if you're one of them, congrats — many women have spent tons of money getting the surgical version of what you were born with!
2. Being able to voluntarily unfocus your eyes.
"Only around 50% of people can voluntarily unfocus their eyes," Mezher said, likening it to how only some people can raise one eyebrow. These people "have better control of the muscles that control the lens of the eye, which allows it to go in and out of focus."
The muscle in question is called the ciliary muscle, and it controls the shape of the eye's lens — rounder for sharper focus, flatter for less focus. For most of us, this is an involuntary function that helps us see things at different distances.
But some of us can do it on command, which another doctor online calls "the world's most useless superpower." Just don't do it too often — it can cause eye strain and degrade the eye's natural ability to do it involuntarily.
3. Having an 'auditory narrator' in your head.
"You know that voice in your head throughout the day?" Mezher asked. "Well only around a third of people have that." When I found this out I was astonished, because like many people — a third, apparently — I live 24 hours a day at the mercy of this narration that I quite frankly would like to shut up.
Anyway! What we often call an "inner monologue" is actually called an auditory narrator. So do the two-thirds of people who don't have it just live in blissful silence? Kind of. Mezher explained it thusly: "Instead of saying to themselves, 'I'm gonna go to the shop,' they'll actually see themselves going there." BRB, scheduling a lobotomy to try to become one of these people.
4. Seeing lights when you close your eyes.
Now before you get bummed out that you don't have this, it's a childhood thing that typically disappears as you reach adulthood. So fret not, you may have had them as a youngster! You're still special, probably!
Anyway, they're called phosphenes. They're similar to what you might see when you rub your eyes or cough, but a bit more dazzling. I definitely remember these as a kid, and Mezher's description was spot-on: "It's like going through a time vortex."
He said around 75% of people have them and they typically peak between the ages of 4 and 7 before tapering off as a kid gets closer to adulthood because god forbid adulthood should have anything cool like a ready-made light show just waiting there for you as soon as you close your eyes.
Although some people do have phosphenes as a grown-up if they have certain head injuries or eye diseases. Adulthood really is a scam, isn't it…
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.