When I was a little kid, I operated under the false assumption that I was fairly normal. Boy was I wrong! The older I've gotten, the more I've come to realize how very not normal I am.
Below are 10 tidbits about me that are just NOT NORMAL.
1. The sun makes me sneeze. Until recently, like about 4 minutes ago, I thought that when I felt the urge to sneeze, looking up at the sun would "help" get it out. What I didn't get was that it was the sun that made me need to sneeze in the first place! I thought that worked for everyone, but apparently, I'm in the minority. It's a syndrome. Most people don't sneeze from looking at the sun.
"ACHOO syndrome, or Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst. Autosomal dominant stands for the way the 'sneeze gene' is inherited; an individual has a 50-50 chance of passing this trait on to a child. "Compelling" because it was well, interesting, or at the very least, quirky. "Helio" meant sun, "ophthalmic" meant eye, and "outburst" the end result.
Although this reaction might seem unusual, it's not that uncommon. By one estimate,18% to 35% of people get a tickling sensation in their nose when their eyes meet intense sunlight. Some folks may also get this weird response to bright artificial light, such as the eye doctor's or dentist's light or a photographer's flash."
http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06/05/12052942-does-the-sun-make-you-sneeze-its-not-just-you?lite
2. One day in 8th grade I was sitting innocently at my desk, stretching my fingers, and the boy next to me yelled ( he literally yelled at me) "Stop it! That's so gross! I can't stand seeing that anymore!" I was so shocked. I didn't even understand what he was upset about, until I noticed he was pointing at my hand. That was when I found out that bending my fingers backwards is not normal.
There's a test for people like me- hypermobile people. I score the highest possible score and really, I should score even higher. I'm bendier than the test even tests for. I can touch my pinky to the back of my wrist. Here is the test:
The Beighton Score
Score one point for each yes answer, up to a total of 9 (one for each task or right/left side). A score of at least 4 is required for a preliminary diagnosis of hypermobility. See a medical professional for additional tests to confirm the diagnosis and rule out other conditions.
1. Can you bend your pinky fingers backwards beyond 90 degrees?
2. Do your elbows hyperextend when you straighten your arms?
3. Do your knees hyperextend when you straighten your legs?
4. Can you bend your thumbs down to touch your forearms?
5. Can you place your palms on the ground when bending over with your legs straight?
About 20% of people are hypermobile.
3. I don't look like most people. I grew up with 2 parents and 4 of 5 siblings who looked a lot like me. I thought my coloring was fairly common, but I was wrong. I have pale skin, blue eyes, and dark hair.
Blue Eyes
Blue eyes are genetically recessive, and therefore much less common worldwide. Blue eyes are formed by the absence of pigments in the eye, where the blue color is formed by the scattering of light as it's reflected off the iris. While blue eyes are less common than brown eyes, they are frequently found from nationalities located near the Baltic sea in northern Europe. It's estimated that approximately 8% of the world's population has blue eyes.https://www.aclens.com/Content/Display/323
Blue eyes are just not very common.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/18/world/americas/18iht-web.1018eyes.3199975.html
I can't find an actual statistic on brown hair and blue eyes, but I've learned from experience that it isn't the norm. I just thought it was because so many people in my family have blue eyes and brown hair. We're different. . . together.
4. I knew I was special in the next way, and I'm glad glad glad to be. . .LEFT HANDED! After all, only lefties are in our right minds! I seriously adore left handed jokes. Roughly 10-11% of the population would agree with me, which makes us all pretty special. This percentage of handedness was true way back when people were carving tools with stones and sticks and it's stayed pretty steady for thousands of years. I did consider marrying a left handed man, but never actually dated one, so that didn't work out. Still, I'm pleased to announce that 2.5 of my 6 children are left handed.
5. I'm really good at taking tests. Don't hate me. Just remember I'm not normal. I've always found multiple choice tests to be very easy. I was IQ tested as a child ( a REAL IQ test) and let's just say.. . . Mensa.
"The scores above 115 are generally considered as “high IQ,” and those above 130 to 132 (depending on the test taken) are usually considered highly gifted and are in the top 2 percent of the population. This level also qualifies you for membership in American Mensa."
Interpret your supervised test score - American Mensa, Ltd.
https://www.us.mensa.org/testevaluation/
6. I don't have any scientific evidence for this one. I'm only going off of what people say on
facebook, but, it seems to be true I am in the minority for LIKING having my
kids home for the summer.
7. I can play two recorders through my nose in harmony. Okay, in all fairness, just about
anyone could do this, but how many people DO this? I think it's safe to say this puts me
in a VERY small minority of people who are NOT NORMAL.
8. I have 6 children.
The average American household in 2016 consisted of 2.53 people. As shown in the statistic above, the number of people per household decreased over the past decades. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a household as follows: “a household includes all the persons who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence."
• Average size of households in the U.S. 1960-2016 | Statistic
https://www.statista.com/statistics/183648/average-size-of-households-in-the-us/
A lot of people judge me harshly for deviating from the norm in this way, but I would like
to point out that in my 2,700 sq. ft house, 8 people reside. 8 people share 2 cars.
8 people share the appliances. 8 people are heated and cooled at the same time.
8 people eat mostly homecooked food. 8 people watch 1 television.
8 people live here with a smaller carbon footprint than most people in most homes
in America.
I'm glad to be "not normal" in this way.
9. I like talking in church. I think that's why I never get asked. I've only had 2
opportunities since moving into my ward 10 years ago. I go to church every week, and
I listen to 3 or 4 people give talks, and somewhere between 50- 75% of
those people make comments about not wanting to speak, not liking to speak, and being
sorry for getting tricked into answering the phone or starting a conversation with
a member of the bishopric. So, I guess enjoying talking in church isn't, well, normal.
10. Last but not least, I have had my teeth cut off and reattached. That is just not normal
at all. I am not being dramatic. The only thing keeping my teeth from completely exiting
my mouth was my soft palate. The surgery was called lefort osteotomy.
This is kind of what it looks like inside of my face, although I have some screws all
the way up by my eyes. It was rather unpleasant. You can read all about my experience
here on my blog.
http://beckyandjudd.blogspot.com/search?q=paper+chain
So, there you have it. 10 ways I'm not normal. I could come up with more,
but, enough about me. How are you not normal?
"
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