In your genes

You might be a human relic if you have any of these 12 traits

Image: Cade Proulx

You may have never met your great-great-grandparents, but their biological legacy lives on in you in ways you might not expect. From tiny quirks in your body to odd preferences and physical features, ancestral survival and lifestyle choices have shaped what you carry today. Here are 12 surprising traits that science has linked to deep genetic inheritance.

Image: Katya Ross

A thumb that bends backward at the top joint is known as a hitchhiker’s thumb. It results from a single gene variant.

This trait is controlled by a variation in the gene responsible for joint flexibility. Some people have it in both thumbs, while others only in one. It's a harmless variation that may have been more common in populations requiring greater dexterity.

Image: Max Leveridge

Some babies are born with blue or gray eyes that change color over time. The way this shift unfolds is written in your DNA.

After birth, melanin production in the iris increases over time. Genetic variants in the OCA2 and HERC2 genes regulate melanin levels. These subtle changes can take months or even years to settle into a final eye color.

Image: Alex Guillaume

The ability to roll your tongue into a tube shape is often thought to be purely genetic, and that’s partially true. While you can learn to do it with a lot of practice, studies show it’s also influenced by genes.

Some populations have a higher percentage of tongue rollers, and the trait may have originally been a byproduct of muscle control needed for speech or food manipulation in early humans.

Image: Tim Trad

Acrophobia, or intense fear of heights, has a genetic link tied to survival instincts from your prehistoric ancestors.

People with heightened depth perception or balance issues may inherit a stronger fight-or-flight response to elevation. This reaction likely helped early humans avoid dangerous cliffs or falling from trees.

Image: KaLisa Veer

Strange as it sounds, redheads often experience pain differently. Some studies suggest they have a higher threshold for certain types of pain, while others indicate increased sensitivity to specific stimuli like cold or heat.

This is linked to ancient adaptations in the MC1R gene, which influences melanin production and also affects pain modulation through opioid receptors in the brain. Variants of this gene were more common in populations from colder regions, such as prehistoric Europe.

Image: Chermiti Mohamed

Freckles are genetic, but they bloom with sun exposure due to the way ancestral DNA interacts with UV light.

In fact, the same MC1R gene involved in red hair also influences how melanin clusters into freckles. This is because freckling was advantageous for fair-skinned populations needing some UV protection without full pigmentation.

Image: Anita Jankovic

The ability to digest milk into adulthood is a relatively recent mutation in human history. Populations with pastoralist ancestors—such as Northern Europeans and some East Africans—evolved lactase persistence, the continued production of the enzyme lactase that enables them to digest milk throughout adulthood.

Most of the world remains lactose intolerant, but those with this mutation can thank their ancestors for a genetic advantage linked to dairy-based survival.

Image: Thomas Park

Weirdly enough, some people sneeze when exposed to sunlight or even just bright lights. This phenomenon, known as the "photic sneeze reflex," affects 18–35% of people and is linked to genetics.

While this inherited quirk is harmless, it likely results from crossed nerve signals between the optic and trigeminal nerves, the latter of which controls facial sensations and reflexes like sneezing.

Image: Claudia Love

Also called Morton’s toe, this feature was once thought to improve balance or running efficiency. The trait is hereditary and common in certain populations.

Greek statues often depict this toe shape, suggesting it was either idealized or prevalent in ancient Mediterranean groups. Biomechanical studies show mixed results, but some suggest that a longer second toe can affect posture and gait.

Image: Mika Ruusunen

People with ancestry from colder regions often have inherited a better tolerance to cold. Adaptations such as higher basal metabolic rates, subcutaneous fat distribution, and heat-conserving blood vessel responses are linked to genetic clusters in populations like the Inuit or Sámi.

Genes like UCP1, which influence fat burning and thermogenesis, are more active in these populations.

Image: Marco Bianchetti

Some people have a vestigial muscle in the forearm that others lack entirely. Called the palmaris longus, it once helped tree-climbing primates enhance their arm strength.

Today, about 14% of people are born without it in one or both arms. It has little to no effect on grip strength, making it a living fossil of human evolution. Interestingly, when present, it’s often harvested for surgical grafts because its absence doesn’t impair function.

Image: Bethany Beck

Clockwise or counterclockwise hair whorls are influenced by genetics, and some studies link their direction to the same genes that affect handedness. However, identical twins can sometimes have opposite whorl patterns, suggesting a mix of genetics and early fetal environment.

This trait has no known survival function but may serve as a visible marker of underlying developmental processes during early embryonic growth.

LINGUISTIC MINEFIELD

Ten Surprising Military Terms That Made It Into Sports

Image: Riley McCullough

Military terminology often infiltrates our everyday language, and sports are no exception. From strategies to equipment, the lexicon of warfare has found its way onto the field, court, and pitch. We can blame the Ancient Greeks for this connection, where many feats of athleticism - like javelin throwing or chariot racing - were clearly inspired by war and military tactics.

Although we can be certain that there is no comparing the realities of war to sports, no matter how rough the plays, the association is deeply embedded in our language. Here are ten curious instances where military terms have made it into sports!

Image: Chino Rocha

In many sports, a "counterattack" is a swift offensive maneuver launched in response to an opponent's attack, exploiting vulnerabilities in their defense. This term mirrors military counter-offensives, aiming to turn the tide of battle in one's favor by thwarting an enemy offensive and recovering lost ground in the process.

A saying attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte illustrates the vital importance of this strategy both in war and sports: "The greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory."

Image: Courtney Cook

In golf, "fore" is a warning shouted by players to alert others of an errant shot heading their way. The most accepted etymology for this term claims that it comes from "beware before," a term artillerymen used to shout to warn fellow soldiers standing nearby that they were about to shoot their cannons.

Its modern usage in golf serves basically the same purpose, as it allows nearby players to react quickly and seek cover to avoid being struck by a stray ball.

Image: Vince Fleming

In volleyball, a "Filipino bomb" or just a "bomb" is a powerful, high-speed serve aimed at overwhelming the opposing team's defense, also called a spike. As its name suggests, the term originated among volleyball players in the Philippines, in the 1910s.

Like its military counterpart, this aggressive tactic seeks to create chaos and disrupt the opponent's strategy.

Image: Geoff Scott

In football, a "blitz" refers to a defensive strategy where additional players rush the quarterback to disrupt the offense.

Meaning "lightning" in German, the term is a reference to the blitzkrieg tactics developed by the German forces during World War II, where a quick combined arms attack would be used to disrupt enemy lines and rapidly advance positions on the battlefield.

Image: Keith Johnston

In football, an "air raid" refers to a series of aerial attacks, typically involving long, high passes aimed at breaching the opposing team's defense. This term quite plainly draws parallels to military airstrikes aimed at penetrating enemy lines.

Coaches such as Mike Leach and Hal Mumme have popularized this offensive scheme since the late 80s, but the term has been applied to similar tactics since at least the 1940s.

Image: Pedro Henrique Santos

In motorsports, a "minefield" often describes a very difficult track or even a section of a track that is littered with debris, oil slicks, or other hazards, making navigation treacherous for drivers. This term mirrors the dangers of navigating an actual minefield, where caution and precision can make the difference between life and death.

Image: Markus Spiske

In basketball, employing a "full court press" means aggressively defending the opposing team from one end of the court to the other, effectively "surrounding" the opposing team and blocking action.

Reminiscent of military encirclement strategies, this tactic aims to apply relentless pressure on the offense. Perhaps not coincidentally, the strategy was first applied by college coaches whose previous experience was with military sports leagues.

Image: Jose Francisco Morales

During World War I, baseball lingo and military lingo happened to live in extremely close quarters, as baseball was one of the most popular sports among North American troops stationed in the European trenches at the time.

This led to many baseball terms being applied to the battlefield, and also a few military terms being introduced into baseball. For example, the term "dud" was often used to describe a bad pitch, a term originally used for ammunition that failed to detonate upon impact.

Image: gerhard crous

In hockey, a "sniper" refers to a player known for their exceptional accuracy and ability to score goals with precise shots. Much like a military sniper who carefully selects and executes their targets from a distance, a hockey sniper strategically positions themselves to take advantage of scoring opportunities, often trying to catch the goaltender off guard.

Image: Martin Reisch

In American football, the "neutral zone" is the area between the offensive and defensive lines before the play begins.

Like many terms in gridiron football, it has a military origin. In fact, it is directly borrowed from military demilitarized zones, which represent an agreed buffer area between opposing forces where neither side holds dominance.