A couple weeks ago, I shared a Reddit thread where people revealed the unusual things their bodies do that, TBH, they had no idea were "unusual" until someone else pointed it out. As someone with a Weird Body™️ whose had this happen on more than one occasion, it's a jarring feeling to say the least. But I've gotta say, it was a little reassuring to read the comments and see that I'm not, in fact, alone in having this experience. In fact, a lot of people resonated with it and shared their own experiences. So, without further ado, here are 19 more "Oh...I thought everyone's bodies did that!" stories, as shared by BuzzFeed readers like you:
1. "I have an area on my chin that makes me hiccup when rubbed or pressed on. I have never heard of anyone else having this. I've even asked doctors about it, but nobody has ever heard of such a thing. It's very annoying when shaving or laying on my stomach, or like when I rest my chin on my hands. Sometimes I just hiccup once; sometimes I have the hiccups for awhile. My daughter loves to sneak attack me with my 'hiccup button' and finds it hilarious."
2. "About 10 years ago, I was eating with a bunch of folks at work, and I was like, 'What do you folks do to get rid of the itching in your mouth after you eat peaches, nectarines, or plums?' That is how I learned I had a mild allergy to stone fruit."
3. "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? 😅"
4. "I found out when I was in school that it’s not very common to have a photic sneeze reflex, aka sneezing every time you are in bright light. It's mostly induced by sunlight for me."
5. "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."
6. "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. :)"
7. "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."
8. "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.'"
9. "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?'"
10. "My ear canals itch like crazy when the pressure changes. I assumed it happened to everybody until I was about 25 and my new doc noticed the surgical scars on my ear drums (from tubes as a baby). He said, 'Oh, I can give you some drops that will help with the sting when it rains.'"
11. "I have now realized in my 30s that not everyone feels physical pain when they witness others being hurt like I do. I get an electric shock throughout my body when I see someone else get hurt. I also will feel that dropping feeling if I see a rollercoaster video or people bungee jumping. It’s a version of mirror-touch synesthesia."
12. "If I laugh too hard, I will vomit. I thought this was normal until I was in high school."
13. "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."
14. "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."
15. "I only recently learned most people cannot make their eyes focus and unfocus on command. How did I learn this? My husband and I decided to have a staring contest, and I like to win, so I just unfocused and zoned out. He was like, 'How did you do that?' So I explained and he was baffled, so we polled our friends. That's when I found out that’s not a normal thing to be able to do."
16. "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. 🤷♀️"
17. "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."
18. "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."
19. And finally, "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."
Does your body do any unusual things like these? If so, tell us about them in the comments below! You can read more stories like this here.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.