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Rare Tiny Holes In People's Ears Could Be 'Remnants Of Fish Gills'

Rare Tiny Holes In People's Ears Could Be 'Remnants Of Fish Gills'

Pin back your ears and listen to this

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

The human body is a strange thing. We're all essentially the same, but everyone is different - some of us can roll our tongues, some of us can dislocate our shoulder for a laugh.

Well, apparently one in every 100 people in Britain also has a tiny hole above their ear. It's rare, but the chances are you know someone who has one.

Wikipedia

Whilst you rack your brains trying to think about which of your friends that is, here's why.

Apparently they are called preauricular sinuses and if you've got one, don't worry, they are a totally normal and fine thing to have.

Whilst they are pretty unusual in the UK, they occur with a much greater frequency in other parts of the world. In fact, in certain places it's more like one in 10 people rather than one in 100 people who have them.

They are pretty much always where the ear attaches to the side of your face and just look like a tiny dimple at the top of the ear. If you weren't looking you'd never know they were there.

The common abnormality was first reported in 1864 in a study by a scientist known as Van Heusinger. They can be found on both ears in some people, but just in one in others.

Some cultures have developed their own mythology around them - in Ethiopia they are supposed to be a sign of great wealth.

There are a couple of theories as to why people have them. They are basically a hereditary birth defect and they develop whilst you are a very small foetus, but one evolutionary biologist called Neil Shubin told Business Insider that they could be an "evolutionary remnant of fish gills".

It's pretty widely believed that we evolved from fish, so that checks out. Don't go thinking you can breathe underwater if you've got preauricular sinuses, though, that would be really dumb.

The worst thing that will happen to you if you've got them is that they might get infected, but it's pretty easily treated with antibiotics and, after all, the same could happen to just about any part of you.

Instagram

Some people have joked online that they offer a cheap alternative to getting a weird piercing on your ear. Let's be clear - you should not do that.

Featured Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Topics: Interesting