Ok so this is a little odd, but I'm "double jointed" in my elbows, technically there's no such thing, but my elbows don't stop where they should, and it somehow freaks everyone out. I had never been self concious about it until people started trying to karate chop my elbows into 'normal' position, or some weird teenage girls were asking me if it hurt. You wouldn't ask someone who is blind if it hurts to be blind, why is it ok to pick on me b/c I have flexible joints? Ok rant over. I was watching a VMA rerun and noticed April has the same elbows like me. I'm not a circus freak! Anyone else have something odd that you don't think anyone should make a big deal about but they do?
jt

I think it's called "hyperextension". Somehow I remember it from junior high archery; some people have hyperextended elbows and some don't. It's not really that unusual.

xoe

Xoe,
That's it!
I couldn't remember the name, but it just seems so odd that complete strangers come up to insult me about them. As if I am some sort of weird freakazoid, good to know it's common. I just know I shouldn't do gymnastics, b/c i'd be more likely to break both my arms b/c of the hyperextension
jt

oh, jt, I have chicken arms too. I wouldn't say my elbow joints are TOO flexible, but I guess some people just aren't used to them! so I call them chicken arms, which sounds terrible, and it usually shames people who are making fun of me. "what, you're making fun of my chicken arms? well *sigh*, I guess I have flexible elbows!" usually does the trick.

other things that I don't think are weird but which others do: my weird leaps of train of thought. like, it's jumping the tracks. oh, I don't think so, but apparently my thought processes are wired a little weirder than other peoples. I cultivate this, and try to present myself as an eccentric genius (genius or not, it's a fun image to have!)

Heh... I have the same brain process. My ex-bf calls it "speaking of snakes" because once once when he was talking about something entirely else, I said, "Speaking of snakes, blah blah blah..." because whatever he was talking about was linked with snakes in my brain. I think I have a hyperlinked brain. I was born for the Internet.

My fingers are the scary-flexy part of my physiology. My thumbs will bend down from the wrist flat against my forearm and my pinky fingers can lie nearly flat against the back of my hand. The finger joints bend backwards at 45-90 degree angles. It scares small children and husbands. :-) It also makes bracelet wearing difficult because my hands are all flex-y move-y by nature, so when I'm just fiddly being, bracelets slip off.

I have weird pinky fingers. It's a heriditary thing, the middle bone of each finger is triangular making the fingers crooked inward. Lots of people think I broke them ... but no. A palm reader told me that having crooked pinkies meant I was bad with money, but I can assure you, that is not true.

my baby toes will not lay flat on the ground.. they just sort of lean up against the toe next to them and hang out. for some reason, people think it looks hilarious and feel the need to make comments. boo. and once, when i was little, this kid convinced me that i would have to get them cut off or i would die. it was pretty scary.

jen

jtsang, I have the same hyper extended elbows!!! I've never had someone come up to me on the street, but I've had people freak out and get all weirded out. I used to be on the tall flag team (color gaurd) in high school... we had to make angles with our arms and it was always obvious then because my arms bent slightly the wrong way when I made a high-v! I can also hold my arm straight down and rest it on a table or something and make my elbow do a 90 degree turn on it's own. I've never shown anyone that though.. hehe.

**edited to add: I also have two slightly webbed toes. no one notices unless I tell them and my great-grandmother used to always say they'd make me a better swimmer. haha! I never realized how much of a freak I am. =)

Thank god I'm not the only one! I often sit and rest my hands on my lap. My elbows just tend to stop where they stop and not in the 'normal' position, I suppose that weirds people out, but really, it's not painful I swear. My fingers also bend back really far. I'm just a very flexible girl, I guess that's why I won the 'flat split' award in dance class as a kid, funny story, the engravers engraved 'flat spirit' heehee, but my dance teacher had them replaced :)
Thank goodness I'm not alone...
jt

I have hyperextensive knees, meaning they sotra pop back instead of standing straight to the ground. Hard to explain. Also, my toes, especially the middle three, curl under themselves, so it sometimes looks like I've had the end of my toes cut off!

my elbows hyperextend too. i thought it was normal until i showed a friend and they freaked out.

and i have freakish long 2nd toes.

OMG!
How thankful am I that I found glitter?! I now know that I am not the only "elbow freak" in this world!!!!
I didn't watch the VMA's so I didn't know that April had this either, but now I'll be looking for it if I see a rerun!

I have been able to hyperextend my elbows for as long as I can remember, but whenever I'm stretching or leaning on something I either become an object of entertainment or disgust. Unfortunately, it was usually the later and my roommate would always shriek, "Ugh! Don't do that thing with your elbow! You need to go to the hospital!"

Personally, I think it's cool but have always been too embarrassed to admit so. Now that I know I'm not alone, I think it's very cool :)
Circus freaks unite!

i have weeeiiird feet...
they have a really, stupidly high arch, and my smallest three toes are permanently curled under. they're ugly. i think it has something to do with the muscles in the backs of my legs - they're too short, and so i default to walking on my toes until they stretch out.