Aldehyde dehydrogenase is the enzyme in your liver that helps you get rid of alcohol (actually, it’s the second step in the process, but I digress). Some people of Asian decent have less of this enzyme, so when they drink alcohol, they can turn red; in most texts, this is a mutation that decreases alcohol metabolism.

Turns out that everyone else is the mutation. If you look at animals’ versions of aldehyde dehydrogenase, they’re more similar to the Asian version of the enzyme; so somewhere along the way (Germany? Russia? England?), I evolved the ability to drink more. (Disulfram, a drug that can help alcoholics stop drinking, blocks this enzyme, making you flush, and not enjoy the alcohol as much.)

So no, I can’t control the weather, shoot force beams out of my eyes, or read minds… but I can drink more alcohol. Better than nothing, I guess.

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