By Ray Chang
A lot of things keep me up at night: thoughts of monsters lurking under my bed, thoughts of the future, and regrets of the past. But said thoughts do not make me quite as alert as shower thoughts. Yes, my shower thoughts actually linger even after I have showered. My internal curiosity stays with me constantly, so much so that I just have to write about it.
Just recently, I began pondering the true “nature” of four-leaf clovers (ha, see what I did there). Countless nights, I was isolated with my thoughts on why four-leaf clovers exist and what really causes them to turn out with four leaves. The short answer to my burning question regarding four-leaf clovers, unsurprisingly, comes from simple biology. Basically, four-leaf clovers exist because some shamrocks have a genetic mutation. Usually, when plants produce offspring, dominant genes manifest as the “orthodox” physical trait. The four-leaf clover exhibits a genetic mutation that is expressed as a recessive gene (genes that don’t usually appear in offspring), which consequently manifests as four notable leaves of luck when the rare shamrock matures.
It sure is satisfying to find answers to one’s shower thoughts, but it’s even more satisfying when one finds out some more wonky facts. A 63 leaflet clover, artificially cultivated, has grazed the face of Earth before. Can’t imagine how lucky I’ll be if I ever get my hands on a 63-leaflet clover. Maybe the guy who grew that 63-leaflet clover bought some lottery tickets after taking good care of his record-breaking shamrock.