Yael: Hey Don, do you have a Q-tip?

Don: What for?

Y: I want to see what kind of earwax you have.

D: Hmm...well let's see. Looks sort of brown and gooey. Why do you ask?

Y: You know how more people in the world have brown eyes than blue, and dark hair      is more common than fair?

D: Yeah, sure.

Y: Well, you, my friend, have a very common type of earwax. In fact, as a Caucasian,      you have almost no chance of having the other type.

D: Other type?

Y: Yea, dry earwax! It's sort of grey and flakey. Most people of East Asian or Native      American descent have dry earwax, but people of Caucasian or African descent      almost always have the moist type. People from other areas of the world are more      likely to have moist earwax too.

D: So what makes earwax gooey then?

Y: One single change on one single gene makes all the difference. If the gene is switched      to "dry," then the stuff that makes ear wax gunk up doesn't get produced.

D: You know, I've always been told earwax works like flypaper because it traps dust      and bugs, and keeps things like that out of our ears.

Y: That's true. Earwax is a mixture of oil, dead skin cells and a scented substance that      comes from special sweat glands in your outer ear canal. Those sweat glands are      similar to the ones under your armpits, and scientists have found that people with      "dry earwax" also sweat less and have less body odor.

D: Well, that fact will stick with me for a long time to come. May I throw away this      Q-tip now?  

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