Is this the rarest blood type in the world?
Maybe you know your blood type off the top of your head—or maybe you’re like most Canadians and you have no clue. You should probably find out. Here’s one reason: You could have “golden blood.” And while having golden blood might sound exciting, this incredibly rare type has the potential to be deadly for people who have it. (Here are seven ways to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.)
Each of the common blood types—A, B, AB, and O—comes in negative and positive versions. Of these eight main categories, O positive is the most common, according to Canadian Blood Services. AB negative is identified as the least common blood type in Canada; less than one per cent of the population has it.
While that sounds pretty rare, AB negative has nothing on the rarest blood type of all—one that fewer than 50 people in the entire world have—which is why scientists have nicknamed it “golden blood.” The type, whose scientific name is Rhnull blood, was discovered in 1961. Since then, there have been a total of 43 reported cases. Its rarity and unique properties combine to make it potentially dangerous, should someone with this type ever need a blood transfusion. (These are the diseases doctors are most likely to miss.)
The reason identifying your blood type is so important is that your red blood cells have receptors called antigens. If you receive a transfusion, your immune system will only accept the antigens that match your blood type. If you get the wrong type—and a mismatched set of antigens—+your immune system will attack the blood cells, with disastrous and potentially deadly results for you. The rarest blood type, Rhnull blood, is so called because it’s completely missing the most common type of antigen, Rh. This means that if you have it, receiving a transfusion of a blood type with any Rh antigens will cause your body to reject the blood. (Read about eight unsolved medical mysteries that still stump doctors.)
Since 99.9999994 per cent of people have blood with Rh antigens, finding a blood donor for Rhnull individuals can be nearly impossible. This is why people who have golden blood are encouraged to donate their blood in case they ever need blood, and because others with rare blood types could benefit from it. Since Rhnull blood contains no Rh antigens to be rejected, it can be “a universal donor for those with generally rare blood types,” according to David Barbour, co-founder of Vivio Life Sciences.
Golden blood, therefore, can be both life-threatening and lifesaving. And while your chances of having the rarest blood type are incredibly low, finding out your blood type is the only way to know for sure.
This man’s blood donation has saved the lives of 2.4-million—and counting!
1. Kwanzaa began in the United States
Since Kwanzaa is a pan-African and African-American holiday, some people incorrectly assume it originated in Africa. In actuality, it has American roots. Maulana Karenga, born Ronald McKinley Everett in Parsonsburg, Maryland, founded the holiday in 1966 during the civil rights movement. Then just 25 years old, Karenga was a black nationalist and activist intent on liberating African-Americans from racial oppression, in part by building pride and unity around their cultural origins. Karenga went on to earn two PhDs and is currently chair of the department of Africana Studies at California State University Long Beach. (Here are 10 things you should never post on social media during the holidays.)
2. The holiday is modelled after harvest festivals
Although celebrated in the winter, Kwanzaa is patterned after harvest festivals traditionally celebrated by many African cultures and tribes. The word “Kwanzaa” comes from “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. Like other harvest festivals, Kwanzaa includes a feast called Karamu on day six of the holiday.
3. The number “7” carries symbolism for Kwanzaa
Seven is an important, even mystical, number in many cultures and traditions. Seven was a central number for the Rosicrucians and ancient Egyptians; there are seven deadly sins in Catholicism; there are seven days in a week. Seven also features prominently in Kwanzaa. Not only does the holiday last for seven days—December 26 through January 1—but there are also seven symbols, including seven candles to be lit, and seven principles. The seven basic symbols of Kwanzaa are: mazao (the crops), mkeka (the mat), kinara (the candle holder), muhindi (the corn), mishumaa saba (the seven candles), kikombe cha umoja (the unity cup), and zawadi (the gifts).
4. The seven principles reinforce values of African culture
Each day of Kwanzaa has a specific principle that participants are meant to talk about, celebrate, and reflect upon: unity (umoja in Swahili), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba), and faith (imani). “I don’t think there will ever be a time when the principles of Kwanzaa will not be important or timely,” Kellie Carter Jackson, PhD, assistant professor in the department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College and co-editor of Reconsidering Roots: Race, Politics, and Memory, tells Reader’s Digest. “It’s a great time for reflection and now more than ever our country needs to be reminded of unity.”
5. Lighting candles is a big part of the celebration
The ceremonial lighting of candles is a rite of focus and remembrance in many traditions around the world. Seven candles are lit during the seven days of Kwanzaa, representing the seven key principles of the holiday. They are placed in a candle-holder called a kinara. There are three green candles, three red, and one black. The black candle—representing the people, collectively—is lit each day, then an additional candle that coincides with that day’s specific principle. (Don’t miss these royal family holiday traditions!)
6. The Kwanzaa feast is steeped in tradition
During the Karamu, or Karamu Ya Imani (Feast of Feasts), everyone present drinks from the unity cup. After everyone has a sip of water, juice, or wine from the cup, the oldest person at the celebration asks for a blessing from God or from the ancestors of those who are present. At large feasts, rather than family dinners, people may sip from their own small cups, but at the same time. This is also a time to honor the elders in the family.
7. Kwanzaa gifts are often homemade
On the last day of the holiday, people exchange gifts. In line with the principle of creativity, Kwanzaa gifts are traditionally homemade. But families also buy creative gifts such as books, music, and art, or—in line with the principle of cooperative economics—they are purchased from black-owned businesses. “We give meaningful zawadi (gifts) to encourage growth, self-determination, achievement, and success,” writes Dorothy Winbush Riley, author of The Complete Kwanzaa Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest. “We exchange the gifts with members of our immediate family, especially the children, to promote or reward accomplishments and commitments kept… Accepting a gift implies a moral obligation to fulfill the promise of the gift; it obliges the recipient to follow the training of the host. The gift cements social relationships, allowing the receiver to share the duties and the rights of a family member. Accepting a gift makes the receiver part of the family and promotes Umoja.”
8. The colours of Kwanzaa have specific meanings
The green candles and green parts of the Kwanzaa flag stand for hope and the future, two appropriate and universal themes for the end of the year. The red candles and the red in the Kwanzaa flag represent the struggle of the people. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.’ All progress is contingent upon struggle,” says Dr. Carter Jackson. “I tell my students all the time that the abolition of slavery, the right to vote, and even the end of Jim Crow was not inevitable. People actively resisted and fought against oppression for change to come. Hope is not a strategy on its own. I’m always encouraged for the future when I see people taking a stand for what is right and pushing to make it happen.”
Next, check out these holiday food traditions from around the world.
Who is Queen Elizabeth’s right-hand man?
As mere commoners, most of us wake up to the loud buzz of an alarm clock, but Queen Elizabeth II wakes up to the sounds of bagpipes playing. The Piper to the Sovereign has been a coveted royal household position with only 15 people who have held the title since its inception in 1843. She enjoys the melodies so much that she brings her royal bagpiper to all of her United Kingdom residences, except for Sandringham House due to the lack of accommodations. It is even said that the royal bagpiper travels with her more often than her own husband, Prince Philip! (Don’t miss the ways Queen Elizabeth II sends her staff secret messages.)
Every morning at 9:00 on the dot, you’ll find the piper below the British monarch’s bedroom window proudly blowing into his bagpipes for exactly 15 minutes. He even pipes at the dinner table! “People can hear the pipes around the estate,” a royal source from Balmoral Castle told the Daily Mail.
But you better not play the same tune twice. Although most royal pipers remain tight-lipped about their past royal duties, Gordon Webster, a Piper to the Sovereign from the 1990s, said that he had memorized about 700 tunes because the Queen didn’t like to hear the same tunes repeated in a day. (Make sure you know these “facts” about Queen Elizabeth II that just aren’t true.)
Other Piper to the Sovereign duties include escorting the Queen to the audiences she has throughout the day and coordinating the military pipers who play at state banquets.
Queen Victoria instated the royal bagpiping position when she saw that the Marquis of Breadalbane in Scotland had his own piper. In a letter to her mother she wrote, “We have heard nothing but bagpipes since we have been in the beautiful Highlands and I’ve become so fond of it that I mean to have a piper.” Soon after, the Piper to the Sovereign title became official.
Pipe Major Scott Methven of the 5 Scots Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was appointed in 2015 to be Queen Elizabeth II’s new Piper to the Sovereign. It’s considered one of the highest accolades to a piper in the Armed Forces. But the Daily Mail recently reported that he had to relinquish his duties because of unexpected family reasons. Due to Methven’s abrupt resignation, this is the first time there has been no official bagpipe player for the Queen since the four-year gap during World War II.
The good news is that the Queen’s staff is hurrying to line up a replacement for her so she can listen to her beloved bagpipes once again.
Next, here are the 13 reasons why Queen Elizabeth will never give up the throne.
In conversation with actor and writer Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
Reader’s Digest Canada: What have you learned from your stint as the host of Canada’s Smartest Person Junior?
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee: The good hosts make it look easy—everyone watching thinks, “I can do that.” The reality is that there’s a lot you have to do on your feet. You have to take a script that was rewritten seconds before you say it and make it sound believable. You don’t know who’s going to win, get eliminated or how these kids will react.
What was your relationship like with the child contestants?
My main job was to make them feel secure and safe enough to just be themselves. I think we established that at the beginning because I kept screwing up. Kids love when they can laugh at someone who makes mistakes. I’d never [hosted a show of this scale] before, so I made plenty.
Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. How do you think you’d fare as a contestant?
These kids are solving things that would take adults five to 10 minutes to guess. It’s stunning. The linguistics problems were easy for me, but then again, that’s my strength. When it came to music: “Find that note” or “how many times did this note play?” I don’t know! Who knows that?
With Kim’s Convenience and now Canada’s Smartest Person Junior, you’ve become a staple of Canadian TV. How important was TV to you growing up?
When my family first moved to Canada, we spoke nothing but Korean. Television for me was how I learned to speak English. It shaped my sense of humour, my sense of storytelling and what I found appealing. But for a long time, I’d only seen Western families portrayed. I thought, “My family story isn’t up there, and it’s because I’m not important enough.” You carry that with you—even subconsciously.
Thankfully, a lot has changed in terms of representation, both behind and in front of the camera.
We’re seeing more authentic portrayals of different communities and cultures, and it’s exciting. Growing up, the biggest argument against [diversity on screen] was that it’s not relatable. With movies like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians, we’re seeing that it’s simply not true. We’ve been fed the same diet of stuff for so long, and everybody’s tired of it. Audiences demand more now.
What words of advice do you have for actors of colour?
I’ve met a lot of young actors who think they should be handed roles solely because they’re minorities. But you know what? You still need to bring your craft and work your butt off. You’re given so few chances to succeed, and even fewer chances to fail, so you have to be prepared when the opportunities come.
Can you imagine yourself doing anything else other than acting?
Originally, I wanted to be a writer and visual artist. My girlfriend was going to the University of Toronto, so I decided to go there. I remember hearing about the drama program and fell in love with it. I like to think I was a good storyteller, and acting was just a natural extension of that. At first it was all wine and roses, but then the harsh realities of graduating settled in. Then it was, “Okay, now how do I get a job?”
What sets Canada’s Smartest Person Junior apart from other game shows?
Because it’s elimination-style, you get to know the competitors, and you’ll find your favourites and the ones you root for the most. They’re all competing, but the level of sportsmanship and intelligence is tremendous. It’ll be lovely for audiences to see.
Canada’s Smartest Person Junior premieres Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC.
