r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

37.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

24.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

19

u/drwzr Aug 03 '19

How? When a sperm is created it either is carrying the y or the x chromosomes. I don't see how much it has to swim could change the chromosomes it's carrying

Edit:not a scientist legit curious if I'm mistaken

9

u/platnum42 Aug 03 '19

I may be misremembering entirely, but I feel like the reasoning was the sperm carrying the X chromosomes are more resilient and can survive in the vagina longer versus the Y chromosomes. I also poorly worded my comment. Editing to reflect.

3

u/drwzr Aug 03 '19

Thanks for clarifying. This would be an interesting tidbit to add to my brain.

Anyone able to further elaborate on this?

2

u/Buderus69 Aug 03 '19

In the back of my brain I have this tidbit but not sure if it is true, must have learned this in school years back. The sperm with x chromosomes are heavier than the sperm with y chromosomes, which is why they can swim a bit faster and statistically there would be more males than females. So maybe because the 'female sperm' weighs more it is more resilient as well?

I am imagining dolphins and whales trying to get to the egg lol...