Mutation as a Harbinger of Fortune

I was once engaged in a vigorous argument with a biochemist.

Now, you might say, "Charlie, you're basically a slow version of a typist. Stop arguing with the real scientists and go draw some boxes on the white board. That always makes you feel better."

Ordinarily, you would be right. This time was different though. This time I was right!  (For the record, I always think this is the case, and it's almost never true, but this time it actually was!)

His name was Dan. His name wasn't really Dan, it was something more like "damrung". He was from Laos.  Since Americans can't pronounce anything and it also sounded a little too much like "damn wrong" he figured it was better to go by Dan. Anyway, we'll call him Dan.

Dan didn't think four-leaf clovers were a real thing. I think in his head they were on the level with leprechauns.  I, on the other hand, am a veteran clover hunter and knew they were very real. Unfortunately, without an example, I was unable to prevail that day.

Believe it or not, I find a few four-leafers every year. Unfortunately, I can't ever prove this because I don't pick them. When I was in my early-teens I decided that if I picked one for myself, that would negate the luck.  I could pick one and give it to another person, but never keep it for myself. When I find one now, I kinda pat it to let it know I see it, and move on. Generally, people don't tend to believe this either -- because of the whole evidence problem.

To my surprise, I've met bunches of people who've never found one, as well as a few people here and there who share Dan's "they're a myth" viewpoint. Well, not any more. When I was mowing earlier, I noticed one in the front lawn.  That means I was near my camera :)



I figured I'd go with the video because you never can get a picture that looks convincing. Now, if I ever bump into Dan again, hopefully he'll have an iphone and we can end this thing.

The four-leaf clover in the video above was actually the second mutant I found.  I only noticed it after giving this five-leafer a light trimming.



I've long held to the rule that only the four-leaf ones are lucky, but the five-and-over crowd is still cool.

And if you're wondering, "Gasp!  Did you just mow them?!?!"  Yes, yes I did.  But I noticed that the four-leafer was juuuust short enough to duck under the blades.  Lucky, I suppose.