David Epstein's new book "The Sports Gene" made headlines last week because it contains a chapter that challenges Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule.

But the book goes way beyond that, and has an incredible number of tidbits about everything from lung size in Kenyan runners to superhuman eye sight among MLB players.

It's a fantastic read about just how meaningful of a role gene play in determining who becomes a world-class athlete.

We picked out our 16 favorite nuggets from the dozens in the book.