Strange Facts From Around The World

We often hear about strange, extraordinary events, which in most cases involve normal, ordinary people, who sometimes don’t even realize themselves that they are “special”. In other cases, people whose appearance changes from what is considered to be “the standard”, the “normal”, are sadly considered weird and in the worst cases, marginalized and ridiculed. It is such an unfortunate occurrence that human beings should inflict emotional distress and pain to other human beings, on such superficial basis (not that it is ever justified to make others suffer, no matter what the circumstance).

Things seem to have changed positively in our days, but there is still discrimination and marginalization going, for many. In the old days though it was even worse. People with corporal anomalies, were abused to the point of being used as circus attractions.

1.      The Elephant Man

John Merrick, lived in London in the 19th century. He had a rare disease that had deformed his head and body. His skin was also rough and lumpy and because of his deformities he was named “The elephant man”. People were teasing him for his weird appearance and he was even  exhibited as a human curiosity. He was saved by a doctor, in 1890. The doctor found out, John was actually a very nice and kind man. John Merrick died pretty young, at the age of 30.

2.      The lucky guy

In 1997, a teenager in Hungary, was stabbed with a knife in the chest. Doctors thought he would die, because the knife had pierced the heart. Or in this case, where the heart should have been. It turned out that actually the boy’s heart was situated on the right side of his chest. This abnormality changed his life.

3.      The three eyes

A Chinese man named Deng, has three eyes. His extra eye, which has an eyebrow and eyelashes, is situated at the side of his head.

4.      The men with three legs

Frank Lentini joined the circus in 1898. At that time he was only 9 years old. He had an extra bone that grew from the lower part of his spine. He became known as the “Three legged miracle”. He died in Florida, in 1966.

Source: Wikipedia

             Mysteries of the Body and Soul, John Townsend