Human Marvels
The McGuire Twins
Many of you might already know about the McGuire Twins, since they appeared on both Family Guy and The Simpsons. But when I realized they hadn't yet been mentioned anywhere on WU, I thought I should correct that.The two claimed to be the world's heaviest twins. And they probably were. They both weighed well over 700 lbs at their heaviest.
They were born Billy and Benny McCrary. The McGuire Twins was a stage name they adopted later during their professional wrestling career.
Apparently they were of normal weight until age 10, when a case of measles left both of them with malfunctioning pituitary glands, and their weight started to balloon.
They're best known for riding around on their Honda mini-bikes.
More info: goodsparkgarage.com and wikipedia.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 09, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Human Marvels
Miss Plump of Coney Island
The winner of the 1925 Miss Plump of Coney Island contest was Jolly Irene, which was the stage name of sideshow performer Amanda Siebert. According to Marc Hartzman's American Sideshow:The pounds piled up and the flesh got fleshier. Diets were ineffective, leaving her helpless against her newly acquired mass. One reporter later described her as having "biceps three times as large as Jack Dempsey." But at 620 pounds, rather than box the heavyweight champion, she turned her tragedy into profit by joining Ringling Bros.
Siebert died in 1940, at the age of 65.
Baltimore Sun - Aug 26, 1925
Central New Jersey Home News - Nov 20, 1925
Louisville Courier-Journal - Dec 1, 1940
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 28, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Human Marvels, 1920s
The Carsony Brothers
An unjustly forgotten trio of acrobats.
Full film below.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 21, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Human Marvels, Twentieth Century
Armless Driver Fights Loss of License
Ray Myers was known as the 'armless musician.' He was born in 1911 without arms, but he taught himself to play the guitar with his feet, and he became quite accomplished. Good enough that he was considered to be talented in his own right, not just as a curiosity.
Myers also taught himself how to drive a car using only his feet. Not a specially outfitted car. Just a normal one. (Though I'm assuming it was an automatic.) But in 1965, after driving without incident for 29 years, he lost his license. The reason: the state's new computer flagged his license to be revoked when it came across the notation in his file that he had been "born without arms."
Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Jan 18, 1965
Myers appealed the decision, and (probably thanks to all the media attention the case got) was allowed to take a special exam. Two weeks later he was driving again.
Sayre Evening Times - Jan 28, 1965
Myers died in 1987 at the age of 75. More info about him at missioncreep.com and Arcane Radio Trivia.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 07, 2017 -
Comments (7)
Category: Human Marvels, 1960s, Cars
The Tomorrow People
Combine The Mod Squad with The X-Men and you have The Tomorrow People.
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 06, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Human Marvels, Television, Comics, Science Fiction, 1970s, Europe, Differently Abled, Handicapped, Challenged, and Otherwise Atypical
Big-Mouthed Boy
Young Leonard Hanstein, aka Big-Mouthed Boy, had a talent for stuffing things in his mouth.
Pittsburgh Press - Apr 30, 1939
Detroit Free Press - July 9, 1939
Sheboygan Press - Apr 13, 1939
Drew Friedman included a caricature of Hanstein in his book Sideshow Freaks (2011), and claimed that Hanstein made a living for a while by displaying his talent.
I came across a columnist (below) musing in 1969 about what might have happened to Hanstein, but the question went unanswered. The only other biographical info I can find about Hanstein is that he died in 1994 at the age of 70, still living in Oklahoma.
Fairbanks Daily News - Feb 22, 1969
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 03, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Human Marvels, 1930s
Beulah Miller, the Girl with X-Ray Vision
Very proud to have a resident of my native Rhode Island exhibit this uncanny power.
Although not everyone was so positive, as the NYT coverage from April 23, 193, shows.
Original article here.
Further coverage here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 03, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Human Marvels, Children, 1910s
Joan Ridgway, Yodeling Cowgirl
Plenty more of her on YouTube. But hardly any biographical info. What little there is seems to indicate that despite all cultural signifiers, she was Australian, not American.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Feb 21, 2017 -
Comments (6)
Category: Human Marvels, Music, 1950s, Australia, North America
World’s Oldest Active Salesman: 1939
Jump to 3:12 for this feature. I hope I move as good at that age as Charles Thurston did.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 30, 2017 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Human Marvels, 1930s, Cars
Alma Deutscher
Alma Deutscher, 11-year-old composer, about to premiere her first full opera, "Cinderella"
Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 20, 2016 -
Comments (1)
Category: Human Marvels, Music, Children
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |