1. Mary Toft- the woman who gave birth to rabbits
I remember finding this one on OMGfacts.com a long time ago- and at the time I was so intrigued by it- wondering why the hell someone would do such a thing- and how and if it was possible. At the time I was reading it I had been talking to my boyfriend- and he just let me alone calling me "a bit weird" which is fine- I AM weird. and I fully accept it.In the end it turns out it was (obviously) a hoax- but her reasons behind it were merely for fame....and possibly something wrong in her head.
also those poor rabbits!
you can read a detailed account here- Mary toft on wikipedia
Either way the story with her basically goes that she became pregnant- back in those days people were very...whats the word? Stupid. They thought things like "the baby will be deaf if you hear a loud noise while pregnant." and other such nonsense like that. So while Mary was with child she had been startled by a rabbit. Became obsessed with them And got this crazy Idea in her head.
She ended up losing her baby, but decided to try for fame by saying she was impregnated by rabbits- several doctors watched her "birth" them. and she had everyone fooled for a while. Until it was found out that her husband had been buying rabbits- and apparently his sister in law supplied them to Toft.
She did sort of get her fame though, didnt she?
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2. Vladimir Demikhov's two headed dog
Okay so, back in the 1930s-1950's there was this scientist called Vladimir. One could call him a ...MAD scientist. Because for some reason he had this affinity for making two headed dogs.
ones not really sure why he started doing this- but ah here- just read this copied article from wikipedia about him-
"Vladimir Petrovich Demikhov (Kulini Farm, July 18, 1916 – Moscow, November 22, 1998) was a Soviet scientist and organ transplant pioneer, who did several transplantations in the 1930s and 1950s, such as the transplantation of a heart into an animal and a lung-heart replacement in an animal. He is also well known for his transplantation of the heads of dogs.[1][2] He conducted his dog head transplants during the 1950s, resulting in two-headed dogs, and this ultimately led to the head transplants in monkeys by Dr. Robert White, who was inspired by Demikhov's work.
The first head transplant was actually done by Professor A. G. Konevskiy[2] of the Operative Surgery and Topographical Anatomy Department of Volgograd State Medical University. The head transplant was not planned. Konevskiy had planned an experimental heart transplant but the puppy was involved in an automobile accident. Not wanting to "waste the sterilized operating table", the surgeon proceeded with the head transplant.[citation needed]
Demikhov coined the word transplantology, and his 1960 monograph "Experimental transplantation of vital organs", for which he received his doctoral degree, later published in 1962 in New York, Berlin and Madrid, became the world's first monograph on transplantology, and was for a long time the only monograph in the field of transplantation of organs and tissues. Christiaan Barnard, who performed the world's first heart transplant operation from one person to another person in 1967, twice visited the Demikhov's laboratory in 1960 and 1963. Barnard through all his life considered Demikhov as his teacher.[citation needed]"
It totally says it better than I ever could.
So not only did this guy go frankenstien on Dogs...but also on monkeys...and im assuming anything else he could
get a hold of...
scary....but interesting.
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3. The woman who put worms in her arm
(sorry about the quality- its the only one I could find.)
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4. Mark Chenoweth - the man who swims so he can walk
Mark was born with spina bifida, and by 34 he was unable to walk. When he went on a vacation to Menorca he persuaded a local diving centre to let him dive- when he resurfaced- he found he could walk again much to his families and everyones surprise. No one is sure why its happening or how- but its only temporary and he needs to dive again when he finds he cant stand up.
Pretty amazing...
heres the full story
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5. The baby without a brain
Nicholas Coke was born like every other child in america, except that he had a rare disease called Anencephaly (I dont know how to pronounce it either 0.o) which means he had no brain. Usually these children dont live very long, But Nicholas beat them all and managed to live to be two years old.
Sadly Nicholas Coke passed away before making it to 3 years old. But his family says that they will never forget what he taught them.
Rest in peace Nicholas.
