Читать книгу The Book Of Lists - David Wallechinsky - Страница 11

1 MYRTLE CORBIN (1868–19??) ‘The woman from Texas with four legs’ was the only freak who could challenge the ‘King of Freaks’ Frank Lentini as a box-office attraction. (‘Freak’ expresses dramatic physical deviation from the norm and was not offensive to those in the sideshows.) The body of a twin grew from between Myrtle’s legs, well developed from the waist down and completely functional. Myrtle was married and, according to her billing, had five children – three from her own body and two from her twin’s.

2 JEAN BAPTISTA DOS SANTOS (1843–?) Born in Cuba, Jean (or Juan) was a good-looking, well-proportioned boy who happened to have two fully-functioning penises and an extra pair of legs behind and between his own, united along their length. His mental and physical capacities were considered above normal and so, according to one report, was his ‘animal passion’ and sexual functioning. He was exhibited in Havana in 1865 and later in Paris, where he is alleged to have had an affair with the three-legged courtesan, Blanche Dumas, who had two vaginas.

3 FOLDI FAMILY Written up in the book called Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine in 1896, the Foldi family was described as living in the tribe of the Hyabites in ‘Arabia’ for many generations. Each member of the large family had 24 digits. They confined their marriages to other members of the tribe, so the trait was usually inherited. In fact, if a baby was born with only 10 fingers and 10 toes, it was sacrificed as the product of adultery.

4 LALOO (1874–1905) Laloo was a Muslim born in Oovonin, Oudh, India. He had an extra set of arms, legs and sex organs from a headless twin attached to his body at the neck. He, too, travelled with carnivals and circuses in the US and Europe and was written up in many medical textbooks. He married in Philadelphia in 1894 and his wife travelled with him. His ‘parasitic twin’ was male, but the circuses liked to advertise it as female to add to Laloo’s strangeness.

5 FRANCESCO LENTINI (1889–1966) For years acknowledged as the ‘King of Freaks’, Frank Lentini had three legs, two sets of genital organs, four feet and sixteen toes. In order to counter his depression at being deformed, Lentini’s parents took him to an institution for handicapped children, where he saw boys and girls who were far worse off than he was. ‘From that time to this,’ he would later recall, ‘I’ve never complained. I think life is beautiful and I enjoy living it.’ He could use the third leg, which grew out of the base of his spine, as a stool. In his circus act he used it to kick a football the length of the sideshow tent. Born in Rosolini, Sicily, he moved to the US at the age of nine. He married and raised four children.

6 JEAN LIBBERA (1884–1934) ‘The Man with Two Bodies’ was born in Rome. He travelled with several circuses displaying his miniature ‘twin’, named Jacques. Jacques had hips, thighs, arms and legs. A German doctor using X-rays found a rudimentary structure resembling a head inside Jean’s body. Jean covered Jacques with a cape when he went out. Walking with his wife and four children he looked just like any other family man.

7 LOUISE L. (1869–?) Known as ‘La Dame á Quatre Jambes’ (‘the lady with four legs’), Louise was born in France. Attached to her pelvis was a second, rudimentary pelvis from which grew two atrophied legs. There were two rudimentary breasts where the legs joined her body. In spite of this handicap, Louise not only married but gave birth to two healthy daughters.

8 SHIVSHANKARI YAMANAPPA MOOTAGERI (1978– ) A young woman from Karnataka, India, Shivshankari has a third leg with nine toes growing out of the middle of her body. She views her anomaly as a divine blessing and supports her family by exhibiting herself locally.

9 BETTY LOU WILLIAMS (1932–1955) Betty Lou Williams was the daughter of poor black sharecroppers. She looked pretty and shapely in her two-piece bathing suit on the sideshow stage – but growing out of her left side was the bottom half of a body, with two legs and one misplaced arm. Betty, who died at the age of 23, made a good living during the Depression. Her friends say she died of a broken heart, jilted by a man she loved. However, the more probable cause of her death was complications from an asthma attack, aggravated by the second head inside her body.