8 limbed baby takes first steps

A young baby was born in one of the most discussed about countries here at Unusual people. you guessed it India.  Lakshmi Tatma is now two years old and has taken her first steps after a life saving operation. The young girl was worshipped in her country and the ocals thought she was like a goddess because of her unusual medical condition.

She was believed by village locals to be a reincarnation of the goddess Lakshmi. At first her parents were hesitant to perform the operation whch would remove the additional limbs, however they quickly changed their mind after doctors advised the parents it would be difficult for her to survive into adulthood. The operation took a total of 27 hours to remove the remains of her parasitic twin. The parasitic twin used her body for nutrition and respiration although the young child was unable to move the additional limbs.  She has been featured on shows on television such as National Geographic and will require additional surgeries to correct her spine and feet which are pointed inward.

 Lakshmi has certainly lived quite the unusual and extraordinary life in her short span of two years.

 

 

 

 

 

Man has sex with 1000 cars

Edward Smith, of Washington has recently made headlines after admitting he has had sex with over 1000 cars, thats right, cars. He currently lives with a 1967 volkswagen beetle whom he named vanilla and also calls the car his girlfriend. He writes poetry about his car experiences, and lost his car virginity at the tender age of 15. Smith also doesn’t just have sex with cars, he says his most intense sexual experience came from a helicopter from a 1980s tv show.

Smith’s last relationship with a woman was 12 years ago, and he could not bring himself to having sex with the woman although he has said that he has had sex with women previously. Smith also says that certain cars will be randomly parked and he will get an urge to walk up to them and kiss and hug them. According to one website there is a community of 500 car lovers who have met one another through internet forums.

I must admit, I’m quite fond of Lamborgini’s, but I don’t think I could bring myself to lubing up a tailpipe.

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Clinton, McCain, Obama comparison

I thought I would highlight some of the interesting aspects of each of the three presidential hopefuls.  We’ll go in alphabetical order to avoid any bias.

 

 Hilary Clinton was born October 26, 1947 and is a United States Senator from New York. She is probably most well known as the wife of Bill Clinton and she was both praised and criticized after her decision to remain with Bill Clinton after the Monica Lewinski incident.

However, HIlary first came into the news in 1969 when she became the student to give commencement remarks at Wellesley College. The speech garnered a standing ovation which lasted seven minuted. She then went on to serve a few years as congressional legal counsel. She wrote an article entitled ” Children Under the Law” and it was published in the Harvard Law Review. The article was important in the children’s rights movement and argued that children should not be presumed incompetant rather it should be decided on a case by case basis and the article became a widely cited article in the academic field. In 1979, she became the first female legal partner of the prestigious Rose Law Firm. and was also twice named to the top 100 most influential lawyers in America.

Clinton was also very hesitant about marrying Bill Clnton . She declined to accept his numerous offers of marriage until she finally had failed the Washington DC bar exam and Bill was moving to Arkansas, where she finally chose to go with Bill instead of remaining in DC. Her biggest concern was that her seperate identity would be shadowed in face of Bill’s own personal accomplishments.

When Bill Clinton won the presidential election in 1992 Hillary drew criticism for her active role in trying to advocate public policy.  Hillary gained even more influence after her husband appointed her to head the Task Force on National Healthcare. Hillary was involved both in the Watergate scandals, as well as what was known as Travelgate, which involved the firings of numerous white house travel office employees, however she was finally cleared by the Independent Counsel in 2000.

Hilary is often considered a Polarized candidate, which means more or less that people are either very favorable towards her, or very against her. Time ran an issue which had Hillary on the front cover with two boxes, one marked love her, one marked hate her.

John McCain has lived a little more of an interesting life.  McCain was born August 29th, 1936, and his age is a widely criticized topic in his presidential bid.  McCain is probably most well known for his time in the military. In 1967 during the vietnam war his plan was shot down, he was captured, and kept as a prisoner of war for 5 and a half years, and was tortured.

McCain has been a member of the senate for several terms and he also was involved in a heated presidential race against George Bush in 2000.

McCain’s father and grandfather were both naval admirals, and McCain followed their footsteps. McCain made many friends at the academy often standing up for those who were being bullid by others. However this often led to conflicts with authority and he was often disiplined to obey the rules. Because of this he finished with a final class rank of 894/899.

When he was captured during by the vietnamese McCain was badly injured but the captors refused to treat the injuries, and instead beat him and interrogating him to get more information. When the captors learned that his father was a top admiral they finally gave him care and announced his capture, which made the front pages of the New York Times and The Washington Post.  While in the hospital for six months, McCain lost a total of 50 lbs and his hair had turned white. He was then placed in a cell with two other Americans who both stated they did not think he would live a week. A few months later McCain was then removed from the cell and placed in solitary confinement where he would remain for two additional years.

McCain was offerd a chance to leave the camp, stating that he would only leave if every other man there would also been released which was of course denied.  McCain may not have mad ethe best decision as in August 1968 the vietnamese began a torture program on McCain. McCain was repeatedly beaten and bound with rope while he also was suffering from dysentery. As a result of McCain’s injuries he is permanently unable to raise his arms above his head.

During McCain’s two senate terms his views were mostly in accord with President Reagan, and he was actively involved in Indian affairs. During the 2000 presidential election McCain initially had the upper hand on George Bush and it came to a boiling point where South Carolina served as the battleground. The campainging by both parties in this state was viewed as one of the most brutal and dirtiest in history. McCain lost and would never fully recover in the presidential race.

In public McCain acknowledges his wounds and age and has been quoted as saying “I am older than dirt and have more scars than frankenstein”. He is also admittedly tempermental and will shout and use profanity.

 

 Barack Obama was born August 4th, 1961. He is the first African American to advance this far in a presidential race. His father was from Kenya and his mother was a white american woman and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama graduated from Columbia University and then Harvard law school and served as a member of the Illinois State Senate from 1997 - 2004. Before serving on the senate he worked as a part time law associate and also taught constitutional law part time at the University of Chicago Law School. He then was elected to the United States Senate in 2004. Obama is a advocate of ending the war in Iraq. 

During Obama’s presidential campaign he has broken records for numerous fundraising records, and cites ending the war on iraq, increasing energy independence, and providing universal healthcare as his top three priorities. In March 2008 Obama was criticized for his 20 year relationship with former pastor Jerimiah Wright. Wright has been discovered to be very politically charged and racially charged comments. Obama responsed by ending his relationship with the pastor and also denounced some of his remarks.

Obama is estimated to have a networth of around 1.3 million dollars, although the 2007 household tax return showed an income of 4.7 million dollars, mostly from his book sales. Obama likes to play basketball and before announcing his presidency it was well publicized he was attempting to stop smoking. When asked about an alternate career choice Obama responded Architect, while also claiming to be a “pretty good poker player.”

 

After a brief review of these three hopefuls, it seems to me that McCain has led the most interesting and unusual life to date. 5 and a half years of torture seems like an unfathomable ordeal, and although Clinton has endured several scandals and succeeded as a pioneer among many fronts for a woman, and likewise for Obama for a racial minority, they do not seem to surpass McCain’s life experiences. Keep in mind this is only discussing their lives, not their political ideas at all. Leave some comments

Another hyperthymestic story: Brad Williams

 

With the interest generated not only by this site, but on the internet in general on Jill Price, the woman who could remember every detail of her life since she was 14 years old, comes the story of Brad Williams, of Wisconsin. Remember Price, who compared the syndrome to having a movie reel playing by every memory she had when she was presented with certain stimuli. Williams however, seems to be a little more in control, or less afflicted by the syndrome. In fact it only became apparent to his family when they heard the story of Price, who was then only known to the public as AJ.

Like Price, the part the researchers are most impressed with is the speed at which they recall the events. Researchers give them a day, and ask them about the events and immediately Williams can rattle off a series of events in great detail, indicating there is almost no calculation going on, it is just readily available in their mind. Researchers have been running images on Price and Williams, and another man in Ohio and have concluded that some structures in the prefrontal cortex are substantially larger in hyperthymestics. The prefrontal cortex sits at the front of the brain and has been associated with complex thinking, not learning or memory.

woman remembers everything since teen

Imagine every detail, of every hour, of every day, of every year, since you were 14. Useful? Annoying? Unusual? Interesting? Well, this has been Jill Price’s life since she was 14. Price considers it a curse instead of a gift since she is unable to not remember things. Very detailed memories such as what time she awoke, what she ate, who she met is in her brain and can be triggered by songs, smells, or locations.

Price described the condition as a split screen television, one side showing what is currently going on, the other a whirlwind of memories that she cannot hold back. The condition, called hyperthymestic syndrome, and is extremely rare with only 5 other confirmed cases, and 50 possibles. Price says the condition has afflicted her with depression because she remembers everything, which means every bad decision, insult and embarrassment.  A researcher commented on her extraordinary ability, “you can give her a random day years ago, and in a few seconds she can tell you what day it was, what she did, and key events of the day.” Price kept a diary from age 10-34 and scientists use the diary of how she remembered them now against how she put them down years ago.

This is an amazing story but I would be a little skeptical that she has just not read her diary over and over again and simply memorizing the events that way, however I haven’t viewed the actual research so I won’t be a skeptic.

the man behind ironman

With the opening of the first summer blockbuster this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to add Robert Downey Jr. to the list of unusual people. In case you haven’t heard Downey has a wild past, and it is good to see him in a mainstream film and get his act together. 

Downey, who describes himself as Buddist-Jewish, began his film career as a child with a small role in the film Pound. He grew up in the properous village of Greenwich New York, however moved with his father to California when his parents divorced. Downey dropped out after two years of high school to pursue acting, and appeared on Saturday Night Live at the age of 20.  Some people consider him a  member of the brat pack, which is a group of actors that appear in a number of movies together, analogous to the previous rat pack, and the modern day frat pack.

Now onto the good stuff, from 1996 to 2001 Downey was arrested a number of times on drug related charges. Rehab proved difficult to him as he explained to a judge in 1999 “it’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger’s on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal”. Downey has also claimed to have been addicted to drugs since the age of 8.

 In an incident in 1996, he was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine, and an unloaded .357 while driving naked down sunset boulevard. A month later while on parole he was arrested for trespassing into a neighbors home while under the influence of drugs and was found asleep in one of the beds. As a result he was sentenced to 3 years probation and missed one of his mandatory drug tests and had to spend 4 months in jail. This also happened in 1999 and he had to spend nearly a year in jail the subsequent time.

After his release Downey had a role in the popular show Ally Mcbeal. He also earned a golden globe for the role. However things took a turn for the worse the same year when he was arrested by police after a search of his hotel room where he was found to be under the influence of a ilegal substance and in possession of cocaine and valium. While on parole in 2001 police found him wandering in a alley and as a result he was fired frm the show.

However, he made a career comeback in 2004, first releasing his debut musical album the futurist. He was invited to open for Duran Duran as a result but declined. He returned to the big screen in 2005’s Gothika, where 40% of his salary was withheld until completion of the movie as a insurance measure.  He also appeared in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, A Scanner Darkly, Good Night and Good Luck.

This ultimately led to his suprising cast as the main character in Iron Man. The director noted that Downey was the most obvious chocie but that he understood what made the character tick and shared some of the same life experience in the character of Tony Spark. The film required downey to gain 20lbs of muscle in 5 months. The film has been praised by critics, with them also noting that Downey was superb and the contributing factor the film’s success.
Some people may write off drug addicts and say they are worthless and helpless, however Downey, although not a typical case has shown here that thusfar second chances pay off and it seems his career has been revived.

Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman was in the news again today on allegations of beating a woman at a hotel Wednesday night. His manager told tmz.com he and his girlfriend had too much to drink and he grabbed the woman’s arm. His manager also claimed that this was the result of stress from a nasty divorce and that Rodman would be entering rehab.

Let us focus on Rodman in general since this story brings him to the news.  Rodman is best known as a former NBA player who was of all star caliber for his defense and extraordinary rebounding ability. (Especially since rodman is much shorter[Six feet seven inches] than most of his competition.) Rodman only briefly played basketball in high school, and quit because lack of playing time.  However, while working as a janitor, a family friend told the local community college basketball coach of Rodman’s playground basketball skills and he played for the school for a year. Rodman then went on to play for Southeastern Oklahoma State which was a NAIA school and he was a three time all american and averaged over 25 points a game over the three seasons.

Rodman then was drafted by the Detroit Pistons and his controverisal career begins. After a playoff game with the rival Boston Celtics, Rodman made headlines after claiming Larry Bird was overrated because he was white, which better known at the time Isiah Thomas agreed with. By the early 90s Rodman was awarded with defensive player of the year honors, and was averaging over 18 rebounds a game. (A very large number that is even more impressive considering his height). He had a career high 34 rebounds in March 1992.

Rodman then moved on to play with the San Antonio Spurs however, he again entered the news because of a highly publicized relationship with Madonna. He was dismissed from the team after two years and then joined the legendary Chicago Bulls of the 90s. His first year the team went 71-10 (not because of Michael Jordan or anything) and he, Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan were all named the NBA all defensive team.  However, more shocking behavior followed in Chicago, including an event where Rodman headbutted a referee. A year later he was also in a very controversial event, where after tripping over a cameraman, Rodman proceeded to kick the man in the groin. He was suspended for 11 games and settled with the cameraman for $200,000.

Outside of Basketball Rodman is much more detached from the norm. He has been involved in professional wrestling most notably in the WCW with good friend Hulk Hogan. Rodman even skipped basketball practice to wrestle which upset both fans, and coach Phil Jackson and was subsequently fined. Rodman has also been involved in acting, including an action film alongside Jean Claude Van-Damme and a comedy alongside Tom Berenger. Rodman also appeared in a episode of third rock from the sun, portraying himself, although it was noted that he was an alien like the shows main characters. He is also referenced as an alien in one of the closing scenes in Men In Black.

Rodman’s most outlandish behavior revolves around his personal life however. He has various tattoos and piercings, he is notorious for cursing on television, and often dyes his hair various colors.  He was also married to Carmen Electra and wore a wedding dress to the ceremony which also put him in the public eye.  Rodman won the Yucatan version of celebrity mole, which suprised many because he took virtually no notes. Rodman was also married to Madonna and suggested she tried to have a baby with him and also claimed he started getting tatoos and piercings to promote himself which he learned from Madonna.

Rodman has wrote two biographies, one titled Bad as I wanna be, another titled I should be dead by now. He has appeared in numerous reality shows, including the UK version of big brother and was shocked to find his friend Traci Bingham in the house as well. He frequently used the phrase “I don’t give a shit” and only in the house a pair of extra large condoms and did not wear any underwear. He became briefly involved with Faria Alam during the show and Rodman also claimed to have had sex with over 2000 women on the show.  He annoyed producers of the show and was banned from the reunion meeting between the cast.

Rodman has a variety of nicknames, Dennis the Menace, Rodzilla, D-Rod, Rod the Bod, The Red Mound of Rebound, the worm and a taunt nickname of The Real Hot Rod, (in reference to Rowdy Roddy Piper). Rodman is also a big fan of Pearl Jam, and his voice appears in the background of the song “Black, Red, Yellow”. He apparently has a broad taste in music as he has also admitted to liking the Smashing Pumpkins and country singer Randy Travis.

Rodman is quite the unusual person as you can see, which shows in his abilities on the court, as well as obviously off the court. Gimme some comments.

Homeless photoshoot

I must apologize for the lack of updates, I have been busy with finals and so forth and I promise the updates will return to normal come May 14th. In light of this I have decided to make two posts today. The first one was an interesting article I stumbled across. It is a page filled with photos of the homeless railway inhabitants shot by photographer Mike Brodie that was shown at the Pens and Needles Gallery in August. The video depicts the homeless in various photos, the most interesting in my opinon involves a dead rat cut open presumably awaiting human consumption. Also of note is the stockpile of alcohol one of the homeless has managed to store away which seems just shy of a typical stag bar.

Anyways, here’s the link, enjoy.

Alia Sabur youngest college prof

Alia Sabur became the youngest college professor at 18.  Sabur began college at age 10 and at 14 became the youngest female in history to obtain a college degree. Her education did not stop there however as she continued her post graduate studies at Drexel in materials science and engineering. Three days before she turned 19 she was hired to teach at a college in South Korea.

On top of her unprecedented academic achievements, Sabur has a black belt in the Korean martial art of tae kwon do and is also a music prodigy. She has been playing clarinet with orchestras since her solo debut at age 11, playing with recording artists Lang Lang and Smash Mouth.

mind coach accused in teen rape

Carmine Edmund Baffa is a mind coach who claims to be able to hypnotize people and conducts life seminars around Georgia. However, it appears he is using his mind powers for all the wrong purposes. Cops are accuring Baffa of child abuse, rape, and fraud in connection with private sessions with two teens at his former home.  A 13 year old and 19 year old both claimed that Baffa raped them

Michael Wallace, who maintains the website www.manifestation.com visisted Baffa’s home in connection with his hypnotic claims and describes one weekend in detail. “The weekend is a blur to me,” he wrote. “My blood was rushing, I couldn’t stop smiling and I could almost feel my brain cells rearranging themselves.”

This just goes to show why I have never, nor ever plan to let anyone hypnotize me.

Full story here

Article on Baffa from manifestation.com