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"Side-Show Freaks As Seen By Science"

Creator: E. Leslie Gilliams (author)
Date: October 1922
Publication: Illustrated World
Source: Available at selected libraries

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How the Fat Lady Stays Fat, the Thin Man Thin and the "Blue Man" Blue Along with Many Other Interesting Facts Concerning Freaks Is Recounted in the Following Article

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How do they get that way, and why can't they do something to relieve themselves of their peculiar abnormalities? you probably involuntarily query as you view with astonishment the freaks in the side-shows. The human skeleton seems skinnier than ever before, the fat woman seems, if anything, to have grown even fatter and the "Blue Man" bluer, while the alfalfa which sprouts from the chin of the bearded lady would keep a dozen sartorial experts at work a week, so it seems, if she desired to be shorn of it.

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Both questions can be readily answered by science. To the scientist there is no such thing as a freak of nature. Nature makes no mistake and performs no freakish act. Although it is not always possible to discover the cause, it is true that there is a natural cause for everything that is abnormal. The fat woman, if she desired, might be made thin enough to attract no unusual attention, while her skinny brother of skeleton fame could also have a few pounds of avoirdupois put on here and there, if he cared to. But neither of them do.

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The flesh of the celebrated fat lady and the lack of it on the bones of the human skeleton are as essential to them in the gaining of a livelihood as tools to a mechanic, or a rifle to a hunter. The fatter or thinner they are, as the case may be, the more valuable are they as an attraction and the larger their salary.

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Although giants, as well as dwarfs, were known in biblical times, it is only within the last few years that a rational theory for their excessive size or lack of size has been formulated. It is less than ten years that giantism and dwarfism were proved to be due to abnormal activity of certain organs in the brain called pituitary glands.

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Other glands, it has been proved, figure in the making of other so-called human freaks. Abnormality in the activity of the thyroid gland, which is situated in the front part of the throat, has been shown by scientific demonstration to be the fundamental reason for the excessive obesity of the fat woman and the excessive leanness of the skeleton man.

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Science is now also able to explain the peculiarities of the numerous other freaks. Among the most interesting of these later day freaks, for new ones are thrust upon us every year, is Fred Walters, "the Blue Man." Walters is the victim of a disease of the heart which occasionally is seen in infancy and which is called "Blue Baby." As is generally known, the heart is comprised of four cavities, two auricles and two ventricles. The blood enters the right auricle from the veins and passes into the right ventricle, then goes to the lungs to receive a supply of oxygen. Next it returns to the heart, passing into the left auricle and then into the left ventricle, from there out into the aorta, a large artery, into the general circulation.

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Before birth there is an opening in the heart and part of the venous blood passes directly from the right side of the heart into the left side and then out into the circulation. Immediately after birth this opening is closed and all blood sent through the veins to the heart goes first to the lungs to be oxygenated before going to the left side to be pumped into the arteries. In unusual cases this opening might fail to close after birth and part of the venous blood, which is blue, goes directly into the left auricle and ventricle and into the general circulation. The result is a blueness of the skin, which disease is termed cyanosis.

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However, in such cases the baby usually dies, as when the blood is not properly oxygenated, it carries a quantity of carbon dioxide through the body, and this acts as a poison to the brain. In the blue baby so much of the poison can be accumulated in this way that the baby usually dies within three days. When the opening in the heart closes partly following birth, the child may manage to survive a few years; but not very often.

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However, the case of Walters is unusual in that his heart was perfectly normal after birth. While serving in the English army he was thrown from a horse that stumbled and fell on his chest. According to medical authorities who have looked into this case, the foramen ovale, as the heart opening is called, had been reopened by the shock and injury with the same ensuing results as are found in a "blue baby" case. The opening, however, is considered to be very small and allows only a small amount of venous blood to pass into the arterial circulation.

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In the same way as the peculiar nature of this freak's skin can be explained, science is ready to explain how all the other so-called freaks are in reality extreme types of various diseases.

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According to Dr. John D. Horgan, of New York, practically all of the freaks are manifestations of some wheel in the human machinery which is out of gear.

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"In the human body," he said, "there are any number of so-called ductless glands which when abnormal in any way would be apt to result in some peculiarity of the human form. Early anatomists knew all about the existence of these ductless glands. As is known, the salivary glands have ducts which carry the saliva to the mouth and the mammary glands of the breasts have ducts which carry the milk to the nipple. The thyroid and thymus glands, which are situated in the neck, the pituitary and the pineal glands in the brain, as well as certain other glands, however, have no such ducts. Until recently it was not known what these glands secrete or what their purpose was. It was known, however, that if the thyroid gland was taken from a healthy animal it would die. If the gland was only partly removed the animal would become fat and lazy, while if additional thyroid was added it would become lean.

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