The Washington times., 1935-09-13
Health
Explanation of
Oddities


The best part of the San
Diego exposition, as it was the
best part of the Chicago Fair
in by opinion, is Ripley'S Be-
lieve 1t or Not Odditorium.
There are certainly enough
medical peculiarities here to
keep a doctor interested for a
long time.
I went around the show two
or three times with different
doctors, and we found that
while we could explain some OF
the things, we simply could not
offer any explanation whatever
to the others. Most of the peo-
Pile who see these exhibits think
there is a trick of some kind
and are aStounded for that rea-
son. But the doctor. while he
can usually explain the oddities
on anatomical grounds, is not
less interested because he knows
this explanation.
through the Eye
For instance, Mr.. Alfred Lam
gevin, of Montreal, Canada,
puts an eye-cup to his eye. To
the end is attached a cigarette
holder with a cigarette in it.
With this arrangement still in
his eye, he lights the cigarette,
draws the smoke in through his
eye and blows it out through his
mouth. He then reverSes the
process, putting the cigarette in
his mouth and blowing the
smoke out through his eye. To
another eye-cup a whistle is at
tached; he blows the whistle
with his eye. To still another
one, a small balloon is attached,
and he initiates the balloon with
his eye. The explanation is OBJ
vious enough to the doctor.
There is a small opening on
the inner corner of the eye
which is the entrance to a duct
which goes into the nose. This
so-called lacrymal duct carries
away the secretion which
moistens the surface of the eye
ball. In order that eyes may
wink smoothly, a considerable
amount of this secretion is de-
livered to the eyeball all the
time. There are diseases of the
lacrymal duct in which it gets
stopped up, resulting in a con-
slant overflow of tears onto the
face, a most uncomfortable and
embarrassing condition.
In the case of Mr.. Langevin,
evidently he has the opposite,
that is a dilatation of the open
ing and of the duct itself. It
will be noticed that when he is
going to blow the whistle with
his eye, he closes his nostril,
forcing the air out through the
lacrymal duct into the eye. How
he got that way, I don't know.
I know of no other similar case,
and such a possibility is not
mentioned in the medical books
which I have consulted on the
subject.
Muscle Control
The most astounding Of the
Ripley oddities, to my mind, is
still Anato Hayes. He has de-
veloped a complete control over
his abdominal muscles so that
he can force his abdominal
organs up into his chest. The
last time discussed Mr.. Hayes
I suggested that he might have
diaphragmatic hernia. X-ray
pictures show that he has not.
He can also disIocate both
collar bones at the breast-bone
end and force his breaSt-bone
into his chest. put my hand on
the breastbone while he was do
ing this and can assure you it
is a most uncanny feeling.
He has no explanation of his
ability to do these things except
that he feels his joints are
largely cartilage. CThis is his
own explanatory Replying to
my question, he told me he
started to do these things when
he was very young, and natur-
ally has kept doing them so
that his muscles are trained
by habit to these acts. That is
true with nearly all muscular
and anatomical oddities.
Editors Note: Six pamphlets
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Reducing and Gaining" IN
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Feminine Hygiene" and The
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N. TLL.