Evening star., 1950-12-27
Cases Authenticated
Of 81 Men With Tails
Genetic Association Gets
Second Known Photograph
By Thomas R. Henry

There are at least 81 reasonably
authenticated cases of men with tails.
The second known photograph of such
an individual, however, has just been
received by the American Genetic Asso-
citation here, from DR.. Taku Komai OF
the japanese National Institute of Ge-
netics. 1t is published in this months
issue of the Journal of Heredity, the
associations official organ. The tail
appears to be about three inches long.
DR.. Komai obtained the picture from
japanese businessman who acquired
it in 1917 while he was in an Igorot
village on the island of Luzon. He
secured print of the picture from
friend of the businessman, Dr. Komai
recounts, and first published it about
year ago in a popular japanese maga-
zine.
Letter From B0rneo.
DR.. Komai soon received letter from
a Japanese doctor who had served dur
ing the war among the Dyaks in Borneo.
One day, the account continues he
found among his patients a man from
30 to 40 years old who had tail The
tail was about three inches long and
somewhat less than an inch thick 1t
was hairless and wrinkled. The native
refused to allow closer examination be-
cause his companions teased and
laughed at him. The natives said there
were others in the neighborhood hav-
ing similar tails
The Dyaks of Borneo have been most
frequently mentioned as tailed men,"
the Journal of Heredity comments, but
most OF the reports have been made
by travellers who have offered little real
evidence. Some however, are quite
positive and clear. Tails appear TO
have been noted in both men and
women. In one village 20 tailed people
OF both sexes were reported.
The evidence of the photograph is
difficult to deny, it is pointed out, but
the trait seems to be chiefly found
among primitive Far Eastern peoples.
In other accounts, tails. the existence of
which had not been entirely proved at
the time, have been cited as an example
in which the evolution of man has
Jagged behind that of the great apes
None OF these creatures ever has been
found with tail.
Small, hot granules on the face OF
the sun have been reported by astrono-
mers of the Carnegie Institution Of
Washington.
Photographs of the suns surface pre-
sent sandpaper-like appearance. But
the Carnegie studies show that the
grains probably are of at least two
sizes with quite different characteristics
type hitherto not suspected is from
80 to 120 miles IN diameter The grains
are moving about the solar surface with
velocitieS somewhat exceeding a mills
an hour, and they are considerably hot
ter than the larger, slower granules Of
which direct observations can be made
with the spectroscope.
The little hot patches are almost sub
microscopic, considering the enormous
distance and the size of the sun. OBJ
serVation was possible only because Of
exceptionally fine observing conditions
during the past year.
Deduced From Study.
Actually the small grains were not
directly seen but deduced from study
of the larger ones, which have veloc-
ity of only about a quarter mile an
hour, the Carnegie report says.
The astronomers of the Carnegie
Foundation also report finding of titanic
tornadoes on the suns surface These
great whirlwinds of hot gases whirl
more and more violently as they pro-
gresS until they finally explode with
great violence.
These tornadoes appear very nearly
stationary. One was followed for two
weeks during revolution of the sun
on its axis. The fact that the disturb
ances noted were really tornadoes was
demonstrated by study of motion-pic-
ture films and comparing them with
pictures of such disturbances known on
earth.