The Book of the Bizarre: Freaky Facts and Strange Stories (63 page)

Lesions that form on the skin, in the sinuses, and in the lungs are part of a condition called Job's syndrome, which is named for the biblical character who was covered with boils. It predominantly affects red-haired females, but everyone is susceptible to the odd disease.

ELEPHANT MAN

Joseph Merrick, also known as the Elephant Man, was a sideshow performer in Europe during the 1880s. He was rescued by Dr. Frederick Treves, who called his condition Elephant man disease and wrote the definitive book,
The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences
, about him. Treves described Merrick as “deformed in body, face, head, and limbs,” noting that “his skin, thick and pendulous, hung in folds and resembled the hide of an elephant.”

Merrick was mistreated for most of his life, and when sideshows were outlawed in 1886, he was out of work and virtually unemployable because of his looks. After Merrick suffered from an acute bronchial infection in a train station, Treves was contacted, and he put Merrick under his care and study. The elephant man was well received in Victorian society; a kind of novelty, he was well mannered and interesting, and became a favorite of Queen Victoria. He died at the age of twentyseven after dislocating his neck in his sleep.

FINDING A FOUR-LEAF CLOVER

The belief that four-leaf clovers are good luck comes from the Druids, ancient residents of the British Isles. Several times a year, they gathered in oak groves to settle legal disputes and offer sacrifices. They ended their gatherings by hunting for four-leaf clovers because they believed a four-leaf enabled its owner to see evil spirits and witches—and therefore avoid these things.

THROWING PENNIES INTO A WELL

Some ancient people believed spirits living in springs and fountains demanded tributes—usually tributes of flesh. Young Mayan girls, for example, were sometimes tossed into the Well of Sacrifice (where they would “marry” the spirits). Today, people just toss the spirits a penny or two for luck.

KNOCKING ON WOOD

In the Middle Ages, churchmen insisted that knocking on wood was part of their tradition of prayer, since Christ was crucified on a wooden cross. But the tradition of knocking on wood actually started several thousands of years earlier, with a different deity. Both Native Americans and ancient Greeks developed the belief (independently) that oak trees were the domain of an important god. By knocking on an oak, they were communicating with the god and asking for his forgiveness. The Greeks passed their tradition on to the Romans, and it became part of European lore. The oak's power was eventually transferred to all types of wood.

OPENING AN UMBRELLA INDOORS

In the eighteenth century, spring-loaded, metal-spoked umbrellas were new and unpredictable. Opening one indoors was courting disaster—the open umbrella could fly out of control and damage property or people. Therefore, opening an umbrella indoors was considered not so much bad luck as just dangerous.

MIRRORS