Jeanie Tomaini
Bernice Evelyn "Jeanie" Smith Tomaini (Bluffton, Indiana, Blufton, Indiana, August 23, 1916 – August 10, 1999, Gibsonton, Florida, Gibsonton, Florida) was an American sideshow performer billed as "The World's Only Living Half-Girl" or "The Acrobatic Half-Girl". She was born without legs, due to Caudal regression syndrome, sacral agenesis or phocomelia, and stood 2 ft 5 in tall (0.74 meters). Her family started putting her on exhibit when she was as young as three years old. Career Jeanie and her husband Al Tomaini ("Al the Giant", once the world's tallest person at 7 ft 4 in, or 2.24 meters) performed together as a "World's Strangest Married Couple" duo, like many other married couples of the traveling sideshow. On television, she was featured in a 1992 episode of the British show The Secret Cabaret, ''The Secret Cabaret'' and an E! True Hollywood Story, ''E! True Hollywood Story'' episode titled "The Murder of Grady Stiles, Lobster Boy". She was interviewed for the 1999 do ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gibsonton, Florida
Gibsonton, sometimes nicknamed Gibtown, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. U.S. Route 41 runs through the center of the community. The population was 18,566 at the 2020 census, up from 14,234 at the 2010 census. Gibsonton was famous as a sideshow wintering town, where various people in the carnival and circus businesses would spend the off season, placing it near the winter home for the Ringling Brothers Circus at Tampa, Sarasota and Venice in various times. It was home to Percilla the Monkey Girl, the Anatomical Wonder, and the Lobster Boy. Siamese twin sisters ran a fruit stand here. At one time, it was the only post office with a counter for dwarfs. Aside from the agreeable winter climate, Gibsonton offered unique circus zoning laws that allowed residents to keep elephants and circus trailers on their front lawns. Gibsonton was founded by James Gibson Sr., from Greenville, Alabama, in 1884. He homes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Al Tomaini
Aurelio "Al" Tomaini (February 25, 1912 – August 30, 1962), was once the world's tallest person. Tomaini claimed a height of , weighed and wore size 26 shoes. He worked as a traveling sideshow performer and fire chief. Tomaini was the son of Santo Tomaini and Maria Bossone. At the age of 12, he was taller than his father, who stood tall. He had a great-grandfather in Italy who was also of abnormal height. His parents consulted a physician who diagnosed the cause of his giantism to be an over-active pituitary gland, similar to other human giants. As a sideshow performer, he worked in a circus at the Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ... in 1943, when he met his future wife, Jeanie Smith. After eloping from the circus, the coup ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bluffton, Indiana
Bluffton is a city in and the county seat of Wells County, Indiana, United States. It sits on the banks of the Wabash River in the northeastern part of the state. The population was 10,308 at the 2020 census, up from 9,897 at the 2010 census. Bluffton is nicknamed the "Parlor City" for its history of having some of the first clean paved streets in the area during the time of the Indiana gas boom. History Early settlement and incorporation The first non-Native American settlers arrived in what is now Bluffton in 1835. They arrived as a result of the end of the Black Hawk War as well as the completion of the Erie Canal. They consisted entirely of settlers from New England. These were "Yankee" settlers, that is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the colonial era. They were primarily members of the Congregational Church though due to the Second Great Awakening many of them had converted to Methodism and some had become Baptists before ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sideshow
In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), preserved specimens (real or fabricated, such as the Fiji mermaid, Fiji Mermaid), live animal acts, burlesque or Striptease, strip shows, actually or ostensibly dangerous stunts, or stunts that appear painful like human blockhead. Most modern sideshows feature fewer to no animal acts, and have a greater focus on trainable feats or consensual body modification rather than exhibiting people with congenital disabilities, either due to changing public opinion or local laws prohibiting the exhibition of disabled people or animals. Trainable acts associated with sideshows include sword swallowing, Fire breathing (circus act), fire breathing and manipulation, Magic (illusion), magic and visual illusions, human blockhead, knife throwing, lying on a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Caudal Regression Syndrome
Caudal regression syndrome, or sacral agenesis (or hypoplasia of the sacrum), is a rare congenital disorder in which the fetal development of the lower Vertebral column, spine—the Caudal (anatomical term), caudal partition of the spine—is abnormal. It occurs at a rate of approximately one per 60,000 live births.Medline Plus. Caudal Regression Syndrome.https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/caudal-regression-syndrome/#frequency Some babies are born with very small differences compared to typical development, and others have significant changes. Most grow up to be otherwise typical adults who have difficulty with walking and incontinence. Signs and symptoms This condition exists in a variety of forms, ranging from partial absence of the tail bone regions of the spine to absence of the lower vertebrae, pelvis and parts of the thoracic and/or lumbar areas of the spine. In some cases, where only a small part of the spine is absent, there may be no outward sign of the condition. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Phocomelia
Phocomelia is a congenital condition that involves malformations of human arms and legs which result in a flipper-like appendage. A prominent cause of phocomelia is the mother being prescribed the use of the drug thalidomide during pregnancy; however, the causes of most cases are to be determined. Occurrence in an individual results in various abnormalities to the face, limbs, ears, nose, vessels and many other underdevelopments. Although operations may improve some abnormalities, many are not surgically treatable due to the lack of nerves and other related structures. The term is from Ancient Greek φώκη ''phōkē'', " seal (animal)" + ''-o-'' interfix + μέλος ''melos'', "limb" + ια ''-ia'' suffix). Phocomelia is an extremely rare congenital disorder involving malformation of the limbs ( dysmelia). Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire coined the term in 1836. Signs and symptoms The symptoms of phocomelia syndrome are undeveloped limbs and absent pelvic bones; however, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Self Promotional Flyer By Al Tomaini And Jeanie Tomaini
In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) sameness and may involve categorization and labeling, selfhood implies a first-person perspective and suggests potential uniqueness. Conversely, "person" is used as a third-person reference. Personal identity can be impaired in late-stage Alzheimer's disease and in other neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, the self is distinguishable from "others". Including the distinction between sameness and otherness, the self versus other is a research topic in contemporary philosophy and contemporary phenomenology (see also psychological phenomenology), psychology, psychiatry, neurology, and neuroscience. Although subjective experience is central to selfhood, the privacy of this experience is only one of many problems in the philosophy of self and sci ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Secret Cabaret
''The Secret Cabaret'' is a magic (illusion), magic-based television programme that ran for two series, of six episodes each, on Channel 4 in the UK during the early 1990s. Fronted by British magician Simon Drake it was praised for giving a new and shocking twist to the presentation of illusions.In the end titles for the second series of the show Drake received a credit for "Conceived and Original Material". In addition to various magicians the show featured sideshow acts and presentations by experts on fraud and confidence tricks, all interspersed with vintage archive footage of freak shows and daredevil stunts. It was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award and achieved an average audience of 2.53million. Description and production details Each programme revolved around a theatre-based show presented by Simon Drake and featuring illusions performed by him in various guises. The styling of the show was dark and mysterious with some elements that reflected goth subculture ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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E! True Hollywood Story
''E! True Hollywood Story'' is an American television documentary series on E!. Overview ''E! True Hollywood Story'' originally started as a series of specials beginning on March 29, 1996, but evolved into a weekly biographical documentary series. The regular run as a series began in October 1996. The first ''True Hollywood Story'' focused on the murder of Rebecca Schaeffer. Episodes are either one or two hours long, depending on the topic being covered. There have been more than 500 ''True Hollywood Stories.'' The series won a Gracie Award in 1998 for the episode on Gilda Radner and was nominated for Emmy Awards in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and Prism Awards in 2009. On August 22, 2019, it was announced that the series would return on October 6, 2019. On November 12, 2020, the reboot series was renewed for a second season which premiered in 2021. List of stories Unless otherwise indicated, all original airdates are primarily when the episode first aired in the United ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grady Stiles
Grady Franklin Stiles Jr. (June 26, 1937 – November 29, 1992) was an American freak show performer and murderer. His deformity was the genetic condition ectrodactyly, in which the fingers and toes are fused together to form claw-like extremities. Because of this, Stiles performed under the stage name "Lobster Boy". Family history According to Grady's father, the Stiles family had a long history of ectrodactyly, dating back to 1840. Grady Stiles Jr. was the fourth child of Grady F. Stiles Sr. and his wife Edna. Capitalizing on his deformity, Grady Stiles Sr. was a sideshow attraction in a traveling carnival. After Grady Jr. was born he was folded into his father's sideshow act at the age of seven. Stiles married twice and had four children, two of whom also had ectrodactyly. Stiles and his two children toured together as The Lobster Family. When not traveling with the carnival, the Stiles family lived in Gibsonton, Florida, where many other carnival performers lived during the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alive On The Inside
Alive may refer to: *Life Books, comics and periodicals * ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', a 1974 book by Piers Paul Read * ''Alive'' (magazine), a monthly Canadian natural health magazine * ''Alive!'' (newspaper), an Irish Catholic newspaper Film * ''Alive'' (1993 film), a film by Frank Marshall based on the book ''Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'' * '' Alive: 20 Years Later'', a 1993 documentary about the book ''Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'' and the Frank Marshall film * ''Alive'' (2002 film), a Japanese horror film by Ryuhei Kitamura based on the manga ''ALIVE'' * ''Alive'', a 2003 DVD by Audio Adrenaline * ''Alive'' (2006 film), a Russian film by Aleksandr Veledinsky * ''Alive'' (2009 film), an Albanian film by Artan Minarolli * ''Alive'' (Meshuggah video), a 2010 concert film * ''Alive'' (2014 fi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1916 Births
Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored and cooled. * January 9 – WWI: Gallipoli Campaign – The last British troops are evacuated from Gallipoli, as the Ottoman Empire prevails over a joint British and French operation to capture Constantinople. * January 10 – WWI: Erzurum Offensive – Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire. * January 12 – The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, part of the British Empire, is established in modern-day Tuvalu and Kiribati. * January 13 – WWI: Battle of Wadi (1916), Battle of Wadi – Ottoman Empire forces defeat the British, during the Mesopotamian campaign in modern-day Iraq. * January 29 – WWI: Paris is bombed by German Empire, German zeppelins. * January 31 – WWI: An attack is planned on Verdun, France. Febru ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |