Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine

Excerpt: ...Empire by his wonderful feats of strength. One of his tricks was to add a fifth leg to a common table (placing the useless addition in the exact center) and then balance it with his teeth while two full-grown gipsies danced on it, the music being furnished by a violinist seated in the middle of the well-balanced platform. One day when the prison in which this Hercules was confined was undergoing repairs, he picked up a large carpenter's bench with his teeth and held it balanced aloft for nearly a minute. Since being released from the Olen prison, Pospischilli and his cousin, another local strong man named Martenstine, have formed a combination and are now starring Southern Europe, performing all kinds of startling feats of strength. Among other things they have had a 30-foot bridge made of strong timbers, which is used in one of their great muscle acts. This bridge has two living piers-Pospischilli acting as one and Martenstine the other. Besides supporting this monstrous structure (weight, 1866 pounds) upon their shoulders, these freaks of superhuman strength allow a team of horses and a wagon loaded with a ton of cobble-stones to be driven across it. It is said that Selig Whitman, known as Ajax, a New York policeman, has lifted 2000 pounds with his hands and has maintained 450 pounds with his teeth. This man is five feet 8 1/2 inches tall and weighs 162 pounds. His chest measurement is 40 inches, the biceps 17 inches, that of his neck 16 1/2 inches, the forearm 11, the wrist 9 1/2, the thigh 23, and the calf 17. One of the strongest of the strong women is Madame Elise, a Frenchwoman, who performs with her husband. Her greatest feat is the lifting of eight men weighing altogether about 1700 pounds. At her performances she supports across her shoulders a 700-pound dumb-bell, on each side of which a person is suspended. Miss Darnett, the singing strong lady, extends herself upon her hands and feet, face uppermost, while a stout...