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The Two-Headed Boy of Bengal

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Oddity

The Resume

    (May 1783-1787)
    Born in Mundal Gait, Bengal, India
    Born with craniopagus parasiticus, an extremely rare birth defect in which twins are joined at the head, but the body of one twin fails to develop
    Died of a cobra bite at age four

Why he might be annoying:

    Nobody seems to have bothered to record his name.
    Because his parents exhibited him for money, they kept him under a blanket when he was not on show to keep people from getting a free look.
    He had an emaciated and sickly appearance as a result of being covered up so much,
    After his death, he was exhumed by an agent of the East India Company, who sent his skull to England, where it ended up in the collection of John Hunter.
    He showed that two heads aren’t necessarily better than one.

Why he might not be annoying:

    When he was born, a midwife horrified by his appearance threw him into a fire.
    He survived despite serious burns on his second head.
    He was one of only three people with craniopagus parasiticus to survive birth.
    Both his heads were similar in size and development to those of a normal child of his age.
    The second head was often awake while the main head slept.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 88.89% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying