Human Oddities

That title just sounds "odd," but I must admit that I’m a sucker for anything on TLC or Discovery Health with the title “My Shocking Story“ or “Half Ton Mom“ or “My Giant Legs.“  The lives of these people are so fascinating. Albinos being hunted by witch doctors in Africa…yes please. The Tree Man from Indonesia (but wait there are two of them?!), obviously!  My DVR is set to record, and I enjoy watching the oddities in life at my leisure.

My coworkers love to hear about the newest weird show I saw the other night (okay, maybe not love, maybe tolerate).  I regale them with stories about people who can conduct electricity with their bare hands, the world’s tallest children or the latest stories about the morbidly obese. 

And while I don’t necessarily consider this too much of an oddity, my love of the Duggars (the couple with 19, yes 19, children) comes up now and again as well.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to see the lives of Jim Bob, Michelle, Josh, Jana, John David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordan and Josie?  And no, I didn’t cheat and look up their names.  And PS – Jackson and Johannah are my favorites.

And while I’m not a fan of “Little People, Big World,“ I do love “The Little Couple.“ The husband is 4‘ tall, the wife is 3‘2“.  She’s a doctor, he’s a businessman, and they’re building a new custom-made home in Houston, Texas. I feel a slight connection with the wife since she’s from St. Petersburg.  I mean, we’re practically neighbors.

The more I learn about the world outside my little piece of earth, the more I’m fascinated by the stories.  Of course, I’m sure my coworkers would like me to love shows about people just a little bit more normal, but really, who and what are normal?  I’m guessing that if I lived in the 1800s, I would be first in line to see the Elephant Man, the Bearded Lady and the Wolfman, but hey, aren’t we all just a little bit curious?