INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SUPERPOWERS

BEN UNDERWOOD,

THE BOY WITH ECHOLOCATION

This amazing human being was diagnosed with retinal cancer

at the age of two and had his eyes removed at age three.

He taught himself echolocation at age five and was able to

detect the location of objects by making frequent clicking noises

with his tongue. He used it to accomplish such feats as running,

playing basketball, riding a bicycle, rollerblading, playing football

and skateboarding. Unfortunately, the remarkable Ben Underwood

died on January 19, 2009, at age sixteen from the same

cancer that took his vision.

KIM PEEK,

MASTERMIND

Kim Peek is the real “Rain Man” whose almost unimaginable

powers of memory were coupled with severe disabilities and

inspired the Oscar-winning role played by Dustin Hoffman. Known

as a “mega savant,” he had one of the most exceptional

memories in recorded history.

GARRY TURNER,

SUPER STRETCH ABILITIES

There’s a wide array of elastic superheroes—with Mr. Fantastic

being the most famous—capable of transforming their

rubbery bodies into any number of shapes. The real-world

equivalent of Mr. Fantastic is Garry Turner, who can stretch and

manipulate his skin in a number of extremely unsettling ways

because his skin doesn’t contain the right amount of collagen.

NOORSYAIDAH,

WIRE GROWTH

Noorsyaidah is an Indonesian woman who claims that metal wires

grow out of her body and have been growing for over

twenty years. The metal wires about ten to twenty centimetres

(four to eight inches) had sceptics believing it was a hoax.

Nevertheless, after X-ray and further analysis they are now

trying to find a reasonable scientific explanation for this

phenomenon.

ARTHUR LINTGEN,

VINYL VISION

Vinyl vision is the ability to see groove patterns in vinyl recordings

and correctly identify musical recordings without the benefit of

identifying labels. Only one person has been recorded as

having this incredibly unique ability. His name is Arthur B. Lintgen

and his ability was officially recognized in 1982 by James Randi,

a famous Canadian-American retired stage magician and

scientific sceptic.

AL HERPIN,

SLEEPLESSNESS

After a few days without sleep an average human being will probably

collapse, but this wasn’t the case for Al Herpin who apparently

did not sleep during his ninety-four years of life. Even though

the supposed cause is unknown, some scientists believe that his

sleep deprivation was linked to his mother suffering a major

injury a few days prior to his birth. He’s remembered even

today as the “man who never slept.”

LIEW THOW LIN,

"MAGNETISM"

Liew Thow Lin is known as the “Magnetic Man” of Malaysia because

of his incredible ability to stick metal objects to his body. After a

detailed medical study, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

lecturer Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood claims that this extraordinary

ability is probably associated with suction properties in his skin.

TIM CRIDLAND,

ACCELERATED HEALING

Tim Cridland is known worldwide for his demonstrations that

involve pushing large skewers through his body, directly through

deep muscle tissue, without feeling pain, without losing any

blood, and rapidly healing.