Romeo Dev world’s smallest bodybuilder at just 23 Dies after brain aneurism ruptures

A Great mind left us : "I earn good money through my dance and bodybuilding shows but being rich doesn't interest me."

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - People 5.

Romeo Dev world’s smallest bodybuilder at just 23 Dies after brain aneurism ruptures. The world's smallest bodybuilder died this morning 13 Th of September 2012 aged just 23. The family of Aditya ‘Romeo’ Dev, who was 2ft 9ins tall and weighed just 10kg, said he had been 'absolutely fine' before he collapsed last night. He was rushed to Satyam Hospital in Punjab, India, where doctors fought to save him. Sadly he died at 4am this morning. Mr Dev was diagnosed with a brain aneurism in 2008. U.S. doctors also diagnosed Moyamoya syndrome, a disease where certain arteries in the brain are constricted causing blood clots. Doctors had warned Mr Dev that his aneurism could burst without warning at any time, leading to a fatal stroke. Today Mr Dev's father Anil Dev Sharma, 53, and his mother Rakesh Bala, 49, spoke of their devastation at their son's death. Mr Sharma said: 'He was absolutely fine until last night when he suddenly fell unconscious. We rushed him to the hospital and he fell into a coma, he was unconscious all night. Doctors said the nerve supplying blood to his brain had ruptured, causing his death. 'It's a huge loss for our family, we will be grieving his death for the rest of our life. We were told by doctors many years ago that he may die at an early age. All these years we prayed for his long life.'Despite his overall 9kg body weight, Mr Dev could lift 1.5kg dumbbells and had worked hard on his defined, muscular body. Determined Mr Dev hoped to have an entertainment career after performing in many local TV shows and went into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2008. He said at the time:"I earn good money through my dance and bodybuilding shows but being rich doesn't interest me."Read and see the full story here.

MFS - Strange But True - People 17 - Bridgette Jordan

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The world's shortest living woman - Bridgette Jordan

Bridgette Jordan has been declared the world's shortest woman by Guinness Book of World Records. Her record-setting height of 2 feet, 3 inches allowed her to beat out the previous record holder, Elif Kocaman of Kadirli, Turkey, who measured 2 feet, 4.5 inches. Jordan is a 22-year-old student at Kaskasia College in Centralia, Ill.

In addition to this title, Bridgette also holds the record for the ‘Shortest Living Siblings’ alongside her brother, 20-year-old Brad Jordan, who measures 3 ft 2 in (98 cm) tall.In the past we did a post on "Primordal Dwarfisme" Read the full story on MFS, With 1 videoclip.

MFS - Strange But True - Places 18 - The Skull tower of Niš

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The Skull tower of Niš

Nišis the second largest city in Serbia and one of the oldest in the Balkans. Situated right between the East and the West it’s had a turbulent history involving numerous occupations and battles. For example in 1385 the Turks seized it after a siege lasting nearly a month.

Though the Turks suffered very heavy losses they nevertheless defeated the Serbs. The brutal Turkish commander at Niš, Hursid Pasha, then set about decapitating hundreds of those killed, whereupon he took about a thousand Serbian skulls and had them mounted on a tower with the skull of Stevan Sinđelić placed on top. The scalps from the skulls were stuffed with cotton and sent to Constantinople (modern Istanbul) as proof for Sultan Mahmud II.

Hursid Pasha’s uniquely gruesome edifice is still standing. Though only 58 skulls remain, much of the Skull Tower has still been preserved thanks to a chapel built to enclose it. Today, however, it serves not as a threat, but as a monument commemorating the battle, a sort of shrine to the value of independence and the real price that some have had to pay.

"My eyes and my heart greeted the remains of those brave men whose cut-off heads made the cornerstone of the independence of their homeland. May the Serbs keep this monument! It will always teach their children the value of the independence of a people, showing them the real price their fathers had to pay for it." - Alphonse de Lamartine, Journey to the East, 1833

Read and see more on MFS, with 1 videoclip.

MFS - Strange But True - People 17

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The Magnetic Boy - Ivan Stoiljkovic

The 6-year-old Croatian boy named Ivan Stoiljkovic is attracting media attention for his apparent ability to attract other things: Silverware, remote controls, cell phones and even a large frying pan seem to miraculously stick to the boy's skin. Ivan's family claims he's magnetic.

There are also claims from his family in Koprivnica, in Northern Croatia, of unusual levels of strength and even healing powers.

But one thing is for certain - when Ivan takes off his shirt, he is able to stick metallic objects such as spoons, mobile phones and even frying pans to his body.In total, his family says, he can carry up to 25kg of metal stuck to his torsoSo are is he and similar others really 'Magnetic'?Read the full story on MFS - Strange But True - People 17"MFS, with 3 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - People 17

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The Magnetic Boy - Paulo David Amorim



An 11-year-old boy has been attracting worldwide attention... and a load of metal implements.
Knives, forks, spoons, scissors and even large saucepans all seem to stick to Paulo David Amorim, a Brazilian boy who claims to have magnet-type qualities.
His friends have nicknamed him 'Magnet Boy,' while his astonished doctor says he has never seen anything like it in 30 years as a physician
The boy’s father told local TV station Globo that he decided to test his son after learning of a boy in Croatia with a similar ability.
Junior Amorim says he was surprised to find 'a fork and knife stuck to his body.'
Paulo seems to take his bizarre ability in his stride, letting his father load his up his front and back with metal, rather like a game of Buckaroo.'In school, everyone asks me to put things on my body, they think it is a trick,' Paulo said.Thankfully his magnetism is not deemed a health risk.
'We can see that there is a certain adhesiveness, that he does manage to make several objects stick to his body, some of which are pretty heavy, but it is not completely out of the ordinary,' his doctor Dix-Sept Rosado Sobrinho told TV Globo.
So is he really 'Magnetic'?Read and see the full story on MFS , with videoclip.

MFS - Strange But True - People 16

Is happiness a matter of seize? I don't think so !

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - People 16


Junrey Balawing the next smallest man in the World?


He might only be slightly taller than a glass bottle, but Junrey Balawing is set to break big world records.

The tiny teenager will soon be crowned the world's smallest man, standing at a mere 22 inches.

The minuscule man from Zamboanga del Norte, in the Philippines, is already 17 years old but is just the same size as a one-year-old.

And when he celebrates his 18th birthday in June he is excepted to shave five inches of the current Guinness World Record.

He struggles to walk and can't stand for long, but he looks forward to wearing the crown with pride.

'If I were the smallest man in the world, it would be very cool,' he said.

His mother, Concepcion, 35, says she noticed something was wrong as Junrey approached the age of two but no doctor was able to help.

His mother, Concepcion, 35, says she noticed something was wrong as Junrey approached the age of two but no doctor was able to help

'He was always sick and we noticed he wasn't growing so we took him to see a doctor but they were baffled,' she says.

When Junrey was 12 the family took him back to the doctor but their only advice was to take more vitamins, which the family couldn't afford.Read more about this amazing boy on MFS , with one videoclip about him.

MFS - Strange But True - Things / Other 21

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The Cursed Delhi Purple Sapphire


Some 34 years ago Peter Tandy, a young curator at the Natural History Museum, happened upon a jewel while working among the great lines of mineral cabinets. From a scientific perspective, the stone was nothing special, though its setting was rather bizarre, bound by a silver ring decorated with astrological symbols and mystical words with two scarab-carved gems attached. It was a typewritten note that accompanied the jewel, an amethyst known as the Delhi Purple Sapphire, that caught Tandy’s eye.

The Delhi Purple Sapphire was "trebly accursed and is stained with the blood, and the dishonor of everyone who has ever owned it," according to Edward Heron-Allen, a scientist, friend of Oscar Wilde and the last owner of the jewel.

The Delhi Purple Sapphire, actually an amethyst, was willed to the London Natural History Museum in 1943 by Heron-Allen. Supposedly he was so concerned about the curse of bad luck and tragedy surrounding the gem that he sealed it with protective charms in seven boxes.

Heron-Allen’s last words on the jewel: "Whoever shall then open it, shall first read out this warning, and then do as he pleases with the jewel. My advice to him or her is to cast it into the sea." The sapphire was only discovered again more than three decades ago though the discovery was kept quiet due to the supposed curse. Supposedly Heron-Allen, a scholar in his own right, knew what he was talking about. His descendants would never touch the jewel and knew well the story of the cursed amethyst.Read more on this "Cursed' Charm on MFS.

MFS - Strange But True - People

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Blind woman catches record Albino Catfish.



A fisherman who introduced his blind wife Sheila Penfold, 59 to fishing has been upstaged twice - as he watched her break two world records for catching giant catfish.Retired gardener Alan Penfold, 63, decided to start bringing wife Sheila along on his fishing trips four years ago but wouldn't have expected to be upstaged by his partially-sighted partner.She has broken the record for the biggest catfish ever caught by a woman and then hooked the largest albino catfish ever caught in two fishing holidays.The 59-year-old housewife, who has three children, three grandchildren and one great grandchild, said her second record-breaker came on October 4 this year when she reeled in a rare albino catfish.She was rowed out into the middle of the river to place her bait before heading back to the shore - and within minutes she felt a tug on her line which she said 'felt like a car', she told the Angler's Mail.After nearly an hour of reeling the fish to the surface, she almost dropped her rod in amazement when she heard people shouting around her that it was a very rare catfish.Four fellow fishermen and the tour guide helped Sheila, from Wandsworth, south London, get the huge fish onto dry land.The previous world record for an albino catfish- caught by either a man or a woman - was just 179lb, almost a stone lighter than Sheila's catch.Picture and copyright by Stian Alexander.Read and see more on this catch at MFS,with 1 videoclip on Catfish angling.

MFS - Strange But True - People 16

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The Tarahumara a.k.a. The super Athletes of the Sierra Madre.


The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are an indigenous people of northern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability.In their language, the term rarámuri refers specifically to the males, females are referred as muki (individually) or igomele (collectively).Originally inhabitants of much of the state of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri retreated to the Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Occidental on the arrival of Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century. The area of the Sierra Madre Occidental which they now inhabit is often called the Sierra Tarahumara because of their presence.Current estimates put the population of the Rarámuri in 2006 at between 50,000 and 70,000 people. Most still practice a traditional lifestyle, inhabiting natural shelters such as caves or cliff overhangs, as well as small cabins of wood or stone. Staple crops are corn and beans; however, many of the Rarámuri still practice transhumance, raising cattle, sheep, and goats. Almost all Rarámuri migrate in some form or another in the course of the year.The Tarahumara language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. Although it is in decline under pressure from Spanish, it is still widely spoken.The word for themselves, Rarámuri means "foot-runner" or "he who walks well,"in their native tongue.And they've been known to irritate American ultramarathoners by beating them while wearing huarache sandals and stopping now and then for a smoke.Read and see more about these amazing people on MFS,with 2 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - Places 18

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The Sigiriya fortress Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is an ancient rock fortress and palace ruin situated in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos), which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. The Sigiriya was built during the reign of King Kassapa I (AD 477 – 495), and it is one of the seven World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees to the Buddhist Sangha. The garden and palace were built by King Kasyapa. Following King Kasyapa's death, it was again a monastery complex up to about the 14th century, after which it was abandoned. . The Sigiri inscriptions were deciphered by the archaeologist Senarath Paranavithana in his renowned two-volume work, published by Oxford, Sigiri Graffiti. He also wrote the popular book "Story of Sigiriya".Read and see more about this amazing place on MFS,with 2 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - Places 18

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The Train Graveyard at Uyuni - Bolivia.


Uyuni is a town in the Potosí Department in the south of Bolivia. The town's primary function is as a gateway for tourists visiting the world's largest salt flats - the Salar de Uyuni.One of the major tourist attractions of the area is an antique train cemetery. It is located 3 km outside Uyuni and is connected to it by the old train tracks. The town served in the past as a distribution hub for the trains carrying minerals on their way to the Pacific Ocean ports. The train lines were built by British engineers who arrived near the end of the 19th century and formed a sizable community in Uyuni. The engineers were invited by British-sponsored Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Companies, which is now Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia. The rail construction started in 1888 and ended in 1892. It was encouraged by the then Bolivian President Aniceto Arce, who believed Bolivia would flourish with a good transport system, but it was also constantly sabotaged by the local Aymara indigenous Indians who saw it as an intrusion into their lives. The trains were mostly used by the mining companies. In the 1940s, the mining industry collapsed, partly due to the mineral depletion. Many trains were abandoned thereby producing the train cemetery. There are talks to build a museum out of the cemetery.Read and see the full story at MFS,with 1 videoclip.

MFS - Strange But True Creatures/Animals 16

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    The Ocean sunfish a.k.a. Mola mola.


The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, or common mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.Sunfish live on a diet that consists mainly of jellyfish, but because this diet is nutritionally poor, they consume large amounts in order to develop and maintain their great bulk. Females of the species can produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate.Sunfish fry resemble miniature pufferfish, with large pectoral fins, a tail fin and body spines uncharacteristic of adult sunfish.
Adult sunfish are vulnerable to few natural predators, but sea lions, orcas and sharks will consume them. Among humans, sunfish are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, including Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan, but sale of their flesh is banned in the European Union.Sunfish are frequently, though accidentally, caught in gillnets, and are also vulnerable to harm or death from encounters with floating trash, such as plastic bags.
A member of the order Tetraodontiformes, which also includes pufferfish, porcupinefish and filefish, the sunfish shares many traits common to members of this order. It was originally classified as Tetraodon mola under the pufferfish genus, but it has since been given its own genus, Mola, with two species under it. The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, is the type species of the genus.Read more about this giant fish on MFS,with 3 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - Creatures/Animals 16

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      The Chinese Giant Salamander.


The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest salamander in the world, reaching a length of 180 cm (6 ft), although it rarely - if ever - reaches that size today. Endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in China, it is considered critically endangered due to habitat loss, pollution, and over-collecting, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine. Records from Taiwan may be the results of introductions.It has been listed as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) project.Read more about this rare animal on MFS,with 2 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - Things/Other 21

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - Things/Others 21 .

          The Voynich Manuscript.

The Voynich manuscript is a handwritten book thought to have been written in the 15th or 16th century and comprising about 240 vellum pages, most with illustrations. The author, script, and language remain unknown: for these reasons it has been described as "the world's most mysterious manuscript".Generally presumed to be some kind of ciphertext, the Voynich manuscript has been studied by many professional and amateur cryptographers, including American and British codebreakers from both World War I and World War II. Yet it has defied all decipherment attempts, becoming a historical cryptology cause célèbre. The mystery surrounding it has excited the popular imagination, making the manuscript a subject of both fanciful theories and novels: numerous possible authors have been suggested for it.In 2009, University of Arizona researchers performed C14 dating on the manuscript's vellum, which they assert (with 95% confidence) was made between 1404 and 1438. In addition, the McCrone Research Institute in Chicago found that much of the ink was added not long afterwards, confirming that the manuscript is indeed an authentic medieval document.However, these results have yet to be published properly, leaving room for continued speculation.
The book is named after the Polish-Lithuanian-American book dealer Wilfrid M. Voynich, who acquired it in 1912. Currently the Voynich manuscript is owned by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University, and is formally referred to as "Beinecke MS 408". The first facsimile edition was published in 2005.Read more about this amazing book on MFS,with 6 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - People

Edward Nino Hernandez .
The Shortest Living Man man .


A 70cm (27-inch) tall Colombian has been named the world's shortest living man by Guinness World Records.

Edward Nino Hernandez, 24, weighs only 10kg (22lbs). His mother said he had not grown since he was two years old.

Mr Hernandez, who works part-time as a dancer, told the Associated Press: "I feel happy because I'm unique."

The previous record holder was He Pingping of China, who was 4cm (1.5 inches) taller and died in March - before Mr Hernandez was discovered.

Mr Hernandez is not expected to keep the title for long, however, as Khagendra Thapa Magar of Nepal is expected to take the title when he turns 18 in October.
Khagendra, currently recognised as the world's shortest living teenager, is only 56cm (22in) tall. The shortest man on record was Gul Mohammed of India, who measured just 57cm - 1cm taller than Khagendra.
More about past shortest people in the world here on MFS.,.But there is another candidate that nobody mentions a Chinese man."Remember the story of two dogs fighting over a bone?",read about the third contestant here.

MFS - Strange But True - Creatures / Animals 15

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - Creatures / Animals 15.


The Komondor Dog.

The Komondor (Hungarian plural komondorok) is a large white-colored Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog with a long, corded coat. The Komondor is an old-established powerful dog breed which has a natural guardian instinct to guard livestock and other property. The Komondor was mentioned for the first time in 1544 in a Hungarian codex.The Komondor breed has been declared one of Hungary’s national treasures, to be preserved and protected from modification. They are quite rare in the United States, as most owners are unfamiliar with their coarse hair.Read more about this amazing dog breed on MFS,with 2 videoclips.

Meet The World's Tallest Teenager Elisany Silva

The world's tallest teenager Elisany Silva .


Elisany Silva was born on September 27, 1995 in Brazil. Now she is 14 years old and 6'9'' (206 cm) tall. And that makes her the tallest teen girl in the world. Amazing. Being so tall isn't easy, but it helped her to find a job. She will debut on the catwalk ending the designer's show in Belem, dressed as a bride.

MFS - Strange But True - People 16

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - People 16 .

The 'Tree Man of Java' Dede Koswara.


Epidermodysplasia verruciformis.

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (also called Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia or Lutz-Lewandowsky epidermodysplasia verruciformis) is an extremely rare autosomal recessive genetic hereditary skin disorder associated with a high risk of carcinoma of the skin. It is characterized by abnormal susceptibility to human papillomaviruses (HPVs) of the skin. The resulting uncontrolled HPV infections result in the growth of scaly macules and papules, particularly on the hands and feet. It is typically associated with HPV types 5 and 8, which are found in about 80% of the normal population as asymptomatic infections, although other types may also contribute.
The condition usually has an onset of between the ages of 1–20, but can occasionally present in middle-age. It is named after the physicians who first documented it, Felix Lewandowsky and Wilhelm Lutz.Dede Koswara his ordeal started when he was 15 and cut his knee where a small wart developed and spread) with the bizarre condition, Dede expressed that he wants to get better and find a job and hopes that one day he will meet a girl and get married.
"This is the most remarkable case, the most severe case, I have seen in my career," said American doctor Anthony Gaspari at a news conference in Bandung, about a two-hour drive from capital city Jakarta.
For Dede (who is known by his first name), what started as a simple wart on his knee as a teenager spiraled his life out of control when it became infected. Treelike growths gradually spread all over his legs, arms, chest and face.He became physically unable to do basic functions and everyday tasks.

As a result of his condition, Dede lost his job, and his wife left him. He moved in with his parents and has been supported by extended family. His two kids often visit him at the hospital.
On 26 August 2008, Dede returned home following surgery to remove 6 kg (13 lb) of warts from his body. The surgery consisted of three steps,read more about it on MFS,with 2 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - People 15

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           Armless Pianist Liu Wei .


Liu, now 23 years old, lost both of his arms in a freak accident when he was 10, after he touched an electrified wire while playing hide-and-seek. However, these tragic circumstances did not stop Liu from pursuing his dream of becoming a pianist.Heartening tales of overcoming adversity are typical fodder on "Got Talent" and other reality shows, but the shocking saga of "China's Got Talent" contestant Liu Wei makes this season's batch of "America's Got Talent" sob stories look like the pampered brats on VH1's "You're Cut Off." And this is a true sob story--seriously, if you watch the video below and don't get at least a little bit misty-eyed, you clearly have no soul.Read more on this amazing person on MFS,with 1 videoclip.

MFS - Strange But True - People 15

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - People 15 .

Liew Thow Lin a.k.a. Magnet Man.

Liew Thow Lin of Malaysia is known as the "Magnet Man", or "Mr. Magnet"because he has the ability to stick metal objects to his body.Lin has performed in many charity events showing his ability. He can make metal objects, weighing up to 2kg each, up to 36 kg total,stick to his skin. He has also pulled a car using this ability.Lin's ability is not due to any source of magnetism. Scientists from Malaysia's University of Technology found no magnetic field in Lin's body, but did determine that his skin exhibits very high levels of friction, providing a "suction effect". The trait appears to be genetic, appearing in Lin's three grandchildren.But there are also others with this ability,read more about it on MFS,with 2 videoclips.