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Julia Pastrana

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Oddity

The Resume

    (circa 1834-March 25, 1860)
    Born in Mexico
    Born with hypertrichosis (excessive hair growth) and gingival hyperplasia (excessive gum growth)
    Exhibited in the US, Canada and Europe

Why she might be annoying:

    She was promoted as half-woman half-bear or half-woman half-baboon.
    She was covered with hair everywhere except the palms of her hands and soles of her feet.
    She was banned from Germany when obstetricians objected that pregnant women might miscarry at the sight of her.
    After her death, her manager/husband had her body and her son's body preserved so the show could go on.
    The mummies were stolen a couple of times. During one theft, her right arm was ripped off. After another theft, her son's body was not recovered until after it had been largely eaten by mice.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was a good singer and dancer.
    Naturalist Frank Buckland wrote, 'Her figure was exceedingly good and graceful, and her tiny foot and well-turned ankle, bien chausse, perfection itself.'
    She seems to have genuinely loved her husband, who unfortunately married her solely to ensure she would not leave him for another manager.
    She died of peritonitis five days after giving birth to a son (who was hairy like Pastrana and lived less than 48 hours).
    After various travels, her remains ended up in Norway, where the government stepped in to remove the mummy from display and have it transferred to a museum of medical history, where it would be available for scientific study (1996).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 22.22% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 21 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 23 Votes: 52.17% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 30 Votes: 56.67% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 19 Votes: 42.11% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 40.0% Annoying