The Walls were living a normal, uneventful life until the summer of 1975 changed their lives forever. Young Teresa Walls was going through her first pregnancy. Everything seemed normal. Then the time came when she was to give birth to her little baby. After she went through her labor, the doctors gave her a threatening news. Her baby boy was one in a million, born with a rare heart disorder Ectopia Cordis. What this meant was that her baby was born with his heart literally out of his chest. What she didn't know that her little boy was indeed a miracle baby.

The little boy, christened as Christopher Wall had no room in his chest for his tiny heart. While doctors in many parts of the world would have lost hope and left him to die, little Chris was lucky that his doctors were not ready to give up. They immediately put Chris in the ventilator and checked for other disorders. They had a pleasant surprise that little Chris was perfectly normal other than his tiny heart that hung out of his chest.
Christopher Wall's chest was too little to accommodate his heart. Doctors later found that his chest was not only tiny but also weak and Chris needed a respirator to breath.
Christopher's first 18 months were very difficult during which he endured 15 surgeries. He was allowed to leave the hospital not before he was nearly 3 years old. Until then, young Chris had already became a living miracle. At 6 years old, the doctors were able to give Christopher Wall a new breast bone made out of his own hip bone.
Atlast Chris was able to lead a normal, happy life. The many surgeries left Christopher Walls with hearing loss and learning-disabilities, but that didn't stop brave Chris to enjoy sports like karate. Christopher Walls is now volunteering at the same children hospital that helped him get through the gargantuan challenge to survive.

"I just wanna be a good person," he said. "I just wanna work and help out with my family."

21:42:00

Animals have always accompanied men at war. They have carried our soldiers and pulled our cannons. If you think that's all, then check out these stories of some of the craziest uses of animals in war.

Anti tank Dogs

This is one of the worst examples of war brutality. Anti tank dogs were first developed by the Soviet Union to take down German tanks during World War II. The idea was simple yet effective. Dogs were trained to find food under tanks and then starved before a battle. The dogs were then released in battle, jumping under tanks hoping for food. Each dog carried a 10-12 kg bomb which had a lever that detonated the bomb when the dog dived under the tank.

According to Soviet sources, the results was quite impressive. The anti tank dogs managed to destroy about 300 German tanks. But it also had its drawbacks. One of the most serious problems was that the dogs were often frightened by gun fires and returned to the trenches, killing Soviet soldiers. To tackle this, Soviet soldiers were ordered to shoot any returning dogs.
Thus, Soviets dropped the use of anti tank dogs in 1942. USA also used the strategy against fortification.

Bat Bombs

The bat bomb can sound something out of a fiction novel, but bats actually carried bombs during World War II. The bizarre notion was sparked in the mind of Lytle Adams, a Pennsylvanian dentist who carried interests in much more than teeth.
After watching the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Adams came up with an unusual strategy againstthe island nation. He visualized the use of bats to spread incendiaries in Japanese cities. Surprisingly, the idea was very well appreciated as most of Japanese houses were made up of flammable materials like wood and paper and Adam's method would likely cause chaos without many casualties. Also bats were quite suitable for the project as they could carry loads equal to their own weight.
The plan was to capture bats and put them into cooled containers where they would hibernate. Small bombs were then attached to the bat's backs. The containers were dropped from high altitudes. The containers would in mid air, releasing thousands of bats at a time. At daytime, the bats would look for dark places, most of them settling in the attics of houses. The bombs will be activated by a timer, burning whole Japanese buildings to the ground.
The U.S military tested Adam's theory, spending around $2 million on the project. But after only a single year in testing, the idea was dropped as it was believed that it was important to focus on a much more effective weapon, the atomic bomb.

Mare Distraction

One of the most effective war strategies is to distract your enemy's war efforts. This strategy has been used for centuries, but one man in the ancient world took it one step further.
King Thutmoss III is the one of the greatest Pharoahs of ancient Egypt. The military led his army in countless battles and built the largest egyptian empire.
The King of Kadesh, a dynasty in what is now Syria, feared to lose his kingdom to Thutmoss. He needed to find the weak link in Thutmoss' forces in order to save his throne. And that is what he actually found.
The King of Kadesh came up with a weird yet intelligent move. He knew that Thutmoss rode on a chariot pulled by stallions. That is where he found the weak link. Right in the heart of the battle, King Kadesh set loose a mare in heat as a distraction.
Ancient records show that the idea worked well, causing a total disrupt among enemy lines. The move became quite famous and was widely used at the time.

Explosive Rats

In 1941, Britain had almost no hope in World War II. They had to come up with something to keep their chances alive. The British were looking for something that could put the Germans on the back foot and so they came up with the Rat bomb.
What really was the rat bomb? Well, that's an easy question. The rat bombs were nothing but actual rat carcasses filled with explosives. The British hoped that if their rat bombs could reach the German coal supplies, they could be shoveled into the boilers along with the coal, detonating by the heat. It was estimated that the bombs could cause a serious damage to German infrastructure.
Bad luck for the British that the Germans soon found out about the plans and the plan was dropped.

Cat Guidance System

Before all the sophisticated guidance systems, the Americans came up with the wackiest solution to guide their missiles to the target. Cats have a natural abhorrence for getting wet. So, a U.S military mastermind came up with the thought that if a cat be attached to a bomb and dropped in the vicinity of an enemy ship, the cat's instinct to avoid water would help guide the bomb to the target.
Amazingly enough, the so called 'genius' never really explained how a little creature like the cat could guide a huge bomb. There were also many more variables that remained unanswered and that is probably why the plan never got past the drawing table.

Monkeys on Fire

Monkeys have always had their special place because of their unusual intelligence. No wonder, they've been used in wars for a long time.
The first known use of monkeys in war was in ancient China. In a battle between between the Southern Song forces and an army of the Yanzhou, monkeys were used as live incendiary devices. They were clothed in straw, dipped in oil and set on fire. The panicked creatures were then set loose in enemy camps, causing fire in the tents.

03:02:00

Mount Paricutin is one of the most amazing wonders of Mother Nature, a volcano grown out of a cornfield. The cornfield volcano is the youngest volcano in the Western Hemisphere and one of the '7' Wonders of the World.

Mount Paricutin

Paricutin erupting at night, 1948

The Paricutin is the world's only volcano whose birth has been witnessed by human eyes. It is one of the youngest volcanoes and its bizarre story has made it to the 7 wonders of the world. Paricutin grew out of a Mexican cornfield. Its birth, although wasn't as disastrous as the fall of Pompeii, nonetheless represents a dramatic period in the lives of the inhabitants of Paricutin, Mexico.

The Story

Paricutin, 1944

The story takes place in Paricutin, a small Mexican village of farmers. It is situated in an active tectonic area. It was a usual Saturday afternoon. Farmer Dionisio Pulido was working in the field, with his wife preparing dinner for the family, much like she did everyday. Unaware of the fact, that the day would become one of the most infamous days of human history.

Suddenly, Dionisio felt strong tremors and thunder sounds from the ground. He couldn't believe his eyes, when he saw the ground crack open. Soon, a pungent odour spread in the field. The odour of burning sulphur. Dionisio's wife rushed outside and the couple became the first human ever to witness the birth of a volcano.

The Development

Soon after, lava and ash started flowing out of the fissure, affecting Paricutin and other nearby villages. The ashes from the volcano fell as far as the Mexico city. The volcano grew rapidly from a fissure to a height of a 5-storey building in no more than a week.

Paricutin Volcano Facts

• Location: Mexico
• Eruption: 1943 to 1952
• Area Covered: 25 sq. km
• Total Height: 1345 feet
• Major Eruption: 1943
• Characteristic: Youngest volcano in Western Hemisphere

Paricutin erupted frequently during the first few months of its birth. Most of the volcano's growth occurred in the first year. At the end of the first year, the Paricutin had reached a massive height of 1,102 feet.
The Paricutin continued erupting between 1943 and 1952, affecting hundreds of thousands of lives. During this period, lava and ash swept an area of more than 25 sq. km. The worst of Paricutin's volcanic activity, took place in 1943, with its lava rising to about 50 feet below the crater's rim and killing more than 1000 inhabitants.

The Death

Paricutin is a Monogenetic Volcano, meaning that once it has finished erupting, it will never erupt again. The last of the eruptions occurred in 1952, after which the Paricutin calmed. It has been quite since then, reaching a final height of 1,345 feet.

00:31:00

Hadaka Matsuri, the strange Japanese festival of naked men. I’ve always been fascinated by Japan. As a kid, the first thing that used to click in my mind on the word ‘Japan’ were Robots. I thought of them as super humans living a life we could only watch in sci-fi movies. But as I learned more about them, I found out that the Robots are not the most amazing thing about the Japanese, it was their culture. The Japanese have been blessed with one of the world’s richest cultures.

One important aspect of the Japanese culture is their festivals. These festivals not only reflect their brilliant culture but also their rich historical background. Here we introduce Hadaka Matsuri, one of the three most eccentric festivals of Japan.

What is Hadaka Matsuri?

Hadaka Matsuri, Japanese for “Naked Festival”, is a strange festival which involves men only dressed in loincloths, fiercely competing to get hold of a pair of sacred lucky sticks, the “Shingi”.  Anyone who luckily gets a shingi and manages to stick it upright in a wooden box filled with rice, called the masu, is blessed with a year of happiness.

Where Is It Held?

The Hadaka Matsuri festival is now held in various cities of Japan but the biggest one takes place in the city of Okayama which is attended by more than 10,000 men from all over Japan. The city of Okayama is also the origin place of the festival.

How It all Started?

Like many other Japanese festivals, Hadaka Matsuri has its roots in the ancient culture of Japan. It all started about 500 years ago when farmers struggled to get the lucky talismans from the priests. The paper talismans, known as Go-o, were the tokens of completion of the New Year Ascetic training. The talismans are now made up of sticks which are considered to be the “sticks of God”.
These talismans, prized as lucky charms, were thought to bring good luck and it was believed that the they protect their possessor from all types of accidents and injuries, even death. As time went on, the number of people requesting the talismans increased and so as their importance. This gave rise to the Hadaka Matsuri festival as we know it today.

What's It All About?

A struggle with 10,000 men can sound a fiery job. But for the Japanese, well they can do anything for their 365 days of happiness.
The festival takes place every year in the cold season. The n@ked crowd, shouting ‘Wasshoi! Wasshoi’, wait outside the temple. Precisely at midnight, the sticks are thrown into the crowd and the men rush to grab a stick. Cold water is sprayed heavily on the raging men as they struggle ambitiously for the lucky charm. Even if you manage to grab a stick, it will be quickly snatched away by others. Its almost like the Japanese version of rugby, with no clothes. ;)

So, do you think that the Shingi is worth of a competition with 10,000 men. Speak out and like always, I'd be most eager to hear from you.
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21:48:00

Every culture and society has its own customs and rituals. These rituals have their own origins and roots. Some of these rituals are considered, weird, bizarre, insane and totally out of the screws, but not for those who practise them. For them, these strange rituals serve a special purpose. This contradiction in views is what makes the human civilization so diverse and beautiful. Below is my list of the top 5 strange rituals of the world.

Strange Birth Ritual

Sifudu (Africa)

The birth of a baby is an important occasion in all cultures around the world. The occasion is marked by prayers and blessings to welcome the new member in the family. But sometimes, these blessing ceremonies can go to strange limits. Sifudu is an important custom practised in different African tribes. On the third day of birth of the child, relatives gather at the hut, picking leaves from the Sifudu tree. A small fire is made at the centre of the hut and the Sifudu leaves are burnt to produce a thin pall of smoke. The leaves have an extremely pungent aroma that irritates mouth, nose and eyes. Then the baby is carried by a woman with his head downward in the smoke and is passed several times through the smoke and is then handed back to the mother who quickly passes the child under her leg.
It is believed that the ritual ensures that the child is never subjected to fright, timidness or shyness.

Strange Death Ritual

Suttee (India)

There's no place better known than India when it comes to talking about strange beliefs. These strange beliefs give rise some of the worlds strangest rituals. One of them is the infamous custom of Suttee.
Suttee or self cremation involves widows who voluntarily lie by her dead husband's side on his funeral pyre to be burnt alive with the corpse.
Suttee is a very old Hindu custom practised in India for many centuries until it was banned by the British in 1829.
The widow is considered a bad omen in the Hindu society. She is not allowed to attend social gatherings and everything from her touch to her presence is considered extremely impure. Although the core idea behind this strange custom is to reunite the couple in afterlife, most of the outsiders and even many Indians see this as just inhumanity.

Strange Marriage Ritual

Blackening of Bride (Scotland)

Marriage is one of the most joyous occasions in all cultures and countries. An occasion filled with laughter, joy and happiness. But it can become an occasion of craziness in Scotland.
The Scottish people are not like any other European. Their men wear skirts and they can make music out of a bag. But even more bizarre is what they do with their newly wed bride. Instead of throwing rice, the Scots welcome their bride with eggs and sauces on her face. They dub this strange ritual as the "blackening of bride".
"Blackening of bride" is a very old pre-marriage ritual practiced in Scotland. The bride is taken by surprise, or rather by shock, as the friends and family cover her with any gross they can think of. It can be anything from curdled milk, rotten eggs, and molasses to mud and syrups.

Strange Food Ritual

Burping (Egypt)

While burping is considered rude and ill-mannered in the West, the Egyptians have a different point of view. In Egypt, burping is the highest compliment a guest can remark on the quality of food made for them.
So, now you have a nice way to please your Egyptian hosts.

Strange Initiation Ritual

The Bullet Ant Gloves (South America)

Initiation is the ceremony marking the entrance into a group or community. Initiation rites are held in all cultures in order to transform a child into an adult. The most common examples include the Christian ceremony of "baptism" or the Hindu "diksha". While it may not sound like much to many people, many cultures have quite painful ways of initiation. One of the most extreme of these initiation rites are found among the Mawe people of South America. They use intentional Bullet Ant stings as part of their initiation rites. The stings of these Bullet Ants are so painful that they are compared to bullet shots, this is where the name comes from.
First the ants are collected and are rendered unconscious by keeping them in a natural sedative. Then hundreds of them are woven in pair of gloves made out of leaves. The boys are then asked to wear the gloves for at least 10 minutes. The neurotoxic of bullet ants paralysis the hands and cause intense pain, even more than the sting of a tarantula. The boys have to repeat the ritual for 20 times before they become a "warrior".

03:23:00

The infamous German anatomist Gunther von Hagens is the man who has earned himself a rather weird reputation of 'Mr. Death' by turning corpses alive. He is the developer and promoter of the Body Worlds exhibit. Body Worlds features dead people engaged in a variety of everyday activities from playing chess to dancing. The skin and several layers of body tissues are peeled in order to give the audience a closer look at the secrets of human life and death.


Body Worlds Exhibit gained a huge global gaze through the 2006, James Bond movie 'Casino Royale'. 
First started in 1995, the Body World has received more than 32 million visitors making it the most popular travelling exhibit in the world. Most of the people who have ever witnessed a Body World exhibit end up asking questions about where the heck they get so many human bodies? If you're troubling with the same question then let me tell you that all the bodies at the Body Worlds come from body donors who authorise their bodies to Body World with their own consent.

The bodies at Body Worlds are prepared and preserved by a special process called plastination which was also invented by Gunther von Hagens. Plastination involves the replacement of muscle water and fat by certain plastics yielding specimens which are odourless, decay-proof and rigid allowing them to be posed in lifelike positions. While people around the world are fascinated by Gunther's unusual art, he's not famous among all of them. The Body Worlds is banned in many parts of the world including Paris and Poland. Gunther von Hagens has faced serious criticism especially from religious groups who object the display of human remains. For many religious groups, the practice is like disrespecting a human corpse.

While religious groups object Gunther's display of human forms, some organisations express their concerns over the source of the bodies. But Gunther has put down all such claims, stating that the bodies come entirely from donors. Gunther von Hagens states that the objective of the Body Worlds is to educate common man about the body leading to better health awareness. But whatever the aim be, Gunther's 'Skinless Wonders' continues to fascinate thousands of eyeballs around the world by bridging the taboos of life and death, making it one of the most strange exhibitions in the world.

Further Reading:

A complete catalog of the Body Worlds. Includes articles by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, Dr. Angelina Whalley, Charleen M. Moor & C. Mackenzie Brown, Dr. Franz Josef Wetz, and Bazon Brock. This is a comprehensive book written by people from Body Worlds itself.

Buy it now on Amazon: Body Worlds - The original exhibition of real human bodies

03:11:00

The Five most amazing survival stories of people who went to incredible lengths to survive against all odds. These survival stories will give a glimpse of human determination and our instinct to survive.

Wenseslao Moguel

The Mexican Revolution saw many deaths – but no one saw it as closely as Wenseslao Moguel. Wenseslao Moguel was captured on 18 March, 1915 and without a trial was sentenced to execution by firing squad. He was shot not once, not twice, not even thrice but 9 times including the final bullet through his head by an Officer to insure death. Miraculously, Wenseslao survived and was able to escape. Wenseslao Moguel's survival is one of the most amazing survival stories of all times. He went on to live a full life after his execution.

Aron Ralston

Aron Ralston is an engineer and passionate mountaineer. March 2003, Ralston was hiking in Blue John Canyon, Utah, unknown of the fact that his favorite hiking site will become the setting for his amazing survival story. While descending a slot canyon, a suspended boulder from which he was climbing down became dislodged, crushing his right hand and forearm and pinning it against the canyon wall. After spending five days trying to free his arm from the 800 lb load and surviving on just 350ml of water, he took the difficult decision of amputating his arm. Using a dull two-inch knife, the operation took about an hour. He then hiked out of the canyon.
His book "Between a rock and a hard place" inspired the 2010 movie "127 Hours".

Steven Callahan

On the night of January 29, 1982, Steven Callahan set sail alone in his small sailboat from the Canary Islands bound for the Caribbean. On February 5, the ship sank in a storm, leaving Callahan adrift in the Atlantic in a 5.5ft inflatable rubber raft. Naked except for a t-shirt, with only three pounds of food, a few pieces of gear and eight pints of water to survive, Callahan drifted for 76 days, and over 1,800 miles of ocean, before he reached land and was rescued in the Bahamas. He recorded his amazing survival story in his book "Adrift: 76 days lost at sea".

Uruguay Air Force Flight 57

On October 13 1972, the Old Christians Rugby Team were flying in a chartered plane to play a match in Santiago, Chile. For many of them, this proved to be their last flight, but not for all of them.
The plane carrying 45 passengers including the associates and family members of the rugby team crashed in the Andes. The crash killed a quarter of the passengers and the rest left in extremely harsh conditions more than 3500 meters above sea level. With freezing temperatures and almost no food, the survivors fed on the bodies of their dead companions for nearly 72 days when Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa made an epic trek across the mountains to raise the alarm. A rescue mission at last rescued the other 16 passengers.
The amazing survival story of the Uruguay Air Force Flight inspired the 1974 best seller, "Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivor" by Piers Paul Read.

Ernest Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton, an Antarctic explorer, left his home to become the first human to cross the Antarctic from sea to sea, passing from the south pole. His expedition, however failed, but he and his hardy crew still won the honor and respect of the whole humanity.
Disaster struck Ernest's expedition when their ship 'Endurance' was crushed in pack ice and the crew was forced to continue on foot. For over two years, Shackleton led the crew across ice floes, then in lifeboats to a camp on Elephant Island where for six months the main group would survive on seal meat and blubber. On 24 April 1916, Shackleton with five crewmen set sail in a small 6.1 meter sail boat, named James Caird, to reach a whaling station at South Georgia. But after fifteen days at sea, a hurricane forced them to land on the southern shore of South Georgia. He then hiked with two others for 36 hours, across the mountainous terrain to reach a whaling station. The crew members were rescued after another 3 months.

11:27:00

Here is a group of amazing people who have astounded the world and science with their amazing abilities.

Liew Thow Lin - The Magnetic Man

Liew Thow Lin is the real life Magnetic Man of the world. In Malaysia, he is known as the Human Magnet. Liew Thow Lin has the ability to stick metal objects to his body just as a magnet does. He has showcased his ability at a number of events around the world, sticking objects weighing up to 2kg.

The source behind Lin's marvelous abilities is no magnetism. Scientists have found no magnetic fields in Lin's body but say that the effect is due to a powerful "suction effect" of his skin. Whatever the reason but the ability seems to be genetic as Lin's grandchildren can also stick objects just like their Grandpa.

Wim Hof - The Ice Man

The Dutchman Wim Hof is the man the world called 'The Ice Man'. Wim Hof has the ability to withstand temperatures that would be fatal to an ordinary human. He has swam under sheer cold water, took the longest ice bath and even climbed the Mount Kilimanjaro in nothing but shorts.

Wim owes his ability to withstand extremely cold temperatures to the Tibetan practice of Tummo. The 45-year-old Dutchman describes his ability as being able to turn his own thermostat up by using his brain.

Patjic Slavia - The Electric Man

Can you survive a lightning strike? Well, this man can take 2000 volts on his body. Slavia Patjic has an ability to take lightning bolts on his body without a tiny harm. He can even grill a sausage with his charges. The Serbian has been dubbed by his followers as the Electric Man and has become a star in his country. Slavia Patjic now aims to conquer America by attempting the electric chair.

Kim Peek - The Real Rain Man

Kim Peek is the real rain man whose unimaginable powers of memory inspired the Oscar-winning role played by Dustin Hoffman in 1988 film Rain Man. 

Kim Peek is known as the "Mega Savant" for his unbelievable skills. His amazing memory capabilities has allowed him to memorize more than 12,000 books upto a word, including the Bible. He knew phone books by heart and can tell you what day of the week a certain date fell upon going back centuries. He could read two pages in 10 seconds, the left page with the left eye and the right one with the right eye.

But all the abilities of Peek are coupled with some deep disabilities. Peek lacks simple motor skills due to which he relies on his father for everyday jobs like dressing and combing hair.

Scott Flansburg - The Human Calculator

There are many people in the world who could solve mathematical problems without needing any calculator or even paper, right in their mind. This man is the Father of all of them. Scott Flansburg is called the Human calculator for his truly astonishing math skills. Scott can not only solve problems but he can solve them with lightning speed. Also dubbed as the Fastest Human Calculator, Scott Flansburg holds the record for adding a number to itself more times in 15 seconds than a person can do with a calculator. As Scott stated, “the only thing that hinders me from adding the number faster is that I can’t speak as fast as I can think of the right answer.”

Scott can not only add, but also subtract, divide, multiply, square root and cube root at the same lightning fast speeds.

05:07:00

One day, a nine-month old boy picks up a piping hot chip from his father's plate, burning three of his little fingers but shedding not even a single tear. At 17-months, he breaks his heel but simply runs away from the doctor without even a little concern. Meet Ben Whittaker, the one-in-a-billion boy who feels no pain.

Ben's parents, Joane and Wayne Whittaker were surprised at their little boy's amazing resistance to pain when he pulled out one of this teeth without even a blink, but soon realized that he was no ordinary child. Ben is victim (or victor) to an extremely rare genetic disorder which make him completely pain resistant.

The disorder, known as congenital indifference to pain, was first diagnosed in the 1930s. Only 32 other cases have been identified before. Experts believe the condition is caused by the failure of a substance called betaendorphin which occurs naturally in the body and modulates pain sensations.

A no-pain-sensation can sound like a superhero advantage but medical experts believe that the condition can pose some serious dangers to Ben. Specialists at Sheffield Children's Hospital are worried that he could bite off the end of his tongue without knowing it and have suggested removing all his baby teeth to save him from hurting himself.

Ben's mother, says she dare not let Ben out of her sight for a moment. Speaking at the family home in Royston, South Yorkshire, she said: "At first we just thought he was an extra tough little cookie, but gradually we began to realise he was just too tough to be true."

22:23:00