Josephine Myrtle Corbin was born with a rare birth defect called polymelia, meaning born with extra limbs, in her case, she had 4 legs, 2 normal ones and 2 smaller ones that grew from her hips. But there was more to it. She also had 2 sets of reproductive organs and 2 pelvises. Because of this rare occurrence, she’s probably one of the few people in history considered wonders. Let’s delve into Myrtle’s story and discover her exceptional life milestones.Myrtle was considered a rare and remarkable case of human development.
Josephine Myrtle Corbin, an American sideshow performer, came into the world in 1868 as a remarkable medical rarity. Affected by a condition known as dipygus, she possessed two lower bodies from the waist down. This unusual phenomenon occurred due to her body axis splitting during development, resulting in two separate pelvises side by side. Remarkably, her smaller inner legs were paired with one of her outer legs. While Myrtle could move her inner legs, but they were too weak to walk on.
Born in Tennessee to her parents, William and Nancy, Myrtle’s arrival brought both wonder and concern. At 25, her father, William, and 34-year-old mother, Nancy, welcomed the unique little Myrtle into their lives. Medical professionals noted that if Myrtle had been delivered breech, with her bottom first, it could have been potentially fatal for both her and her mother. Thankfully, Myrtle’s early days were promising, as she displayed signs of strength, weighing 10 lb (4.5kg) just 3 weeks after her birth.
Myrtle’s father was facing financial hardship and had to think of ways to support his growing family.
© Charles Eisenmann (1855-1927) / Wikimedia Commons, © Public domain, © Palette.fm
At the age of 5 weeks, people had the opportunity to visit William Corbin and marvel at his four-legged daughter for a small fee. As the years passed, Myrtle grew up accustomed to the constant stares and astonishment from those who encountered her rare condition. Her inner legs never fully developed, her right foot was clubbed, and both of the smaller legs had 3 toes on each foot.
Over the following decade, William took Myrtle on a journey across the country, where she participated in fairs, sideshows, and dime museums. By the time she turned 14, she had achieved success and managed to secure a lucrative contract paying her an unusually high salary of $250 per week.
The four-legged girl, Myrtle, had a younger sister named Ann, who fortunately did not suffer from any birth defects.
Myrtle married when she was 18 and later became a mother.
© James R. Applegate (1849–1910), Philadelphia / Wikimedia Commons, © Public Domain, © Palette.fm
As Myrtle entered adulthood, she grew weary of the constant attention she received due to her condition. At 18, she decided to marry James Bicknell, a medical student, after which she retired from her performing career. Interestingly, her fame had inspired others to attempt to fake her unique deformity, but all of these impostors were eventually exposed as frauds.
A year into their marriage, Myrtle experienced troubling symptoms like fever, nausea, headaches, and side pains. Concerned, she sought medical attention, and to her disbelief, the doctor revealed that she was pregnant on her left side. Myrtle skeptically responded, saying, “If it had been on my right side, I would come nearer believing you are correct.” The pregnancy proved challenging for her health, and doctors even advised her to consider an abortion due to the severity of her illness. However, Myrtle managed to recover swiftly.
Over the following years, James and Myrtle welcomed seven more children into their family. Tragically, only 5 of them survived infancy, 4 daughters and a son.
© Unknown author / Wikimedia Commons, © Public Domain
The family lived a quiet life until their 5 children reached adulthood. Then Myrtle re-entered the show business. In 1909, when Myrtle was 41, she was a part of Huber’s Museum exhibit, appearing as The Four-Legged Girl from Cleburne, Texas. She often dressed her 4 legs in matching shoes and socks, to the audience’s delight. She was making $450 per week at the time.
In 1928, Myrtle developed a skin infection on her right leg, and the doctor diagnosed her with erysipelas or a strep infection. A week later, on May 6th, 1928, Myrtle passed away. Her casket was covered in concrete, and family members kept watch until it was fully cured to prevent grave robbers from stealing her remains.
Almost a century later, Josephine Myrtle Corbin Bicknell continues to inspire others by proving that even in the 19th century, a woman could forge a successful career and become a mother all at once.
Heartbreaking Decision: Parents Forced to Pull the Plug on 13-Year-Old Daughter After Sleepover Nightmare!
Australia’s Ally Langdon couldn’t hide her sadness when she talked to a mom and dad who had to make the heartbreaking decision to end the life of their 13-year-old daughter.
Their daughter died because of a dangerous social media trend called chroming, and Langdon, who is also a mom, struggled to keep her tears in.
On A Current Affair, Ally Langdon spoke with Andrea and Paul Haynes about their daughter Esra’s tragic death. Esra died after trying a dangerous trend called chroming, where people inhale toxic chemicals to get high.
Esra was remembered as “determined, fun, cheeky, and talented” by the Montrose Football Netball Club, where she was co-captain. She was a young athlete who raced BMX bikes with her brothers and helped her team win a national aerobics championship in Queensland.
Heartbreaking Decision: Parents Forced to Pull the Plug on 13-Year-Old Daughter After Sleepover Nightmare!
Australia’s Ally Langdon couldn’t hide her sadness when she talked to a mom and dad who had to make the heartbreaking decision to end the life of their 13-year-old daughter.
Their daughter died because of a dangerous social media trend called chroming, and Langdon, who is also a mom, struggled to keep her tears in.
On A Current Affair, Ally Langdon spoke with Andrea and Paul Haynes about their daughter Esra’s tragic death. Esra died after trying a dangerous trend called chroming, where people inhale toxic chemicals to get high.
Esra was remembered as “determined, fun, cheeky, and talented” by the Montrose Football Netball Club, where she was co-captain. She was a young athlete who raced BMX bikes with her brothers and helped her team win a national aerobics championship in Queensland.
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On March 31, Esra went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. Sadly, she tried a dangerous activity called chroming, where she sniffed a can of aerosol deodorant. This caused her to go into cardiac arrest and suffer serious brain damage.
“It was just a normal night for her, hanging out with friends,” Esra’s mom Andrea told Langdon in the interview. Her dad Paul added, “We always knew where she was and who she was with. It wasn’t anything unusual… But that night, we got a call no parent ever wants to get: ‘Come and get your daughter.’”
Langdon explains that Esra’s friends thought she was having a panic attack, but after inhaling the deodorant, her body started to shut down and she went into cardiac arrest. None of the friends knew what to do for a cardiac arrest.
When Andrea got to Esra, paramedics were trying to save her and told her that Esra had been chroming, which Andrea had never heard of before.
Esra was taken to the hospital, and her parents hoped she would recover since her heart and lungs were still strong.
After eight days on life support, Paul and Andrea were told that Esra’s brain was too damaged to be fixed, and they had to make the heart-wrenching decision to turn off the machines.
Struggling to find the words, her parents talked about how painful it was to end their daughter’s life.
Esra’s siblings and friends are now on a mission to warn others about the dangers of chroming, a dangerous trend that led to Esra’s death. Chroming involves inhaling things like deodorant to get high, and it caused Esra to go into cardiac arrest.
Esra’s dad said it was incredibly hard to bring family and friends to the hospital for their final goodbyes. “It was so hard to say goodbye to her,” he said. “We laid with her and hugged her until the end.”
Seeing the parents’ pain, Ally Langdon, who has two young kids of her own, couldn’t hold back her tears.
Since Esra’s death in early April, Paul says the family is completely “broken” and Esra’s siblings, Imogen, Seth, and Charlie, are all devastated. Paul said, “It’s been the hardest, most traumatic time for us. We haven’t been sleeping, eating, or smiling. It’s not just affected us, but the whole community.”
Paul and Andrea didn’t know about chroming before it took their daughter, but now they want to raise awareness about this dangerous trend. Chroming uses everyday products like deodorant, paint, or hairspray to get high, and it can cause serious health problems or death.
Paul wishes he had known about chroming so he could have warned Esra. “If we had known about it, we would have talked to her about it,” he said.
Paul plans to help other parents learn about chroming so they can talk to their kids about it and keep them safe. “Parents need to talk to their children about these dangers,” he said.
Since 2009, chroming has caused many deaths in Australia and around the world. It can lead to seizures, heart attacks, suffocation, and more.
Paul said, “We will always remember what we saw. It broke our hearts.”
Please share this story to help other parents learn about the dangers of chroming and protect their children.
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