![]() |
|
Image of the Day Images that will blow your mind - every day. [Blog] [RSS] [XML] |
![]() |
|
Thread Tools |
Rating: ![]() |
Display Modes |
![]() |
#1 |
Radical Centrist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Cottage of Prussia
Posts: 31,423
|
9/16/2002: 5-year-old mom
![]() Sometimes an image of the day says everything by itself, and hardly needs any words of explanation or discussion. And sometimes there are images like the above, which is not interesting at all unless there's explanation AND discussion. As I thought about this picture, I realized that it covers just about every subject we usually deal with here. What you're seeing is a picture from 1939. The five-year-old shown has given birth to the baby shown, by Caesarean. The first instinct is skepticism, a common subject for us. How do we know this really happened? The image comes from this Reuters story, which presents it as known truth. Snopes, The Straight Dope Archives turn up nothing. Googling around gets us this imprecise desciption from an unknown source on a suspect web site. (Which adds: "Doctor Lozada has conducted very detailed studies since the diagnostic of the pregnancy which aroused much curiosity in the country; he took an x-ray of the child and her baby, established a diagnostic of the fetal situation, observed the state of functionality of the little mother who had begun menstruating at the age of 8 months. At four years old she had already developed breasts as well as pubic hair, her body proportions were a bit amazing and her bone hardening a bit advanced, things that are often observed in cases of such premature pregnancy." Yuck.) Assuming that it was true, the story brings us other questions on topics we often talk about. The government's role; the Reuters story talks about how the woman was pretty much neglected and asks the government to grant her a full lifetime pension. The actual science behind it: is it possible? Could the girl's body accidentally go into adolescent hormone production in infancy? The social science: what problems would a 5-year-old mom have? The international aspects: what was Peru like then? How many bespectacled doctors were available to take an interest? I'll skip the adolescent ironic humor we sometimes add, figuring that at age five there's no room for it. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 |
Geek
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Greenville, SC
Posts: 76
|
Obvious question: What kinda guy would have sex with a five-, make that four-, year old?? >shudder<
__________________
"Fasten your seatbelt. I saw something in a cartoon once that I want to try." |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#3 | |
Abecedarian
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 170
|
Quote:
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 |
no one of consequence
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 2,839
|
Trying to find proof of this story has proved extremely frustrating.
Supposedly, this story gets a Reuters article because of a new book about it by Jose Sandoval, titled "Mother Aged 5". But I can't find that book on amazon.com or barnsandnoble.com. According to sexualrecords.com, this story was written up in the Dictionary of Medical Science in 1939. I have no idea what this is, but I am in a university library. Perhaps I could find it? ... Argh! There are multiple "Medical Dictionaries", and they are all literally huge dictionaries of medical terms. I also found a set of encylopedias on reproduction, too. There proved to be so much information there, though, that I couldn't even begin to know where to look. The whole "It was written up in the Dictionary of Medical Science" thing sounds like complete crap to me. Why would you write a story in a dictionary? Unless they meant it was a medical journal? But of course, there appears to be multiple "Journals of Medical Science". The only thing I can say for certain is that Edmundo Escomel, who supposedly witnessed the events, is a real person. His name is all over the internet, mostly in medical websites written in Spanish. There's even a picture of him here (halfway down the page). Last edited by juju; 09-16-2002 at 04:41 PM. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 | |
Vice-President of Resentment
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Pennsultucky
Posts: 199
|
Quote:
__________________
<-- I'm with stupid |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#6 | |
in the Hour of Scampering
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Jeffersonville PA (15 mi NW of Philadelphia)
Posts: 4,060
|
Quote:
http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2002/april/virgin.htm http://www.speakout.org.za/about/chi...baby_rape.html
__________________
"Neither can his Mind be thought to be in Tune,whose words do jarre; nor his reason In frame, whose sentence is preposterous..." |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 |
Infamous Defamer
Join Date: Sep 2001
Posts: 50
|
Re: 9/16/2002: 5-year-old mom
I think this has got to be a leg-pull.
The scientist guy just looks far to much like the cliche' mad scientist, I half expect to see a jackobs ladder and huge dials and stuff behind him. The baby looks like he's too old for it to be anywhere near recent after the birth and the mother only looks about 5 in the picture which would mean that the mother would have had to have been somewhat younger at the time of the birth and somewhat younger than that at the time of conception, the picture looks almost antuiqized, it's all just toooo wierd I think. Edit: Further, a quick hunt on google groups reveals no postings mentioning "Lina Medina" prior to 1998.... the first english mention of her in 1999 in http://groups.google.co.nz/groups?q=...um=37&filter=0 Last edited by sleemanj; 09-16-2002 at 08:11 PM. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 |
Person who doesn't update the user title
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 12,486
|
Re: 9/16/2002: 5-year-old mom
Is it scientifically possible? From my understandings as a biology major (for one year), absolutely. On one end, sexual maturity is jump-started by life stresses...it's an evolutionary kick-in. If this girl was under incredible duress as a child, she may have developed much earlier than most kids. The body wants to make sure it can produce offspring before it dies.
On the other end, there is precocious puberty, which I would imagine was not treatable in 1939. As to her having relations with someone, take a 4 year old girl and a 6-9 year old boy that might also be sexually mature...kids get curious. Maggie's links note the more sinister possibilities. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#9 |
Conjunction
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Conjunction Junction
Posts: 168
|
![]()
This smells of urban legend. Who's to say that pic isn't of some doc and his two children? The whole thing is convenient, too. Family lives in a remote, dangerous area that noone will want to go to. Actual documentation is unfindable. Why is there no proof? It's the old invisible, intangible dragon thing. ("I have a dragon, but he's invisible, won't let you touch him, and makes no noise, so you can see, touch, or hear him. Oh, and he bathes regularly, so you can't smell him, either, but I really do have a dragon.")
__________________
-And, Word Wrangler and Keeper of the Cuttlefish. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#10 |
in the Hour of Scampering
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Jeffersonville PA (15 mi NW of Philadelphia)
Posts: 4,060
|
Lozada today?
__________________
"Neither can his Mind be thought to be in Tune,whose words do jarre; nor his reason In frame, whose sentence is preposterous..." |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#11 |
Lead Subordinate
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 15
|
I first heard about this in an anthro class.
I dont know for sure of the validity of it, but the story was the same as i can remember, and they had a medical looking picture of a pregnant 4 year old, which was very distrubing. I believe its legit, a one in a million chance, but I have no proof besides my memory.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#12 |
Neophyte-in-training
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 3
|
Snopes has this story now, and says it's true. They include an image of the girl pregnant, which must be the same as what Poltroon saw.
Creepy and weird stuff!
__________________
"Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice." -- Will Durant, philosopher & historian |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#13 |
in a mood, not cupcake
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 3,034
|
Yuck, I almost wish I didn't read this thread. However, I do find it interesting that at least as of 2004, this woman was still alive! I thought that she might have grown elderly and died at a very early age.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#14 | |
The future is unwritten
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
|
From Snopes
Quote:
![]()
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#15 |
Makes some feel uncomfortable
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,346
|
Who is the father??????????????
__________________
![]() ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
|
|