The fascinating and tragic story of Mary Ann Bevan

By
Monica Pop
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The story of Mary Ann Bevan, who was considered ‘The ugliest woman in the world,’ starts in the 19th century, a dark period of the American culture when ‘freak shows,’ traveling circuses showing people with certain deformities and disabilities, were at the peak of their popularity.

Today, it is highly unacceptable to treat people with disabilities with disrespect, but back in the day, no one believed it was morally wrong to dub them freaks.

Mary Ann Bevan was born on December 20, 1874, in Plaistow, East London, United Kingdom. She grew up to become a nurse and was respected by the society. On top of that, she was a very attractive woman who was offered many possibilities.

In 1902, Mary met the love of her life, a man named Thomas Bevan. The two married and welcomed four children together, but their happiness didn’t last long. After 14 years, Thomas passed away, leaving Mary heartbroken.

Her life became difficult as she was left to take care and provide for her children all by herself.

Unfortunately, around the time she turned 32, Mary started experiencing strange symptoms. Her face started changing gradually and she didn’t know what was happening or what caused that change which impacted her both psychologically and financially. Mary’s bones grew big, and her face became deformed. As a result, she lost her job and was unable to provide for her children any longer.

Back in the day, no one could diagnose her, but this poor woman suffered from acromegaly, a hormonal disorder that develops when the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone during adulthood, when a change in height doesn’t occur. Instead, the increase in bone size is limited to the bones of the hands, feet and face.

Today, a lot more is knows about this condition and there are ways to keep it under control, which wasn’t the case during the time Mary lived.

Crushed, heartbroken, and poor, this woman saw an ad one day which read, “Wanted: Ugliest woman. Nothing repulsive, maimed or disfigured. Good pay guaranteed, and long engagement for successful applicant. Send recent photograph.”

No matter how awful she felt about this ‘job,’ she saw no way out of her situation. She simply needed to do anything in order to feed her children. Above all, she was a mother.

Mary answered the ad and she was soon contacted by the circus’ agent, a man named Claude Bartram, who later shared Mary’s story.

“She was not repulsive at all. She had the kind of face one usually finds in a giant, a powerful, masculine jaw, prominent cheek-bones, nose and forehead, but she was unblemished, healthy and strong. She told me she did not like the idea of placing herself on exhibition, she was shy and did not want to be separated from her children,” Bartram said, according to Daily Star.

“I told her she would earn £10 per week for a year, travelling expenses and all the money from the sale of picture postcards of herself, so she could provide for the education of her children.”

In no time, magazines were filled with Mary Ann’s photos and everyone recognized her as ‘the ugliest woman on Earth.’

Her popularity brought her to the Dreamland Circus in Coney Island, New York, one of the most famous circuses there were. Mary Ann became an attraction, but then a doctor named Harvey Cushing, a leading neurosurgeon, spotted her and knew there was more behind ger huge face that he wanted to explore thoroughly.

“This unfortunate woman who sits in the sideshow of Ringling Brothers ‘between Fat Lady and Armless Wonder’ and ‘affects white lace hats, woollen mittens and high laced shoes’ has a story which is far from mirth-provoking.

“She, previously a vigorous and good-looking young woman, has become the victim of a disease known as acromegaly,” he wrote in a letter to Time magazine.

Coney Island, Dreamland Circus Show

Mary Ann spent her life working at the circus and she was reported to have earned a small fortune which enabled her to send her children back to England where they attended boarding schools.

She endured a lot, but she did it all for her children.

Mary Ann died at the age of 59 of natural causes. Her final wish was to be buried in her homeland, England, and her children fulfilled her wish. She is resting at the Ladywell and Brockley Cemetery in South London.

This woman’s sad, yet fascinating life story speaks of the mother’s love for her children more than anything else.

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‘My life is incredible:’ 76-year-old man, paralyzed from polio at 6, is one of the last people with an iron lung

By
Monica Pop
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Paul Alexander, a 76 year old man who has spent most of his life confined to an iron lung, is the perfect example that the only limits are the ones we place on ourselves.

Paul recalls that when he was around six years old, he rushed home one day and told his mother that he didn’t feel good. Up until that moment, Paul has been a normal child. He was vibrant and loved being around other kids. “Oh my God, not my son,” Paul he recalled his mother saying.

At the time, he couldn’t understand what was wrong and what was going on because he was still very young to understand that he contracted polio, a contagious viral illness that in its most severe form causes nerve injury leading to paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death. Even children who seem to fully recover can develop new muscle pain, weakness, or paralysis as adults, 15 to 40 years later, a condition known as post-polio syndrome.

Getty Images

Few days passed by and Paul’s condition worsened. He had fever and muscle pain, so his parents rushed him to the hospital. There, he wasn’t alone. Sadly, a huge number of children who contracted the virus were waiting to be treated, although there is no known cure.

At first, Paul was pronounced dead, but then another doctor approached him and decided to perform an emergency tracheotomy on Paul. Right after the surgery, he was placed inside an iron lung.

Paul Alexander/ Screenshot

Iron lungs had been invented during the early 1920s. Known as the “Drinker respirator” in the early days, this mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person’s body and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space, helps stimulate breathing.

“I didn’t know what had happened. I had all kinds of imaginings, like I’d died. I kept asking myself: Is this what death is? Is this a coffin? Or have I gone to some undesirable place?” the Texas native told As It Happens host Carol Off in 2017. “I tried to move, but I couldn’t move. Not even a finger. I tried to touch something to figure it out, but I never could. So it was pretty strange.”

After spending 18 long months inside the machine, Paul started working with a therapist named Mrs. Sullivan who helped him learn how to breath again using a method known as the ‘frog-breathe’ technique.

Paul was then able to spend more time outside the iron lung than he was before.

Paul not only attended school, but he graduated from the from Southern Methodist University and then attended law school at the University of Texas at Austin after which he passed the bar exam and became a lawyer in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “And I was a pretty damn good one too!” Paul said.

Speaking of the time he was a student, Paul recalled, “They said I was too crippled and did not have the vaccination. Two years of tormenting them, they accepted me on two conditions. One, that I take the polio vaccine, and two that a fraternity would be responsible for me.”

Paul had a very successful career as a lawyer of over 30 years and even wrote a book.

According to reports, he’s the last person who is still using the iron lung.

“I have travelled with it —  put it in a truck, took it with me. I’ve gone to college with it, lived in a dorm. That freaked everybody out,” he said.

Once, when his machine almost broke down, Paul pleaded people to help him fix it. Luckily, as no one uses them any longer, he was able to find spare parts. “A lot of people who had polio and they’re dead. What did they do with the iron lung? I’ve found them in barns. I found them in garages. I’ve found them in junk shops. Not much, but enough to scrounge [for] parts,” he explained.

Despite his condition, Paul says his life has been fulfilling and he’s happy with how things turned out for him. “I am not going to accept from anybody their limitations on my life. Not gonna do it. My life is incredible,” this inspiring man says.

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Police commissioner asked to resign over shirt she wore 25 years ago

By
Monica Pop
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How many times has it happened for someone to wish to change their past, or at least a decision they made back in the day? I guess there’s no person alive who doesn’t have regrets over past events that interfere with their present or future.

Just recently, a photo taken around 1994 emerged and it shows Christine Coulter, current Philadelphia’s acting Police Commissioner, wearing a T-shirt which cause controversy years later. The T-shirt in question, that Coulter wore some28 years ago, had the following writing on it, “L.A.P.D. We Treat You Like a King.” People believe that these words were a reference to the incident which took back in 1999 involving a man named Rodney Glen King who was a victim of police brutality.  King was beaten by LAPD officers during his arrest, after a high-speed chase, for driving while intoxicated on the I-210.

Coulter, the acting commissioner, decided to address the issue during a Philadelphia City Council hearing on social media posts by police officers. She apologized for wearing the shirt that many years ago but a councilwoman called for Coulter’s resignation.

Coulter explained that the photo was taken at a beach party shortly after she started working in the 25th District. Saying that she was profoundly sorry, the commissioner added she had “never even thought of it as anything other than an L.A.P.D. shirt,” and she failed to recognize the potential connection between the slogan and King’s beating.

“It is clear that it was a bad decision on my part, and I would not wear that shirt today,” she said. “Certainly, as I look at the past week and the h5rt and damage it has caused people who I care about to communities that I always care about, I should have known,” she added.

“My heart has been broken over this,” Coulter continued. “There’s folks in this room who I have served in their communities who know my heart and know that for 30 years I have served in black and brown communities with all that I ever have to give, never treating people unfairly or unjustly because of their race. Even people I’ve had to arrest, I treated like gentlemen or gentle ladies going through the process.”

For more on this story go to the video below and don’t forget to share it with your family and friends on Facebook!

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McDonald’s worker tells cop ‘I ain’t serving no police’

By
Monica Pop
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Police officers swear an oath to protect and serve the citizens they represent, and they truly do an amazing job when it comes to keeping communities safe places to live in.

Yet, there are people who have negative opinion about police officers. The reasons are various. For example, the death of George Floyd who was killed by officer Derek Chauvin after he had his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes made many lose their trust in the police and protest for the brutality by the officers to finally stop.

However, no matter how tragic this particular incident was, it doesn’t mean that every officer out there is brutal.

Recently, a cop named Scott Naff found himself offended after a McDonald’s employee refused to serve him because of his uniform.

The story was shared by Naff’s wife, Cathy, who decided to share details of the incident on the social media.

She started the post explaining how her husband had just finished a 13-hour shift before he went to McDonald’s in order to grab something to eat.

“My husband just got home from working a 13 hour day to share a story with me that has left me completely shocked.

“Around 7:00 tonight he took a small break and went to the drive through of the Mcdonald’s at Parham Road and Route 1. He was in uniform and his police vehicle. He paid for his food and drove forward to the next window.

“The young man who was working that window looked at him and backed away from the window mouthing something to my husband. My husband couldn’t hear him since the window was closed. The guy finally walked to the window and slid it open,” Cathy explained.

“My husband told him that he couldn’t hear him and the guy said “I ain’t serving no police” and closed the window. The guy proceeded to tell everyone in McDonald’s, including the manager, that he was not going to serve the police. The employees stared at my husband trying to figure out what they should do…..after all he had paid for his food but no one wanted to give it to him.

“Finally one guy brought it over to him without a single word. As my husband pulled around the building, a gentleman who was in the McDonalds at the time approached his car and told my husband how he had never seen anything like this.

“He said the guy had told the manager that she could fire him but he wasn’t going to “serve the police.” The manager did nothing to help the situation and wasn’t even the person who brought him his food.

“It’s amazing that people can act this way but even more shocking that the manager allowed him to continue on with his antics. I know that we will never visit this McDonald’s again! This is such an eye opener for me as to what the people who protect us have to go through on a daily basis. Please pray for the men and women who serve and protect us and put their lives on the line for us each and every day,” she concluded her post.

As Cathy’s post vent viral and was shared by a huge number of people who stood by her husband’s side, McDonald’s issued a statement. “At our restaurants, we are dedicated to serving all of our customers, including the police officers who protect and serve our communities,” the fast food chain said, according to Blue Lives Matter. “We are conducting a full investigation into this matter and will take appropriate actions.”

Some days later, Cathy posted an update explaining how the restaurant told them how they let the employee who refused to serve her husband go, but claimed the manager wasn’t aware of the incident, which wasn’t true, according to Cathy’s husband.

“My husband is one of the calmest, kindest, most level headed guys I know. This should’ve never happened to him or anyone else. Others have privately shared with us throughout this ordeal that the same behavior happened to them at the same restaurant,” Cathy wrote.

“For McDonald’s to be questioning the validity of this story is an outrage. Thank you for all the support….not just for my husband but for law enforcement officers everywhere! The bottom line is that we shouldn’t treat anyone…..uniform or not in the manner this McDonald’s has been treating people. Every person should be treated with respect!” she concluded her post.

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Are you serious!?”: Mom tells teacher to step outside after hearing rumors

By
Jessica Jones
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Teachers are those special individuals who are never hesitant to go above and beyond for the well-being of their students. They are not paid much, but they do their best to make the most out of the money they make, including purchasing plenty of materials and helping their students in any way possible.

Courtney Adeleye, the CEO and founder of The Mane Choice hair care products, decided it was just about the time to step in and return the favor to her daughter’s elementary teacher for everything she has ever done for the little minds in her classroom.

Namely, Courtney’s daughter told her parents how she heard a rumor that her teacher struggled getting to work because she was forced to use public transportation. She couldn’t afford to buy herself a car and the commute added hours to her already busy schedule.

YouTube

After chatting back and forth about what they should do, Courtney decided they were going to buy their daughter’s teacher a brand new car. It was a big purchase but knew having a vehicle would change her life forever.

They went to the lot, selected a beautiful new car and had it wrapped in a bright blue ribbon. This was the surprise of a lifetime and they had to make the most of it.

After speaking to her husband about the teacher’s situation, they decided they should try and solve her problem by buying her a brand new car. The following day, they purchased the vehicle and wrapped it in a bright blue ribbon.

YouTube

Courtney hoped that the teacher wouldn’t feel offended by her gesture. When the moment came for her to hand in the keys, Courtney’s heart raced. 

The big reveal was caught on tape and later shared online with the caption:

“When my husband tells me that the teacher who has been teaching my girls for the last few years has been catching multiple buses to get to and from work every day in the hot sun and cold! He said we should give her something I said… say no more! When you ask me to define success… this is my response!”

YouTube

As soon as she realized that she got a new car, the teacher broke down in tears. 

“No more sitting in the cold, no more riding the bus, no more waiting on somebody to come and pick me up!” she said. 

Courtney paid off the car completely. That means the teacher won’t have to worry about a car payment on her stretched salary.

We need more people like Courtney in the world – those who will step up and do the right thing when they have the means. She’s proof that we can all do a little more for those in need, even if it’s a small gesture. What an inspirational woman!

YouTube

Learn more about their heartwarming story and watch the teacher’s reaction in the video below.

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UPS driver sees note scribbled on package, helps toddler and mom escape

By
Monica Pop
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One UPS driver found himself in the right place at the right time and helped save a mother and her 3-year-old son from an ordeal their husband and father forced them to go through.

The movie-like rescue took place all thanks to the observant UPS driver who noticed the message the abused woman managed to pass to him through the package he picked up from her.

The abuser, James Jordan did the unthinkable. He locked his young son inside a room and left him there for 15 hours without any food or water. The boy was able to hear how his mother was severely abused, both physically and sexually. Jordan took her phone so she couldn’t contact anyone and beat her severely.

Once, she tried to escape, but Jordan caught her and dragged her back to the house by pulling her hair.

And then, as she was convinced there was no way out of the situation she found herself in, she came up with an idea and prayed God it worked. All she hoped for was for a person to be observant while on the job. Luckily, God listened to her prayers and sent the right UPS driver at her door. As she handed him the package he was about to pick up, while her husband held a gun behind her and told her not to speak to the driver, she pretended everything to be fine. What Jordan didn’t know was that the woman managed to write a message on the box. She scribbled “contact 911.”

Luckily, the UPS driver noticed the message and could feel it wasn’t a joke. He immediately contacted 911 and in no time, a SWAT team responded to the call and rescued the woman and her child from Jordan.

To learn more go to the video below and don’t forget to SHARE it with your family and friends on Facebook!

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Johnny Weissmuller tied the knot while still married to another woman: Inside his tumultuous private life

By
Monica Pop
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Johnny Weissmuller, the original Tarzan, was man of many talents with a tumultuous private life.

Born in 1904 in the tiny village of Freidorf, which today is close to the Romanian city of Timisoara but used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg empire, Johann Peter Weissmüller’s family left Europe for America and after a 12-day trip from Holland, they stepped foot on Ellis Island’s soil.

When he turned seven years of age, Johnny started taking swimming lessons at Fullerton Beach on Lake Michigan and showed immense talent and dedication. His love for the sport turned him into one of the greatest swimmers the world has ever seen. At the age of 17, Johnny held more world records than any other American swimmer and was a fierce competitor.

“He had the gawkiness of an adolescent puppy,” swimming coach Bachrach recalled of the tryout.

Youtube/Olympics

“Also, the stroke he used was the oddest thing I ever saw… but the stopwatch told it all; nearly record time. By the time he got out and dried off, he was an official member of the Illinois Athletic Club.

“Before a race he asks me what the record is for the distance. I tell him,” Bachrach said. “‘All right,’ he says. I’ll break it.’ Records don’t mean anything to him. Although I’ve trained the boy and taught him and watched him.”

He was breaking his own records whenever he wanted and was the strongest swimmer on the planet.

At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, he won three gold medals and a bronze in water polo. Four years later, he won another two gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Johnny won 52 US National Championship titles, setting 67 world records along the way and was voted the greatest swimmer of the first half of the 20th century by 250 sports journalists from the Associated Press. 

American actor and swimmer Johnny Weissmuller (1904 – 1984) in his most famous screen role as Tarzan, circa 1940. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Later on, this incredible man would reach even greater fame in the world of film by portraying the legendary role of Tarzan. After noticing him in another film where he had a minor role, producers wanted to see Johnny audition for Tarzan.

“I didn’t realize what was going on,” Weissmuller said. “They asked me if I could climb a tree and I said yes, and they asked me could I pick up a girl and walk away with her and I said yes … and that’s all there was to the test. I had the part,” he said of the audition that helped him rise to stardom in the film industry. Johnny stared in a total of 12 Tarzan movies and became one of the most profitable actors at MGM.

Once he decided to leave his acting career behind, Johnny started his own swimming pool company and chain of health food stores. At the same time, he was a host at Caesars Palace Hotel in the early 1970s and helped disabled children through the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

When it came to his private life, it’s safe to say it was a tumultuous one. This handsome man was married five times. He and his first wife, Bobbe Arnst, divorced after 18 months into a union. He was reported to had had a big role in Johnny getting the role of Tarzan. Bobbe claimed that mental issues were the reason their marriage ended, but reports are that while being married to her, the swimmer and actor had an affair with a woman named Lupe Velez, who would later become his second wife. Apparently, MGM paid Bobbe $10,000 not to reveal that Johnny was unfaithful to her.

After untying the knot with Lupe, Johnny went to on to marry his third wife and the mother of his three children, Beryl Scott.

(Original Caption) Johnny Weismuller and his wife, the fiery Lupe Velez, pictured as they attended a movie party held by the Mayfair Club at the Ambassador Hotel, putting to rest all rumors of an impending divorce.

If reports are to be believed, Johnny went on to marry his fourth wife, young golfer Allene Gates, while his divorce with Beryl still hadn’t been finalized.

In 1962, the Hollywood icon married his fifth wife, Maria Brock Mandell Bauman, with whom he stayed together until his passing in 1984. He was 76 at the time he left this world.

NEW YORK CITY – MAY 10: Johnny Weissmuller and wife Maria attend the premiere of “That’s Entertainment 2” on May 10, 1976 at Loew’s 50th Street Theater in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

The cause of death was pulmonary edema. He was laid to rest at the Valley of the Light Cemetery in Acapulco, Mexico, were he wanted to live during the last years of his life, as reported by his wife.

On the day of his funeral, Senator Ted Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan arranged for 21-gun salute to be shot.

Johnny Weissmuller was larger than life. He still remains an icon loved and adored by millions.

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Google Maps blocks out house on ordinary street in Cleveland for chilling reason

By
Monica Pop
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What makes Google Maps one of the most used and most useful apps is that is helps you find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in real time. There, you can find and see any place you want. Well, expect for one.

There is a home in Cleveland, Ohio, placed on a seemingly ordinary street, which hides a chilling secret. It was the home of abuser Ariel Castro who kidnapped three women and held them captive for over a decade. This home is blurred on the app and you can’t see it no matter how much you try to zoom it in.

The home located at 2208 Seymour Avenue is a two-storey building with four bedrooms, a bathroom, a 760sq ft basement, two porches, an attic and a detached garage. The horror that was taking place inside this house for that many years is unimaginable, to say the least.

Credit: Google Maps

Castro kidnapped the women, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, between 2002 and 2004 after offering them a lift. He then forced them to enter his home where they stayed locked inside separate bedrooms. The women were emotionally, physically, and sexually abused. They were kept chained and taped and weren’t allowed to use the bathroom, but used buckets instead.

The victims managed to free themselves in 2013, after a neighbor heard Amanda scream for help and came to their rescue.

Source: Google Maps

Michelle was Castro’s first victim. On the day she was abducted, she was supposed to appear in court at a custody hearing concerning her young son, Joey. She was 21 at the time.

His second victim, Amanda, vanished days before her 17th birthday while on a way to Burger King where she worked. Three years after being abducted by Castro, she gave birth to his child. He named the baby Jocelyn.

His third victim, Gina, knew him from before because she was a friend of one of Castro’s teenage daughters who lived with his ex-wife. When she accepted a lift by this crazy man she never knew she would become his victim.

Source: Alamy

After the three women managed to escape, Castro was arrested and sentenced to life plus 1,000 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 937 counts of kidnapping and rape. 

A month after he started serving his sentence, he committed suicide inside his cell.

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