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Welcome to the NEW Human Marvels website

Greetings my friends, many of you are aware of the issues this site has experienced during the month of October. As a result The Human Marvels website, as you knew it, is gone.

Welcome to a new beginning.

I have opted to take this opportunity to not only rebuild The Human Marvels website, but to also change its format and direction. This site is not longer solely dedicated to presenting biographical information of sideshow marvels. Hence forth The Human Marvels will be a unique catalog featuring all manner of remarkable human beings, medical aberrations, teratological history abnormalities, psychological peculiarities and a far more eclectic gathering of human marvels. This site is now dedicated to human beings, their trials and tribulations, their triumphs and failures as well as a look into what makes us human, and what can go terribly wrong.

What does all this mean? It means more frequent updates. It means more stories of the bizarre, strange, unusual and interesting. It means that you, my loyal readers will be treated to even more daily information, trivia knowledge and water-cooler tidbits than you have ever imagined.

Prepare to be enlightened, entertained and occasionally horrified.

Sincerely,

~J. Tithonus Pednaud

Disclaimer

First and foremost, the purpose of this site is to promote awareness. The main mission of this site is enlightenment, not exploitation. I personally have the utmost respect for person born with unique qualities. I sincerely hope that this site showcases the inherent and true humanity in persons dubbed bizarre by members of the general public.

If you have a problem with anything you see within these pages, please contact me via Tithonus@thehumanmarvels.com. I would love to hear your opinions.

Biographies and articles found on this site may only be reproduced in full with the permission of the author. Furthermore, please be sure to include all citations where applicable. Direct links to articles and cited excerpts are permitted freely.

Images on this site are often property of the author, unless otherwise noted, however some digital images are obtained via email submission. If an image in not cited or cited incorrectly, please contact me for correction. Furthermore, while I take pains to quote and acknowledge all sources pertaining to articles, in the acknowledgments section, please do not hesitate to contact me regarding further citations as it pertains to personal copyrighted material.

Acknowledgments

Archived below are films, articles and reference texts that have been useful in creating this website and expanding my knowledge. It is only fair that the persons responsible for works listed below are acknowledged for their efforts.

“Circus and Museum Freaks – Curiosities of Pathology” Scientific America, March 2, 1908
“Circus Mourn ‘Best-Liked Freak.” The New York Times, April 19, 1926.
“Morris, the Indian Rubber Man.” Scientific America, July 9, 1898.
Adams, Rachel. Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination. Chicago, 2001.
Anderson, Elizabeth J. Ratt’s Phreequeshow. Various Articles. www.phreeque.com.
Aldrovandi, U. Monstrorum historia. 1642.
Barnum, Phineas T. Struggles and Triumphs. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927.
Being Different. Dir. Harry Rasky. Double S. Productions (Astral), 1981.
BME Encyclopedia Online.
Boaistuau, P. Histoires prodigieuses, 1560. Repr. 2000.
Bogdan, R. Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit. University of Chicago, 1990.
Bonderson, Jan. A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997.
Bonderson, Jan. The Two-Headed Boy. Cornell University Press, 2000.
Bone, Howard. Sideshow: My Life with Geeks, Freaks & Vagabonds in the Carny Trade. Sun Dog Press, 2001.
Cassuto, L. The Inhuman Race: The Racial Grotesque in American Literature and Culture. New York, 1997.
CommonPlace.org
Cook, James. The Arts of Deception: Playing with Fraud in the Age of Barnum. Cambridge, 2001.
Dennett, Andrea S. Weird and Wonderful: The Dime Museum in America. New York University Press, 1997.
Disability History.org
Drimmer, Frederick. Very Special People. Repr. New York: Citadel Press, 1991.
Dunn, Katherine. Geek Love. New York: Warner Books. 1983.
Freaks Uncensored! Dir. Ari Roussimoff. Bohemia Productions, 1998.
Freaks. Dir. Tod Browning. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1932.
Gilliams, E. Leslie. “Side-Show Freaks as Seen by Science.” Illustrated World, October 1922.
Gould, George M., & Walter L. Pyle. Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine. 1896. Repr. New York: Bell, 1956.
Gregor, Jan T., with Tim Cridland. Circus of the Scars. Seattle: Brennan Dalsgard, 1998.
Haeger, Knut. The Illustrated History of Surgery. Harold Starke Publishers Limited, 1990.
Hall, Ward. My Very Unusual Friends. Published by the Author, 1991.
Hartzman, Marc. American Sideshow. Penguin Group, 2005.
Hartzman, Marc. Backwash Magazine. Various Issues.
Hornberger, Francine. Carny Folk: The World’s Weirdest Sideshow Acts. Citadel Press, 2005.
Howell, Michael & Peter Ford. The True History of the Elephant Man. London: Alison & Bushby Ltd, 1980.
HumanMarvels.com
Leroi, Armand M. Mutants: On Genetic Variety and The Human Body. Penguin Books: Penguin Group, 2003.
Liceti, Fortunio. De monstrorum natura caussis et differentiis. 1634. Repr. 2000.
Liedler, Leslie. Freaks: Myths and Images of the Secret Self. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978.
Lindfords, B., ed. Africans on Stage: Studies in Ethical Show Business. Bloomington: Indiana Press, 1999.
Mac, Beth & Jen McCaffery. ‘Eko and Iko: The Remarkable Life of Willie Muse.’ The Roanoke Times, 2001.
Mannix, Daniel P. Freaks: We Who Are Not As Others. New York: Pocket Books, 1976.
Martell, Joanne. Millie- Christine: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. John S. Blair, Publisher. 2000.
McCullough, Edo. Good Old Coney Island. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1957.
McKennon, Joe. Circus Lingo. Sarasota, FL: Carnival Publishers of Sarasota, 1980.
McWhirter, Norris, ed. Guinness Book of World Records, 17th Edition. New York: Bantam Books, 1979.
Mitchell, M., ed. Monsters. (Photographs of Chas. Eisenmann). Toronto, 2002.
Monestier, Martin. Human Oddities: A Book of Nature’s Divine Abnormalities. Citadel Press, 1987.
Pare, A. On monsters and marvels, 1573. (Trans. J. L. Pallister) Chicago Press, 1982.
Rose, Jim & Melissa Rossi. Freak Like Me: Inside the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow. New York: Dell, 1995.
Rosen, Fred. Lobster Boy. New York: Pinnacle Books. 1995.
Rusid, Max. Sideshow. New York: Amjon, 1975.
Sideshow: Alive On The Inside. Exec. Prod. Tim Miller; dir. Lynn Dougherty. Big Chief Entertainment, 1996.
SideshowWorld.com
Sloan, Mark. Wild, Weird and Wonderful: The American Circus 1901-1927. Quantuck Press, 2003.
Stencil, A. W. Seeing is Believing: America’s Sideshows. Canada: ECW Press, 2002.
Taylor, J. Shocked and Amazed: On & Off The Midway, vols. 1-7. Atomic Books, 1995-2003.
The Barnum Museum Website.
The Human Canvas Online.
The Life & Adventures of Capt. Constentenus. By Himself. New York Popular Publishing, 1881. Repr. 2000
The Mutations. Dir. Jack Cardiff. Subversive Cinema, 1974.
TheGalloper.com
Thompson, C. J. S. and M. B. E. Giants, Dwarfs and Other Oddities. New York: Citadel Press, 1968.
Thomson, Rosemarie Garland. Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of the Extraordinary Body. New York, 1996.
Thomson, R. G. Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture. New York, 1996.
Wood, Gaby. Edison’s Eve. New York: Anchor Books, 2003.

The Human Marvels Podcast

Hosted by J. Tithonus Pednaud

Presented for your auditory enlightenment, hundreds of years of human marvels, wonders, the strange, the possibly horrific and always interesting.

We are looking for sponsors, advertisers, musical acts and tales of interest. Please direct all submissions to Tithonus@thehumanmarvels.com . We are also looking for stories, tour dates and strange news. Again, forward all information to Tithonus@thehumanmarvels.com.

Listen to the show now!

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7

Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12

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Reach An Audience of over a Quarter Million Weekly!

Are you looking for a strange site to advertise your merchandise, music or service on? You found it. Advertising on TheHumanMarvels.com is unbelievably inexpensive and reaches targeted traffic. We average 15,000 to 50,000 unique visitors per day with over 100,000 hits per day.

We offer advertising rates for various services, from simple text links to 30 second radio spots on our weekly podcast. Let us know what you are looking to do by contacting us. The prices are below, but we can figure something out to help you out. We take cash, credit, swag, services and trade.

Type of Advertising ~ Cost

Static Text Links (displayed along middle left hand column of every page)
Monthly pools of 20 text ads are rotated.
The management of text ad rotation courtesy of third party company Adengage.
$1 / week

Banner Links (displayed along top left hand column on every page)
Banners guaranteed space 24/7. 10 ads per month max first come, first serve.
Banners positions rotated weekly at random.
Prices include development of graphic ads.
125 x 150 $5 / week
Discounts
$100 / 6 months (1 month free)
$180 / 1 year (3 months free)

Podcast Advertising (weekly podcast radio format show)
30 second radio quality spot
Direct link on show summary on TheHumanMarvels.com
Ads limited to a maximum of four per broadcast. First come, first serve.
$10 / per spot
Discounts
$30 / 4 spots
Order 4 spots and I will create a professional caliber commercial like this one for Fiendish Curiosities.

Further bulk discounts are available, as are special deals for worthy causes.
Please contact us with any questions at:
www.thehumanmarvels.com and Tithonus@thehumanmarvels.com.

A Brief Biography of J. Tithonus Pednaud

J. Tithonus Pednaud was born MAY 28 1976 in Sudbury, Ontario. Tithonus is a graduate of Laurentian University, where he majored in classical studies and theology. He is also a multiple graduate of Cambrian College and attended Humber College in Toronto, Ontario. He has worked as a funeral director, teacher, voice actor, carnival worker, copywriter and business development officer.

An eclectic and somewhat eccentric human being, his interest in the bizarre began in childhood and eventually narrowed to teratological history. Teratology is the study of teratogenesis, congenital malformations or deformities. The word is derived from the Greek teras, meaning monster, and logos meaning study.

J. Tithonus Pednaud studies monsters.

However, this site is dedicated to vindicating those human beings who were once displayed and exhibited as monstrous. The stories of those afflicted with seemingly horrific and socially crippling deformities often stand as uplifting testaments to human spirit. These human marvels overcame their afflictions and serve as inspiring examples of human tenacity.

The work of J. Tithonus Pednaud has been featured in various media including CBC Radio, Rue Morgue Magazine, Bizarre Magazine, G4TV and many others. He occasionally lectures

His first book is due out shortly.

After extensive travel, Tithonus recently returned to his hometown of Sudbury, Ontario where he resides in a bachelor apartment filled to the brim with curiosities.