Baby with tail 'reincarnation of Hindu god' (with picture)

Ananova ^ | 01/11/02 | ananova

[Arkle]

Crowds are flocking to Indian temples to see a Muslim baby with a 'tail' who is believed to be the reincarnation of a Hindu god.

The 11-month-old boy has been named Balaji or Bajrangbali, another name for monkey-faced Lord Hanuman.

He is reported to have a 4in 'tail' caused by genetic mutations during the development of the foetus.

Iqbal Qureshi, the child's maternal grandfather, is taking Balaji from temple to temple where people offer money to see the boy.

Mr Qureshi says the baby has nine spots on his body like Lord Hanuman and showed them to journalists, reports Indian newspaper The Tribune.

There have been other cases of babies born with tails. A report appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1982 by Dr Fred Ledley.

His paper entitled 'Evolution and the Human Tail' concerned a baby born with a 2in growth on its back.

[csvset]

"Too much monkey business for me to be involved in." ~ Chuck Berry

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Not to mention trying to buy gloves.....

[Fred Mertz]

monkey,

You gotta get a load of this one!

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Sad :(

Happy :)

[dennisw]

MONKEY MAN
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

I'm a fleabit peanut monkey
All my friends are junkies
That's not really true

I'm a cold Italian pizza
I could use a lemon squeezer
What you do?

But I've been bit and I've been tossed around
By every she-rat in this town
Have you, babe?

Well, I am just a monkey man
I'm glad you are a monkey woman too

I was bitten by a boar
I was gouged and I was gored
But I pulled on through

Yes, I'm a sack of broken eggs
I always have an unmade bed
Don't you?

Well, I hope we're not too messianic
Or a trifle too satanic
We love to play the blues

Well I am just a monkey man
I'm glad you are a monkey, monkey woman
Monkey woman too, babe!

I'm a monkey! I'm a monkey!
I'm a monkey man!  I'm a monkey man!
I'm a monkey! I'm a monkey! I'm a monkey! I'm a monkey!
Monkey! monkey! monkey!.......

[Registered]

You're doing it! Just wait, our plug is going to be pulled!!

[Jay W]

Has the future president of the U.S., BatBoy, commented on the baby with a tail -- like, maybe, BatBoy's future Secretary of State? ;-)

[dennisw]

hahhahhaha

[Serb5150]

check this out

[RedBloodedAmerican]

But it was the only one today :(

Ok, where do I get hosting cheap (free)?

[Stultis]

No, it's not just you! I thought it looked like a finger as well...

This one is going to be able to take the old "pull my finger" joke to a whole new level when he grows up...

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

You're probably right about the family being poor. I thought about that right after I sent the post. You make some good points.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

What about if they had some way to only host a cartain number. As a new one is uploaded, the oldest (#200, for example?) was removed.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

ROFL!!!!! very good!!!

[dennisw]

I think netscape make your own websites allow you to post photos here. Get a couple of the websites so they don't shut you down for using too much bandwith.

[SAMWolf]

That's a fake! I happen to know that this is a baby picture of Hillary.

[Hoboken]

FYI

Some other examples of Vestigial Traits in Humans

Ear-wiggling muscles Three small muscles around each ear that are large and important in some mammals, such as dogs, turning the ears toward a source of sound. Few people can wiggle their ears, and none can turn them toward sound.

Tail Present in human and all vertebrate embryos. In humans, the tail is reduced; most adults only have three to five tiny tail bones and, occasionally, a trace of a tail-extending muscle.

Appendix Structure which presumably had a digestive function in some of our ancestors, like the cecum of some herbivores. In humans, it varies in length from 5–15 cm, and some people are born without one.

Wisdom teeth Molars that are often useless and sometimes even trapped in the jawbone. Some people never develop wisdom teeth.

Based on a suggestion by Dr. Leslie Dendy, Department of Science and Technology, University of New Mexico, Los Alamos.

[pollwatcher]

"Throwback?"

"Ledley also noted that there were no vertebrae or even cartilaginous elements in the so-called “caudal appendage."

I think a real, functioning "throwback" tail would required something more solid in it? Can't hang from trees or wag much with some soft, limp skin growth.

[noah]

What's the PROPER way to carry this tail? Protruding through a hole in the back of his trousers or inside his pants?