A magnetic man, a super sniffer, and a person who never sleeps. We know these
sounds like main characters in the latest superhero movie franchise,
but we assure you, these people and their prodigious powers are
one hundred percent real. Today, we’d like you to meet 7 people with real superpowers.
7. An Adhesive Anatomy (Liew Thow Lin)
Although gifted people are usually discovered for their abilities at a young age, sometimes
it takes a little bit of age and wisdom before their talents are recognized. This
was the case with Liew Thow Lin, a native of Gunung Rapat, Malaysia. Known as Magnet Man,
Magnetic Man, or Mr. Magnet, Liew gained fame for his unusual abilities when he was in his sixties.
Essentially, Liew can stick a wide variety of metal objects to his body,
including nineteen pounds worth of bricks balanced on some iron bars. His
most impressive feat consisted of placing a metal plate and chain on his stomach,
connecting it to a one-and-a-half-ton car, and pulling the vehicle without his hands. He
performed this stunt on camera for the Discovery Channel’s show One Step Beyond in the early 2000s,
and he was often seen entertaining crowds at charity events around Malaysia.
Anxious to unlock the mystery behind Liew’s sticky skin, scientists at Malaysia’s University
of Technology tested his epidermis and found no evidence of a magnetic field.
What they did discover, however, is that his skin possesses very high levels of friction,
which creates a suction-like effect that keeps objects attached to his body.
Unfortunately, Liew passed away in 2013, but his superpowers appear to be genetic,
living on in his son and three grandkids. We’re not going to lie;
this power would probably come in handy…and we’d never have to worry about misplacing our car keys!
6. No Pain, No Gain? (Olivia Farnsworth)
Hunger. Pain. Weariness. This trio of sensations is the most basic weakness of our species. But
what would life be like if we didn’t experience these feelings? Thirteen-year-old Olivia
Farnsworth doesn’t have to guess–this is her daily reality. A native of Huddersfield, UK,
Olivia’s mom, Niki Trepak, first thought that her daughter was just a very calm baby since
she rarely cried. But, when she completely stopped sleeping during the day at only nine months old,
her mother suspected that her daughter might be a little different. She was energetic at all hours,
showed no interest in food, and never complained when she fell.
As a young child, she ripped her lip badly and needed surgery to repair it. During her operation,
the doctor discovered that Olivia felt no pain, but this was only one aspect of her
rare abilities–more was soon revealed. Olivia had a terrifying accident a few years after
the lip incident: she was hit by a car and dragged for over sixty feet. Niki relayed the
horrifying experience to the Daily Mail in 2016: “I was screaming, and all my other children were
screaming as she ran out…because of the impact, she should have had severe injuries. She had
a tyre mark on her chest. But her only injuries were that she had no skin on her toe or her hip.”
Naturally, Niki took Olivia to the doctor, and they hypothesized that
her lack of injuries could be attributed to an absence of fear. Along with not feeling pain,
Olivia had no sense of danger, and she was likely quite relaxed when the car struck her.
This intrigued doctors, and when she was seven years old, Olivia was diagnosed with
a chromosome six deletion known as a 6p deletion. Her condition is quite rare,
and while others have low sleep needs, do not experience hunger, or feel no pain,
Olivia is the only known person to exhibit all three traits at the same time. Although she is
generally considered a happy and well-adjusted child, she is prone to physically and verbally
violent outbursts. Her parents try to make sure that she leads a normal life,
attending school and participating in sports, but sometimes her anger gets the better of her and she
can be dangerous to herself and other children. Nikki has sought psychological care for this,
but the behavior seems to be a result of her daughter’s chromosomal aberration.
Furthermore, we should remember that even though Olivia doesn’t feel the urge to eat,
sleep, or protect herself, this doesn’t mean that she doesn’t still require those basic needs to
survive. Her mother has to make sure that Olivia eats regularly, even though she can be a very
picky eater. She can go days without sleeping, and as a result, her mother has to give her
sleeping pills in order to ensure that she rests. Finally, she attends weekly doctor’s appointments
to check her body for any internal injuries or illnesses that may not be readily apparent.
So, while this all sounds exhausting, thankfully,
Olivia does have an incredibly supportive family who will watch out for her well-being. This is
a lifelong commitment since there is no cure for a chromosome six deletion. It
just goes to show you that superpowers–in their own way–can be super inconvenient.
5. A Mesmerizing Memory (Marilu Henner)
Given their job description, don’t we kind of expect actors to have superior memories? Well,
actress Marilu Henner takes this ability to a completely
different level. Best known for her role as Elaine Nardo in the 1970s sitcom Taxi,
Marilu has gone on to appear in a wide variety of television series and movies.
Although she is a talented performer, that’s not why she’s on our list today.
Marilu is one of less than one hundred people worldwide with a condition known as hyperthymesia
or highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM). Unlike the rest of us mere mortals
who only remember certain events and days from our past in clear detail,
Marilu can recall every single day of her life with perfect clarity.
“Oh, ok August the 16th of 1977, I was just flying back from uh, Las Vegas and my boyfriend
at the time, Lloyd Allen was performing there in Vegas, at the Aladdin hotel. I was flying back,
and I was driving from the airport and I found out… and that was a,
’77, that was a Tuesday, and I heard on the radio that Elvis Presley had died.” “My God”
She can remember where she was, what she was wearing, who she was with,
and even what day of the week a particular date fell on. Now,
this doesn’t mean that she is some kind of savant, able to memorize anything flawlessly. Rather,
her recall ability is tied to her own lived experiences and emotions.
“And you can remember your whole life?” “Yes,
I can remember my whole life & some things come up like right away! And then some other things,
kind of come up a little more slowly, but eventually, everything comes up.”
Although it is unknown exactly how HSAM works, over the years,
Marilu has undergone various types of tests and scans to assist scientists in their research.
Of course, this supercharged memory can be incredibly helpful for Marilu’s work as an
actress, and she insists that it helps her beyond just recalling her lines.
Even though some people with HSAM find the experience to be emotionally taxing
and exhausting, Marilu looks at her ability with thankfulness, seeing it as a blessing.
“You know, I would just remember things. And so, it was this kind of skill I developed, and
I liked doing it as well, you know. So, I think it was a real combination of nature & nurture.”
She is passionate about the gift of the human memory, and she uses her time and resources to
work with the Alzheimer’s Association and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, even going so far
as to go before the United States Congress to advocate for more funding for brain research.
4. Up All Night (Thai Ngoc)
Ah, sleep! Sometimes, it’s the best part of our day. However, it simultaneously eats up quite a
bit of time. One-third of an average human’s life consists of sleeping. So, what would you do if
you suddenly gained all of those hours back? Vietnamese farmer Thai Ngoc got that chance
in 1973 after a fever and a headache abruptly robbed him of his ability to catch some Z’s.
Ngoc, now in his seventies, has tried various methods to induce sleep, including sleeping pills,
traditional Vietnamese medicine, and even alcohol, but all have failed. He has been
examined by doctors and declared fit and healthy, and he maintains an active lifestyle through his
profession as a farmer. He uses his nocturnal free time to work on his farm, and when there
isn’t much for him to do at home, he ventures over to his neighbors’ homes to help out. When
interviewed by Vietnam’s Thanh Nien News in 2006, Ngoc discussed how lonely his nights can feel:
“Those sleepless nights when I have no work to do are the saddest moments. I then lie,
going into and out of my house, smoking and drinking tea. I keep longing for the dawn...”
Depending on the source, it is claimed that Thai hasn’t slept from between 40-65 years.
Doctors don’t know exactly what caused Ngoc’s sudden sleeplessness, but they do have an idea
of how Ngoc has lived so long without rest. It’s thought that certain insomniacs, like Ngoc, can’t
quite tell when they are awake or asleep, and thus they experience several “micro naps” throughout
their day without ever realizing it. However, television stations from England, France, Korea,
and Thailand have all come to interview Ngoc over the years, and many have stayed for several days,
observing Ngoc. He appears to remain awake throughout these days-long interviews, with dozens
of cameras recording his every move and crews sleeping in shifts to watch him at all hours.
Yet, despite these aberrations, Ngoc has never consulted a specialist and is not interested in
pursuing treatment. He has also turned down several lucrative offers to film him over a
longer period, and this leads people to remain skeptical of his claims. We don’t know for sure
if Ngoc is the real deal, but either way, we’re pretty thankful we can still snooze over here!
3. Seeing with Sound (Ben Underwood)
Often, we think of people with superpowers as having extra abilities on top of the
normal human senses. However, in the case of Ben Underwood, it was the loss of one critical sense,
sight, that led him to develop his incredible talent. Born healthy and strong to his mother,
Aquanetta Gordon, Ben sadly developed retinal cancer at two years old and lost his ability to
see. Chemotherapy failed and to save her son, Aquanetta opted to have both of his
eyes removed. In a powerfully heartbreaking moment, she remained strong, telling her son,
“You can’t use your eyes anymore, but you can see with your hands and your nose and your ears.”
Ben grew up in Elk Grove, a quiet town just south of Sacramento, California,
and he attended mainstream schools from a young age,
with Aquanetta vowing to raise him just like her other children.
“Nobody is going to tell him, that there is an impossibility for him. Because there are none”
Although he learned to navigate the world with a cane, Ben also began to
use a series of vocal clicks to get around when he was as young as three.
“I started clicking I was like…”
This technique is known as echolocation,
and it is used by animals like bats and dolphins, but it is rare among humans.
Essentially, the clicks Ben made with his mouth would bounce off of his surroundings, and he would
be able to tell where everything was located. He had an incredibly sharp sense of hearing,
and could comfortably move around in the world to the point where it was difficult to tell he
was even blind. By the time he was a young teen, he refused to utilize a cane at all,
even in unfamiliar surroundings, which worried his loved ones at times.
Yet Ben continued to amaze them, time and time again with his abilities. When interviewed by
The Guardian in 2007, he took a walk around his neighborhood with the reporter and was even able
to tell her that a car they passed had its hood up. Due in part to his mother’s support and his
own sheer determination, Ben played sports just like any other boy his age. He skateboarded,
danced with girls, and rode horses, all thanks to his superior sense of hearing. Featured on CBS,
Oprah, and more, Ben remained humble and good-natured through it all with
his classic catchphrase, “I’m not blind, I just can’t see.”
Sadly, the same cancer that took his eyes claimed his life in 2009 when he was only
16 years old. Aquanetta, determined as ever in the depths of grief said,
“God is great and has given me such peace. I know Ben is with Jesus right now.”
2. Frozen Assets (Wim Hof)
Though most of the people on this list possess abilities that we can’t acquire,
Wim Hof believes that he can teach everyone the secrets behind his superhuman stunts.
Also known as the Iceman, Wim is a grizzled Dutchman in his sixties with an incredible
capacity to withstand cold. He has set numerous world records and performed
some truly hair-raising feats like running a half-marathon above the Arctic Circle in
his bare feet and scaling a portion of Mount Everest in shorts and sandals. He’s taken the
longest ice bath in the world and swam the furthest recorded distance under the ice.
Naturally, these accomplishments attracted the attention of the scientific community, since Wim
claimed he was able to execute these achievements using the power of his mind and his breath.
“Breathing. Breathing how to change the chemistry. You know, stress,
oxidative stress? It comes through shallow breathing. And a lot of stress coming in.
So much pressure on our lives. & That deregulates our chemistry. Now, I found
a very effective way with how to deal with this deregulated through stress coming in, chemistry,
inside of our physiology... Body and mind are suffering normally of this wrong chemistry.”
He credits his abilities to meditation, mental rigor, and a specific breathwork
technique called g-tummo breathing, which is practiced by Tibetan monks. This is thought to
be the key to keeping Wim’s core temperature raised when he is faced with extreme cold,
and his well-developed meditation abilities can extend this effect over some time.
Wim has willingly participated in a few scientific studies, and it was discovered that he did indeed
have the ability to create an artificial stress response within his body that helped him to resist
the cold for far longer than the average person. Essentially, Wim has found a hack for his brain,
enabling it to release opioids and cannabinoids that block pain receptors when exposed to cold.
He hopes to teach many others to do the same through his Wim Hof Method,
which has been featured in many news media outlets, including Gwenyth Paltrow’s Netflix
show The Goop Lab. Though many subscribe to his methodology, others remain skeptical,
especially when inflated health claims enter the picture. Wim insists that
his system will lead to a better immune system, better sleep, increased willpower,
and more. The science on all of these claims is still shaky, and the Wim Hof Method has
been cited as the potential cause of death for at least five individuals between 2015 and 2022.
So, even though Wim Hof has hacked his brain,
we’re not willing to risk frostbite to follow suit… at least, not yet.
1. One Super Sniffer (Joy Milne)
Sometimes, superpowers don’t show up the way we’d expect them to,
but it doesn’t take telekinesis or the ability to fly to make a real
difference. This last lady on our list has a highly specific ability,
and she might never have known if it weren’t for her husband. Joy Milne and her husband Les met
when they were just teenagers, and Joy recalls being attracted to the way that Les smelled.
The two got married and went on to build a life together in Perth, Scotland, but when they were
in their thirties, Joy realized that Les was beginning to smell... differently. Instead
of the alluring, musky scent that she was used to, he began to smell musty to her. She begged
him to shower more frequently, thinking that it must be from his work as a doctor,
or that maybe he wasn’t washing well enough, but nothing seemed to make it go away. Over time,
it wasn’t just Les’s smell that began to change. His personality shifted,
becoming more violent, grumpy, and ill-tempered. When Joy awoke to him throttling her in his sleep,
the pair knew something was terribly wrong. After seeking medical assistance,
Les was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a degenerative brain disorder.
Later, at a support group for Parkinson’s patients,
Joy realized that she smelled the same strange musty scent on the other patients,
that she had first noticed on her husband. Could Parkinson’s have a smell that she was picking up?
Joy contacted Parkinson’s researcher Tilo Kunath at the University of Edinburgh,
and though he was dubious, he devised a test for her. He passed out clean white
t-shirts to a group of people with and without Parkinson’s, had them wear them for a night,
and then presented the shirts to Joy to sniff out the difference. Joy was quite accurate,
only misdiagnosing one individual in the group. However, some months later, that individual was
unfortunately diagnosed with the disease as well–Joy was one hundred percent accurate,
even well before any medical symptoms made their appearance.
Joy is a super sniffer, with a condition known as hyperosmia, or a heightened sense of smell,
but it appears that she can identify a specific scent signature related to Parkinson’s Disease.
Although Les sadly passed away in 2015, Joy has continued to work with scientists to make headway
on the disease. Recently, scientists from the University of Manchester who worked with her,
have developed a skin swab test that can detect the disease with up to 95% accuracy in roughly
three minutes. Though it has yet to be used outside of a laboratory setting, there is hope
that the swab test can help with identifying and diagnosing Parkinson’s at an earlier stage. This
is crucial for a disease that has no known cure and is all about symptom management.
So, remember, you might have a superpower too–you
just haven’t been presented with the right circumstances for it to shine.
What did you think of these incredible humans? If you or anyone you know has a superpower,
we’d love it if you shared your story in the comments below. Do
us a favor and like and subscribe before you go. As always, thanks for watching!