Minnie Woolsey (born in 1880) was an American sideshow entertainer/film performer. In the 1932 film called Freaks, she was billed as Koo Koo, the Bird Girl. Woolsey suffered from an extremely rare birth defect syndrome, resulting in short stature and bird-like physical characteristics.

Woolsey’s Rare Disorder

Woolsey had a rare inherited disorder called Seckel syndrome (also known as bird-headed dwarfism, Bird-headed dwarf of Seckel, and Harper’s syndrome). The condition causes growth delays prior to birth which result in not only low birth weight, but also unusual physical features. read more

Sideshow performer Francesco Lentini (July 8, 1884 – September 22, 1966) was an Italian-American who earned the nickname “The Great Lentini.” To say the least, he had an odd deformity. Equipped with three legs, four feet, a total of sixteen toes, and two sets of functioning male sexual organs, it is no surprise that this man was a curiosity and famous entertainer for several decades.

Lentini’s Bizarre Deformity

An X-Ray of conjoined twins.

Lentini had a deformity that was caused by a partially absorbed conjoined twin. His conjoined twin was attached at the base of his spine. Although Lentini wanted his unusual condition corrected, doctors determined that because of the proximity of his extra appendages to his spine, surgery would have been too risky. There was a high chance that removal could have resulted in paralysis. read more