05 Dec, 2007, Avaeryn wrote in the 1st comment:
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I'm still boggled by this one. Real or fake?

Man who looks like a tree
05 Dec, 2007, David Haley wrote in the 2nd comment:
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I've heard of this before. The material is made of similar stuff as nails and all, except that it grows from places it's not supposed to grow from. There is treatment for it involving soaking it in liquids and cutting it, but it's not that easy. I'd say it's real, though.
06 Dec, 2007, KaVir wrote in the 3rd comment:
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I read about the guy here as well:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jht...

"After testing samples of the lesions and Dede's blood, Dr Anthony Gaspari of the University of Maryland concluded that his affliction is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a fairly common infection that usually causes small warts to develop on sufferers.

The virus was therefore able to "hijack the cellular machinery of his skin cells", ordering them to produce massive amounts of the substance that caused the tree-like growths known as "cutaneous horns" on his hands and feet."


Real? Yes, I don't see why not. They're not tree roots, they're skin tumors (warts) that have grown out of control.
06 Dec, 2007, Avaeryn wrote in the 4th comment:
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KaVir said:
I read about the guy here as well:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jht...

"After testing samples of the lesions and Dede's blood, Dr Anthony Gaspari of the University of Maryland concluded that his affliction is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a fairly common infection that usually causes small warts to develop on sufferers.

The virus was therefore able to "hijack the cellular machinery of his skin cells", ordering them to produce massive amounts of the substance that caused the tree-like growths known as "cutaneous horns" on his hands and feet."


Real? Yes, I don't see why not. They're not tree roots, they're skin tumors (warts) that have grown out of control.


That's pretty wild. Thanks for the information on that. It seems there is always something new and unusual being found. Ranks right up there with the little girl who was cured of rabies--the.... I'll definitely have to do a bit more research on the HPV virus. I wonder if/how the medical professionals will treat this man? It would seem his case is quite extreme and he does appear to need assistance with some, if not most, ADLs (activities of daily living).
09 Dec, 2007, Tommi wrote in the 5th comment:
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Thats an ovbous fake, he would never get his hands through the arms of his shirt due to the size difference.
09 Dec, 2007, Guest wrote in the 6th comment:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dede_(Indon...

Though I'm not naive enough to think Wikipedia is 100% trustworthy, that stub article confirms the diagnosis made by the doctor in the article KaVir refers to. So while the picture and the video from the blog entry might seem fake, there's enough evidence from credible sources to indicate it's all real. Either way, it's definitely among the weirdest things I've ever seen on the net.
09 Dec, 2007, Avaeryn wrote in the 7th comment:
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I have done quite a bit of research on the HPV virus. Interesting information abounds. It also causes plantar's warts which are quite common on the bottom of the foot of those who wander around without shoes on. It appears the HPV virus is responsible for several problems Contracting HPV can be accomplished in several ways. Thought I'd share a few links I found:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/plantar...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_war...
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hpv.h...

After reading the information I have found, I do believe the video was real. The man had simply become infected with HPV as some of you have stated in your posts. Never know what you might find out there on the net though. I still can't get over those guys trying to eat a tablespoon of....
10 Dec, 2007, David Haley wrote in the 8th comment:
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The picture doesn't show you how wide the sleeves are; what you can see looks fairly wide. And maybe the sleeves are actually slit in the back or something. You can also see how loose the shirt is on him; perhaps that is so that it fits through the shoulders. I've also seen pictures of other people with this condition, so as I said a few posts above I'm inclined to believe it's true.
10 Dec, 2007, Guest wrote in the 9th comment:
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Quote
I still can't get over those guys trying to eat a tablespoon of cinnamon.


WTF. How did that even become something to do when you're bored? I don't get the point of it.
10 Dec, 2007, Kayle wrote in the 10th comment:
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When YouTube came about.
10 Dec, 2007, Conner wrote in the 11th comment:
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Everyone's always hoping for their 15 minutes of fame. :rolleyes:
10 Dec, 2007, Avaeryn wrote in the 12th comment:
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DavidHaley said:
The picture doesn't show you how wide the sleeves are; what you can see looks fairly wide. And maybe the sleeves are actually slit in the back or something. You can also see how loose the shirt is on him; perhaps that is so that it fits through the shoulders. I've also seen pictures of other people with this condition, so as I said a few posts above I'm inclined to believe it's true.


If you watch the video closely most of those growths do seem to be quite flexible. I would think if the material of his shirt is somewhat relaxed/stretchable it would allow his arm and hand to fit through without a lot of problems.

Samson said:
Quote
I still can't get over those guys trying to eat a tablespoon of cinnamon.


WTF. How did that even become something to do when you're bored? I don't get the point of it.


Very true, when did it become something to do when bored? I have used cinnamon when baking, and it is quite powerful even when a tiny bit is thrown into the air with the mixer. Very much along the lines of pepper. Why would someone even think eating a tablespoon would be something cool to do is beyond me. Why not just swallow a red-hot glowing coal for fun :lol:

YouTube just brought about a new way for people to share their idiocy I guess.
11 Dec, 2007, Kjwah wrote in the 13th comment:
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Avaeryn said:
YouTube just brought about a new way for people to share their idiocy I guess.


Could be worse, they could be out robbing people and doing heavy drugs. I'd rather see kids doing something like this than what I previously mentioned.
20 Dec, 2007, Fizban wrote in the 14th comment:
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Quote
Could be worse, they could be out robbing people and doing heavy drugs.


But heavy drugs'd serve a purpose, stop the dumbest of the lot from procreating at least…
20 Dec, 2007, Guest wrote in the 15th comment:
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I don't know if it qualifies as truly weird, but it's still fascinating: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,3175...

And since we'd rather avoid another political hot potato, if anyone wants to comment on the political implications etc then please do so on my blog entry I'm going to have posted later tonite.
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