We’ve watched and loved all the X-Men movies and devoured the Miss Peregrine books (and this year’s film adaptation), but we don’t have to look to fiction to find people with extraordinary “powers”. Here’s a list of children with jaw-dropping abilities, compiled from Yahoo and Mom.me.
1. Pint-sized Strongman
Photo: NTDTV/YouTube
In 2012, 7-year-old Yang Jinlong already weighed 50 kilograms and was already strong enough to pull a 1.85-ton van along a road. It seems like his strength is an innate trait; his parents say that when he was just 9 months old, he was already able to lift a 5-kilogram oil drum. Unsurprisingly, he plans on becoming a weightlifter when he grows up.
2. Perfect Pitch
Photo: Matthew Whitaker Channel/YouTube
Mathew Whitaker was just 3 years old when his grandfather bought him a Yamaha keyboard, awakening his love for music. Matthew, who was blind since birth, soon developed perfect pitch. He only needs to hear a song once before he can reproduce it on several instruments, including the piano, drums, guitar, and clarinet. Matthew has played for the most prestigious concert halls all over the world and has also composed his own music. At 13, he was the youngest artist to be endorsed by Hammond Organ. Now 15, he was recently named a Yamaha Artist—the youngest pianist to join the elite group of musicians.
3. The Telepath
India’s 12-year-old Nandana, who has autism, is said to be able to read her mother’s mind. “I used to feel strange when she would come to me and say the name of the food I was thinking of preparing for her. The same way, if my husband and I had decided to take her somewhere, she would know about it without being told about it and would start reacting to it,” her mother explained to Khaleej Times. In a test conducted by experts, Nandana’s mother read the poem silently, and Nandana was asked to type it out on a laptop—and she did. Nandana’s mother was also given a six digit number and was told to leave the room before Nandana was asked to type it out.
3. The World’s Strongest Boy
Photo: Giuliano Stroe/Facebook
Dubbed “The World’s Strongest Boy”, Giuliano Stroe set two world records in 2010: the fastest 10-meter hand walk with a weighted ball in between his legs, and most 90-degree pushups (pushups without letting your feet touch the ground) performed. He was just 5 years old. Since then, he has broken three other world records: longest human flag, most human flag pull-ups, and most muscle ups. Giuliano, who is Romanian, has been training since he was 2 years old.
Go to the next page to find out about more extraordinary children!
5. Real-life Daredevil
Photo: Ben Underwood/Facebook
Ben Underwood was blinded by retinal cancer when he was just 3 years old. But by the time he was 5, he was able to develop echolocation—he would use tongue clicks to detect objects and see with sounds. This ability allowed him not just to navigate, but also gave him the ability to play basketball and even ride a bike and skateboard. Unfortunately, Ben’s cancer came back, and he eventually succumbed to it in 2009, just a week before his 17th birthday. Though he is gone, his story continues to inspire millions.
6. Das Uberboy
Uberboy, whose identity is being kept a secret, was born in Germany in 1999. The nurses noticed right away that there was something different about him—his muscles were highly developed. Doctors have deduced that this was due to a genetic mutation. To this day, Uberboy’s progress is still being studied by scientists.
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