New evidence of the possible existence of “Feet on Head” runners found. Greek vase found shows a figure of a man with supposed feet on head.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Explanations
A variety of possible explanations for "Feet on Head" have been put forward.
The most common theory deems it to be a hoax.
Another theory states that it is a super-natural occurrence that defies any plausible explanation.
A third theory puts all "Feet on Head" sightings down to a form of genetic mutation or disease, stating that the sufferers should become the objects of sympathy rather than fear or disdain.
Amongst some runners, however, the theory posits that "Feet on Head" is a reaction to distressed feet. The theory is supported by the poor performance of "Feet on Head" sufferers depicted in found images - most seem to be slower and lagging, with pained expressions on their faces. Some also point out that interestingly, as running shoes improved in quality throughout history, the sightings have decreased.
The most common theory deems it to be a hoax.
Another theory states that it is a super-natural occurrence that defies any plausible explanation.
A third theory puts all "Feet on Head" sightings down to a form of genetic mutation or disease, stating that the sufferers should become the objects of sympathy rather than fear or disdain.
Amongst some runners, however, the theory posits that "Feet on Head" is a reaction to distressed feet. The theory is supported by the poor performance of "Feet on Head" sufferers depicted in found images - most seem to be slower and lagging, with pained expressions on their faces. Some also point out that interestingly, as running shoes improved in quality throughout history, the sightings have decreased.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
"Feet on Head" sighting
Frame 352 from the Koos Van
Den Bergh film, alleged by him
to show a “Feet on Head” runner
and by others to show a man with prosthetic "Feet on Head".
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Prominent later sightings
Marathon, 1910. Photo of a supposed "Feet on Head." "Feet on Head" sightings are spread across North America, South America, Africa and Europe.[9][28][29] Some "Feet on Head" advocates, such as sports reporter Harold Willinson Gray, have postulated that feet on head is a worldwide phenomenon.[30] The most notable sightings include:
* 1943: Julia Wielopolski claimed that she and four other women witnessed a female jogger with "Feet on Head" in July 1943, running outside her house. [31] Wielopolski claimed that she and her friends called out to the woman, but the woman increased her speed and fled. The incident was widely reported at the time.[32] Wielopolski wrote an article about the event in 1967, in which she argued that the alleged jogger was a mystical being from another dimension. The women who were with her refused to comment. There are also local rumors that the jogger was a prankster or that Julia and her friends had been drinking.[9]
* 1943: Julia Wielopolski claimed that she and four other women witnessed a female jogger with "Feet on Head" in July 1943, running outside her house. [31] Wielopolski claimed that she and her friends called out to the woman, but the woman increased her speed and fled. The incident was widely reported at the time.[32] Wielopolski wrote an article about the event in 1967, in which she argued that the alleged jogger was a mystical being from another dimension. The women who were with her refused to comment. There are also local rumors that the jogger was a prankster or that Julia and her friends had been drinking.[9]
* 1952: Robert O’Mally and his children claimed to have fled their picnic when a runner with feet on his head stumbled towards them in the park, near their home in Ruby Creek, British Columbia.[35]
* 1981: Fitness centre employee Koos Van Den Bergh took to a local TV station security footage he and other workers had recorded. The late night footage shows a lone runner on a treadmill at the gym, seemingly unaware of the protrusions on his head.
The footage was dismissed as a hoax, but resurfaced years later on YouTube.
* 2003: Fernando Gomez reported that on October 20 he had spotted three runners with "Feet on Head" while running the London Marathon. Fernando’s wife, Anna, claimed that he must have been suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion.
Earliest Sightings
Supposed "Feet on Head" found. Perhaps the oldest recording of feet on head is considered to derive from the period 8000 BCE.
The rock painting depicts a very clear image of a running human, spear in hand and what looks like feet protruding from his head. This was found in the Waterberg area above thePalala River, Drakensberg in South Africa.
The earliest ceramic that was recovered was in Peru and may have been imported from theValidivia region. It’s believed to date back to 1700BCE. It depicts a running horned god, with the horns unmistakably resembling the shape of human feet.
Description
"Feet on Head" circa 1512 to 1515"Feet on Head" is the name given to a type of unexplained condition, where runners grow actual feet on their heads. Believed by some to be a running injury, its cause is most commonly speculated to be acute discomfort to the feet while running. The alleged condition consists of two pointed, foot-shaped projections of the skin that protrude on the forehead of runners, surrounding a core of living bone.
Although runners with feet on their head have been interpreted as recorded occasionally since prehistoric times, many of the photographs, sketches and cave-wall drawings are believed to be hoaxes.
The highly publicized modern sighting by Miranda Lawson on May 12, 1903, resulted in the creation of the term by U.S. newspapers. Although Miranda never specifically used the term “Feet on Head”, she was quoted at the time saying that the objects she spotted on a flagging runner’s head while watching a race in the park were “foot shaped”, and several years later added she had also said "the objects moved independently on the runner’s forehead". The term "Feet on Head" has been used commonly in the media since.
Lawson's sighting was followed by thousands of similar sightings across the world. Such sightings were once very common, to such an extent that feet on head became as commonly discussed as Runner’s knee, Shin splints and Achilles tendinitis.
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