# About 'Half-People'...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-half-people/407458>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 10, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-half-people/407458 "2007-06-10T14:31:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![outside\_artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@outside\_artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outside_artist)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-half-people/407458/1 "2007-06-10T14:31:08Z")

</div>

I was watching a Chriss Angell trick that involved a ‘half-person’: that is, a person who only has the top half of their body, and th elower half seems to be cut off at the hip, but it is a deformity of some kind. What is this disorder called, what causes it, and where are their organs, sexual and otherwise, located in their bodies? Do they work properly or do they have physical problems unlike those of normal people?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-half-people/407458/2 "2007-06-10T18:54:59Z")

</div>

One of the most famous congenitally legless person was a circus performer named [Johnny Eck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Eck). According to [this site](http://www.sideshowworld.com/atsJTR-Phy.html), Eck had all the usual equipment except legs, including a pelvis. There are a number of reasons an infant might be born without legs, including [amniotic banding](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amniotic_band_syndrome).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-half-people/407458/3 "2007-06-11T04:23:54Z")

</div>

[Sirenomelia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirenomelia), sometimes called mermaidism or mermaid syndrome is a congential defect which causes babies to be born with fused legs, sometimes the lower legs are completely absent. It is usually fatal, since it comes with severe renal problems.

I don’t know anything about Chris Angell, so this may have absolutely nothing to do with the performer you saw.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-half-people/407458/4 "2007-06-11T05:14:43Z")

</div>

[Chris Angell splits a woman in half](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0BukAy_dko).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-half-people/407458/5 "2007-06-11T08:26:30Z")

</div>

[The Woman With Half a Body](http://www.five.tv/programmes/extraordinarypeople/womanwith/):

> [@](#):
>
> Born with a rare genetic condition that meant her legs were deformed and without sensation, Rose had her legs amputated as a young child. However, she is determined not to let this get in the way of living her life, even giving birth to a healthy son seven years ago. And when people ask her how she deals with her disability, she replies: “This is my reality. This is my normal.”