[WARNING: this list contains images that are of an adult nature] Throughout history there have been many unusual relationships and love affairs. Some may seem normal by today’s standards, but in their time caused great controversy. This is a list of the top 10 bizarre relationships.
10. Allen and Previn
In 1978, at the age of eight, Soon-Yi Previn was adopted by Mia Farrow and her then-husband Andre Previn who were on vacation in Korea. In 1980, when Soon-Yi was 10, Farrow began a long-term relationship with Woody Allen which lasted 12 years. In 1992, Farrow found naked photographs of Soon-Yi in Allen’s apartment and subsequently discovered that the two had been having a romantic relationship (at the time she was 22 and Allen was 56). Allen parted ways with Farrow and married Soon-Yi in 1997. Both of Allen’s biological children refused to see him. Allen and Previn have two adopted daughters.
9. Wilde and Douglas
In 1891, Oscar Wilde was introduced to the twenty-two-year-old Lord Alfred Douglas, an undergraduate at Oxford at the time and son of the 9th Marquess of Queensberry. The two began an intimate relationship which may have involved sexual relations, though Douglas later denied that this was the case. In the course of the relationship, for sexual satisfaction, Wilde would look on while Douglas entertained other young men for the pleasure of Wilde. The Marquess eventually found out about this “scandalous” relationship and sued Wilde and after a series of arguments between the two, Wilde took him to court. The case failed and Wilde was eventually charged with gross indecency and was sentenced to two years of hard labor. After he was released on May 19, 1897 he spent his last three years penniless, in self-imposed exile from society and artistic circles.
8. Caligula and Drusilla
Drusilla was Emperor Caligula’s favorite sister. When he became Emperor it is believed that he ordered her to divorce her husband after which she became his lover. She most likely had a great deal of influence over Caligula. When she died in 38 AD, he never recovered from the loss. He buried his sister with the honors of an Augusta, acted as a grieving widower, and had the Roman Senate declare her a Goddess as “Diva Drusilla”, deifying her as a representation of the goddess Venus or Aphrodite. Drusilla was consecrated as Panthea, most likely on the anniversary of the birthday of Augustus.
7. Lincoln and Speed
In 1837, Abraham Lincoln (aged 28) met Joshua Fry Speed (aged 23) when Lincoln moved to Springfield Illinois to set himself up as a lawyer. Lincoln tried to buy a bed from Speed’s store on credit, but Speed offered to share his room and bed instead. Previously Speed had heard the young Lincoln speak on the stump when Lincoln was running for election to the Illinois legislature, but the two men had exchanged only bits of conversation. The two ended up having a lifelong friendship, and upon the death of Lincoln, Speed and other members of his family put up funding to create a Lincoln Memorial. The bizarre nature of this relationship is not that the two shared a bed, but that it is an example of a now extinct version of “Romantic Friendship” – a term that described an intimate, but non-sexual relationship between two people. Romantic Friendships were very common until the mid to late 19th century when homosexuality was beginning to be defined. Other famous examples of Romantic Friendship are William Shakespeare and his “Fair lord”, and Emily Dickinson and Sue Gilbert.
6. The Tomainis
Al Tomaini was a giant who claimed a height of 8’4″ (though the Guiness Book of Records stated that he was 7’4″). Weighing 356 pounds (162 kg) and wearing size 27 shoes, Al spent most of his life as a circus giant. He was working with a circus at the Great Lakes Exposition in Chicago, in 1936, when he met his future wife, Jeanie Tomaini. Jeanie was born without legs and was only 2 ft 6 in (76 cm) tall. After retiring from the circus life, he and Jeanie settled in the circus community of Giant’s Camp, Gibsonton, Florida.
5. Verlaine and Rimbaud
In 1871, Arthur Rimbaud – a budding young poet – (aged 16) travelled to Paris at the invitation of Paul Verlaine (a highly regarded French Symbolist Poet). When Rimbaud arrived in Paris, Verlaine fell in love with him and the two began a turbulent relationship which lead to the breakup of Verlaine’s marriage. During absinthe and hashish influenced nights, the two scandalized Paris with their obscene behaviour and violence. At one point, whilst drunk on Absinthe, Rimbaud stabbed Verlaine in the hand. The two moved to England and eventually Brussels. On the morning of 10 July, Verlaine bought a revolver and ammunition. That afternoon, “in a drunken rage,” Verlaine fired two shots at Rimbaud, one of them wounding the 18-year-old in the left wrist. Eventually Rimbaud asked the police to arrest Verlaine, and he was sent to jail for two years. The two met again only once and at age 21, Rimbaud stopped writing. He is now considered to be one of the most influential French poets in history.
4. Stuebing and Karolewski
Patrick Stuebing is a man living in Leipzig, Germany, who has recently been the centre of a heated debate around incest, due to his relationship with his biological sister, Susan Karolewski, since 2001. The relationship has so far spawned four children of whom only one, Sofia, remains with the couple. Patrick, an unemployed locksmith, was adopted and, as a child, lived in Potsdam. He did not meet his mother and biological family until he was 23. Today he and Susan share a small flat in an east German tower block on the outskirts of Leipzig. Incest is a criminal offence in Germany. Patrick Stuebing has already served a two-year sentence for committing incest. In 2004, Patrick voluntarily underwent a vasectomy.
3. The Bunkers and The Yateses
Chang and Eng Bunker were conjoined twins born in Siam (their condition and place of birth created the term “Siamese Twins”). They were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage. Their livers were fused but independently complete. Although 19th century medicine did not have the means to do so, modern surgical techniques would have easily allowed them to be separated today. The two became American Citizens and became respected members of the community, owning a plantation and slaves. On April 13, 1843, they married two sisters: Chang to Adelaide Yates and Eng to Sarah Anne Yates. Chang and his wife had ten children; Eng and his wife had twelve. In time, the wives squabbled and eventually two separate households were set up just west of Mount Airy, North Carolina in the community of White Plains – the twins would alternate spending three days at each home. The twins died on the same day in 1874.
2. Nero and Sporus
Suetonius (c. 69AD – 130AD) wrote that the Emperor Nero fell in love with a young boy, Sporus, and loved him so deeply that he tried to make a woman of him:
He castrated the boy Sporus and actually tried to make a woman of him; and he married him with all the usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil, took him to his home attended by a great throng, and treated him as his wife. And the witty jest that someone made is still current, that it would have been well for the world if Nero’s father Domitius had that kind of wife. This Sporus, decked out with the finery of the empresses and riding in a litter, he took with him to the courts and marts of Greece, and later at Rome through the Street of the Images, fondly kissing him from time to time.
As bizarre as that sounds, there is another even more bizarre relationship:
1. Dumas and dos Santos
Jean (or Juan) Baptista dos Santos is said to have been a “Gipsey”, born in Faro, Portugal around 1843, to normal parents with two other normal children. He possessed two functioning penises and three scrota, the outer two of which each contained a single testis. Dos Santos claimed that the central scrotum had also contained a pair of fully-formed testes, but that these had retreated into his abdomen when he was ten years old. He also had a third leg. Fortunately for dos Santos, at the same time there lived in Paris a women named Blanche Dumas who had four breasts and two vaginas (and also a third leg). Dumas was working as a high class prostitute. Dos Santos travelled to Paris and it is believed that the two had a torrid affair. You can read more about this most bizarre relationship on Cogitz.
Bonus: Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson involved in any relationship is bizarre. Enough said.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles: Patrick Stuebing.
The Abraham Lincoln thing is bulls**t. Just another piece of revisionist history (tripe). You might want to do a bit of research before you post such slander, especially when the person in question is not able to defend himself.
Troyez: here is a site on Kentucky History that agrees completely with what I said above: http://kentuckyexplorer.com/nonmembers/01-02058.html – wikipedia also has a lot to say on it in both the topic for Speed and Lincoln, as well as a separate article on Lincoln’s *****uality.
Troyez: Re: Lincoln: I have heard about similar thoughts/conclusions about Lincoln from other places, so I couldn’t discount it so quickly.
But besides, why would he need to ‘defend’ himself about such a relationship? Thinking he does points out more what you think about the relationship than the relationship itself.
The people hating Woody Allen must have missed Soon-Yi’s TV interview. She stated that she was too old and mature to ever consider Allen as a father figure. Andre Previn will always be her father. She said that as soon as she met Woody Allen she thought he was cute and witty and felt romantic feelings toward him, but had to consider him her mother’s boyfriend, then husband. Since Soon-Yi was quite mature, Allen never bonded with her as a father figure. Allen’s biggest crime is that he cheated on Mia.
Troyez, i think starting an illegal war that killed more americans than any other, then trying to deport every black in america trumps a little gay trist in the scandal department.
do you really beleive the Lincoln stuff????
Well Shaunism,
I was talking about Lincoln being able to defend himself from being labeled as “gay,” when he was not.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/107koqzy.asp?pg=1
Troyez: I did not label Lincoln as gay – I do not believe he was. I was referring to the “Romantic Friendship” he had with another man – these were very common in those days and did not involve ***** – it was a type of relationship that started to disappear after people began defining the genres of *****uality – due to the fear that you might be labelled homo*****ual when you were not. Obviously I did not make that clear in the list.
Troyez: As was I.
OMG, Abraham Lincoln was gay…..NOT that there is anything wrong with THAT!…
(a Seinfeld reference)
wow, what a coincidence!
A man with two penises meets a chick with two vaginas. That makes me laugh.
I bet the twin’s wives were competing on who could have the most kids.
I think the brother and sister thing, while pretty freaky, isn’t as gross as it could be because they didn’t actually grow up as siblings.
Troyez: SLANDEROUS to be accused of being gay? And he must DEFEND HIMSELF from being labelled as gay. Do you hear yourself? The message you are conveying is that you’re anti-gay. Who cares if Lincoln was gay or not? Who cares if he had a “Romantic Friendship?” I think the world would be a better place if people could allow themselves to have strong feelings for other people, regardless of gender, and express them in a natural way. Instead we deny these feelings, and put on macho airs to avoid these kind of deep friendships. I think that’s pretty sick.
What I am saying, Dan A.,
Is that Abe Lincoln was not homo*****ual, and that it is slanderous to label him as such. He is not here to defend himself from any accusations. I am not calling anyone names. It seems that gays like to call people who do not agree with their lifestyle choice, “homophobic.” And in this society (U.S.), if you disagree with someone’s beliefs on homo*****uality, you are a bigot; remember the 1st Amendment, it discusses freedom of speech, and assures my right to voice my disagreement with you, Dan.
The whole reason I posted on here was because the blog creator did not include all the facts. I also posted a link:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/107koqzy.asp?pg=1
It seems that some people do not want to see the truth staring them in the face.
Because the weekly standard is a non-biased news source. Please..
Anyway, as far as being labelled a bigot…
“…gays like to call people who do not agree with their lifestyle choice homophobic.”
If the pointy little shoe fits…
I do not deny your right to voice your opinion, I think that you are wrong, and I am voicing my opinion. I think you are a bigot, and that is my opinion. I think you are homophobic, and that is my opinion.
What rubs me the wrong way, as a gay man, is that you people (bigots) try to stand up and tell me about my “lifestyle choice.” It doesn’t matter how many times I tell you, and others tell you that it is NOT a choice, you still know better don’t you? You’re the expert, huh?
The only CHOICE I made was not to deny who I am. I didn’t want to be gay at first, but I could not change it, and so I accepted that I was not the pervert and horrible human being that you people (homophobic bigots) tried to make me think that I was. I have accepted myself, and I now am quite happy. The only misery in my life is that I have to deal with PEOPLE LIKE YOU.
Don’t take this too personally, it’s really meant for everyone who tries to tell me about my “lifestyle choice.”
If you don’t subscribe to the Weekly Standard, I have a review from the Washington Post book review (Michael F. Bishop) if you want; http://www.amazon.com/Intimate-World-Abraham-Lincoln/dp/1560259272/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201414222&sr=8-4
“Its not a choice.”
I’ve heard that one before.
When you say that you “accepted” being gay, didn’t you make a choice?
There are peole in this world who think that everything is determined by fate (you have no say in what happens in your life), and those who think that human beings have free will (the ability to make choices, determining the paths of their lives. It seems that you believe the former, while I believe the latter.
My point was that I didn’t think that Abraham Lincoln was homo*****ual, and that people should not try to re-write history to strengthen/further their worldview, without Mr. Lincoln’s being able to defend himself from these accusations.
And I called the post here slander; here’s the definition of slander: : the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation (Merriam-Webster). I think Mr. Lincoln was misrepresented.
Call me all the names you want, Dan; they seem to be the main point of your argument.
…“Romantic Friendship” – a term that described an intimate, but non-*****ual relationship between two people…
copy/paste of text from this list.
notice it says romantic NON *****ual.
bear in mind the enormous differences in what constitutes friendship, romance, passion (***** less variety) by that time period’s standards of behavior and the 21st century.
so i’m confused as to how anyone reading this list can charge the author of it w/ slander when the entry expressly states NON *****ual.
and do we really want to get into a debate about homo*****uality being voluntary or biological (which it is)? i think not.
Look at the picture associated with the article.
Troyez: first of all – I did not say he was gay and I don’t believe he was. The image is meant to be humorous and nothing more. And thirdly, I don’t think it is defaming a person to suggest he is gay (which I haven’t done) – but I think your over-reaction to it might say more about you than Lincoln.
Troyez – its a caricature or cartoon. as in not a real depiction or photograph.
IMO someone who is offended by such an image not only lacks a sense of humor (and perspective) but is probably a closet homophobe.
or is some cases..a quite public homophobe.
Everyone attack the evil, intolerant, homophobe!!! You all have reiterated what I think is indicative of today’s society; tolerance is king, but in this case tolerance really means acceptance.
And, through all this arguing, those of you who have responded have successfully (in your minds, no doubt) shifted the focus of my statement from the article to me, successfully muddying the water.
And btw, Mr. Frater, your piece on Lincoln implied that A.L. was a homo*****ual;
“Romantic Friendships were very common until the mid to late 19th century when homo*****uality was beginning to be defined.”
It sure sounds like you said/inferred that a “romantic friendship,” was an early form of homo*****uality.
Anyway, it is hard to have discourse when everyone who writes in calls you names; what happened to the celebrated tolerance this new world is always trumpeting from the rooftops? That’s right, I forgot, you can have tolerance only for liberal minded folks who think like you!
Thanks everyone, you’ve changed my way of thinking! I am going to get a Hillary ’08 bumper sticker, buy a pair of Birkenstocks, and join Move on!
Peace, out!
Troyez: you missed my point completely – it was the definition of homo*****uality that caused people who were having normal platonic relationships to stop out of fear of being branded something they were not. It was not because homo*****uality was the new term for Romantic Friendship – it is that Romantic Friendships were likely to be labelled homo*****ual when they were not. Let me state it again – I do not believe Lincoln was gay and I was not trying to imply that he was in my comment.
Oh – and btw, there is no such thing as “an early form of homo*****uality” – homo*****uality has always been there, it was just not referred to in that way – the concept of gender “classes” is a modern one.
Nice picture of Michael Jackson. What a freak.
Ok…the whole Nero and Sporus is a little strange…I hope that Sporus was willingly casterated! Also, some strange entanglements took place throughout the life of Aleister Crowley-especially with (I can’t remember the guys name) but he was a follower of his teachings and was forced to sleep on burrs etc, and only for brief periods after which Crowley would have his way with him. The guy was later married. He was told it was all part of his “training”.
This one goes beyond icky. http://www.parentsbehavingbadly.com/2006/09/30/bruce-mcmahan-the-dad-who-married-his-own-daughter/
The first one just gives me the creeps even more of Woody Allen
Apparently, Stuebing and Karolewski never heard of birth control.
Why would they keep spawning when 3 of their 4 kids were yanked from their custody? They BOTH should be sterilized, not just the guy.
Woody Allen is creepy, but the first one is creepier
10, 8 and 4 REALLY creeped me out, well, anything to do with incest does that. Number 6 is pretty cute, though. I used to share a flat with a couple and the guy was about a foot and a half taller than the girl. People would see them walking down the street holding hands and think he was some sort of perv holding hands with a 12 year old – until they actually saw them from the front. Funnily enough she was the older of the two.
I had to read number 10 FIVE TIMES before I could what the ***** it was talking about. Too many names…
OMFG!!! This is by far the best list I’ve read on this web site. The #1 made my life complete! This is great.
Martin L (#26)
You said – “Heavy Bison: as a matter of fact, I recall reading a little more of the Chang and Eng tale. I think Eng was the first to go, sickening and dying in the morning, so that, yes, his brother was attached to a corpse, and mourned the whole day before succumbing around sunset. Allegedly of grief, though I’m sure (ech!) septicemia had something to do with it.”
In fact Chang was the first to die and the reason Eng died the same day is h refused to be separated and no one thought to bind the physical link between the twins.
As a result, Eng’s heart continued to pump blood into the dead body of his conjoined twin, but obviously very little blood was coming back. Ultimately it was the lack of sufficient oxygenated blood that killed Eng.
Hey, wasn’t it Woody Allen who said that the McCain-Palin presidential ticket was “immoral” and a “disgrace”? More moral musings from a true perv.
Lincoln was a homo*****ual. fact.
I have family who were related to Lincolns wife.
shaunism–you mean this documentary? I think that this is the weirdest of all relationships!!
http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com/index.php/2007/11/07/guys-and-dolls-documentary-looks-at-real-dolls-and-those-who-love-them/
so lincoln and wilde were gay , big deal these days although at the time it obviously spilt some fleet street ink. so Woody Allen Loves his little girl unwisely and too well, whoopie pooppie with money comes power and the possible abuse thereof and that as an argument also covers michael jackson. so even genetic aberrations like chang and eng
need love too; why doesn’t Louis xvi get a mention in your list for getting off on eating his teenage mistress’s ***** with a big specially made golden spoon off a specailly made lead crystal table? why isn’t catherine the great of russia on this list? she apparently died from having ***** with a bull. Open your eyes to history and the peccadilloes of the human heart, guys. Bizarre maybe means something else to somebody with little faith in the nobility of the human condition. we are all animals, we eat, sleep, ***** ***** and die as best we can. Maybe woody Allen is even in his dotage good…. with children
Gee, am I the only one that thought it was odd that the Siamese twins were slave owners???? Zoinks!!
Also, I know I am going to get heat from the politically correct crowd but stating the truth has a way of doing that…
I would note that one of the most controversial relationships in history would have to be between Muhammed of Islamic fame and his last wife, Aisha whom he married while in his mid 50′s and she was only 6…..and to make it worse, he deflowered her when she was only 9 years of age…ewwwwwwww….and don’t bring any of the moral and cultural relativism crap to the table….wrong is wrong and you don’t bed a 9 year old girl in your mid 50′s…indeed, you don’t bed a nine year girl if you are even of similiar age….gross…..
And that is according to solid Islamic sources ie the Burkari Hadiths……part of the Sunnah!! The funny thing, Muslims to this day either try to explain this away by saying Aisha was actually 16 when she married muhammed but that isn’t being honest to the text….the fact that she was still playing with dolls when Muhammed called on her pretty much blows that theory apart..
And to make it worse, you can find countless websites defending this marriage …..ewwww..eww…..ewwwwwww…
Of course, I do not expect the fine persons who run this site to post such a thing….having death threats thrown at you is not great fun to be sure….
The Siamese twins.
Sadly , after the 1st twin died the second one died for no other reason than he was unable to live without his brother. There was no medical reason at all for his demise it was purely down to extreme grief at the loss of his twin.
Numbera 4 and 10 are RANK
They know it’s wrong and disgusting but no they do it anyway
Dirty, dirty people
Especially Number 4
Everyone knows the dangers of inbreeding
How selfish to go ahead and have a kid anyway
Those kids are going to get nothing but bullied at school
They should both be locked up.
Jamie: why “bizarre”? I was a little bit offended when you use the world bizarre to describe some of the relationships here. But then I read a few of your follow ups, and I realized you are not a bigot. You did certainly infuriated a bigot up there!
Soon-Yi Previn actually just died.
I looked it up, and Lark Previn died, not Soon-Yi. It’s her adopted sister. She died on Christmas.
I truely LOL’d at the Michael Jackson joke at the end…
Though a few of these made my nose wrinkle and my stomach turn, it was a very interesting read.
I’m sure this would qualify…..
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23494953-2,00.html
for number one: How do they do it? does she get pregnant with twins? have 2 wombs? Does the leg kick around alot? That would suck. You would see 2 people in bed and 6 legs at the edge. Weird…
106. Solidus Eurghh… that story you posted is disgusting
People like that deserve to be shot.
Burt and Linda Pugat, featured in the film “Crazy love”. He was obsessively in love with Linda and when she broke off the relationship, he had acid thrown in her face, permanently disfiguring and blinding her. After Bert, served 20 years in prison, they were married. Linda was down and out and Burt felt guilty. You can see the entire documentary on youtube.
Next time please put “WARNING: Ugly-assed picture of Michael Jackson at the end of article”. Christ, I’ll have nachtmares tonight…
Comment 107, thank you for those images. Wow, this is an interesting (and bizarre) list. I love Rimbaud’s work and I new he had an affair with Verlaine but didnt know the messy details. Interesting.
‘Michael Jackson involved in any relationship is bizarre. Enough said.’
LOL ;p
Interesting list, as many others I’ve read. Ever since I found your site(a week ago or so), I’ve been reading it every day and have it bookmarked (:
Keep up the great work.
Would you consider taking the bonus off now that he is deceased?
@Stacy Braswell
Umm, why? His demise doesn’t make it any less nor more funny.
Well it stopped being funny when he became a father.
wow! #1 is really bizarre, plus please enough with MJ! and the PIC OF HIM IS NOT FUNNY!! >.<
The picture of Lincoln made me laugh.
The first relationship? Damn that’s true love right there (not to mention really coincedental- I mean, how often if you had two penises would you be able to find someone with two vaginas?). That’s..wow.
I’ve heard about every one of these relationships before. Except the tenth, sixth, fifth, fourth, & first ones (which is about half the list, isn’t it?).
On the fourth relationship: I just let them be. Already had kids. They’re happy (just so long as they’re kids do Not make the same choice as their parents did).
And Michael Jackson’s relations kindof seemed to be a topper to this list.
Cool list. And i agree, some of these were quite bizarre; while others were controversial for the time (like Oscar Wilde’s pretty much dominoed his career).
Wilde and Douglas Bizarre? Maybe,If you live in 1692??!
Chang was once convicted of general assault on a member of the audience during one of the twins’ variety acts. However, the judge in the case could not hold Eng in prison as well, so he set them both free.
I thought that this was quite interesting.
Oh My God I am so *****ing depressed right now. I just read the list of “Creepy Victorian Life” or whatever it was and now this list. I literally feel like killing myself. *****ing hell I am feeling sick.