In Images: A History of Premier Automobiles By DAVID SHAFTEL

Kuni Takahashi for The New York TimesA Premier Padmini taxi in Mumbai, in this Dec. 8, 2012 file photo.

The black and yellow Padmini taxi is as identifiable with Mumbai as the Volkswagen Beetle taxi in Mexico City or the once ubiquitous Checker cab in New York. Alternately loathed and romanticized, the Padmini — or some version of it — was produced in Mumbai from 1964 to 2000 by Premier Automobiles. It became a favorite of taxi drivers in the 1970s because it was cheaper, easier to drive and more maneuverable than the tank-like Hindustan Ambassador, its main competition in Bombay, as the city was known then. For the individual motorist, it was attainable and passed for sporty in a tightly controlled automotive industry.

Courtesy of Premier AutomobilesA Fiat car, top right, and Dodge car, bottom left.

In 2008, the Maharashtra state government announced that taxis older than 25 years old were to be phased out, signaling the start of the Padmini’s demise. At its peak in the 1990s, there were some 58,000 Padmini taxis plying the streets of Mumbai; today there are only around 9,000. The cabbies who drive them say they are cheap and easy to maintain and that they could stay on the roads forever. Most customers, however, prefer to ride in the newer, more modern cabs. But while the rickety and cramped Padmini will not likely be mourned by commuters, private collectors are becoming increasingly interested in them.

Courtesy of Premier AutomobilesAn award-winning Fiat 500, with Bombay license plates.

In the 1940s, Bombay-based Premier Automobiles Ltd (PAL) made Dodge cars and trucks as part of a deal with the American automaker Chrysler. After Independence, large American cars were seen by the socialist-leaning government as decadent, according to Maitreya Doshi, Premier’s current managing director. So in 1952, PAL entered a joint venture to produce the more modest Fiat cars, like the 500 model, pictured in this image from a PAL annual report.

Courtesy of Premier AutomobilesThe Fiat 1100D produced by Premier.

The Fiat 1100D produced by Premier was essentially the same car as the Italian version that launched in 1962. Few changes were made to the design of the Indian version that still patrols the streets of Mumbai.

Courtesy of Premier AutomobilesPremier’s cars being exported to Mauritius in the 1970s.

In 1972 the car was indigenized and the joint venture with Fiat was not renewed. For the 1973 model year it became the Premier President. In the 1970s Premier exported cars to Mauritius, as pictured here in this photo from a PAL annual report. Premier also exported cars to Dubai in the 1980s. ‘‘There were also stray exports to Latin America, Indonesia, Africa and Nepal in the 60s and 70s,’’ said Maitreya Doshi, Premier’s managing director.

Courtesy of Premier AutomobilesA Padmini Deluxe ‘B-E’ model from the late 1980s.

In 1974, when an officious bureaucrat objected to the name ‘‘President,’’ the car became the ‘‘Padmini,’’ named after a 14th century Rajput princess. Many Mumbai residents still call it a ‘‘Fiat.’’ The one pictured here is a Deluxe B-E model from the late 1980s, which featured chrome bumpers and hubcaps.

Courtesy of Premier AutomobilesAn advertisement for Padmini cars from the 1970s.

The Padmini’s main competition was the Hindustan Ambassador, a large, bulbous car that still signifies power and officialdom. The Padmini was marketed as more aspirational, reflected in the slogans used to advertise it.

Before economic liberalization in 1991, the automotive industry was tightly regulated, so Premier wasn’t allowed to implement too many improvements to the Padmini. Instead, it trumpeted the ones that it could make, such as the “stylish polyurethane steering wheel” and “ignition-cum-steering lock.”

As the automotive industry evolved slowly in the 1980s and then quickly in the 1990s, the Padmini remained a constant until production ceased in 2000.

Courtesy of Premier AutomobilesThe Premier 118NE launched in 1985.

Courtesy of Premier AutomobilesRio, a compact SUV, launched by Premier in 2012.

In 1985, Premier launched the 118NE, as part of a joint venture with Peugeot. It was modeled on a Fiat 124. Production was stopped in 1999 after Peugeot abandoned the joint venture, says Premier Managing Director Maitreya Doshi. The Fiat 124 was also the model for the Russian Lada.

Premier re-entered the car market with the launch of the Rio, a compact SUV, in 2012.

David Shaftel is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai.

The wonders of Premire Motors

Inception of independent Indian Automobile industry started off with two names – Hindustan Motors Ltd.’s Ambassador and Premier Auto Ltd.’s Padmini. Both are one of it’s kind cars plowing their roots deep into every individual born in India. If we notice, both the cars were of foreign origin, Ambassador being an evolved Morris Oxford III and Padmini being an Indigenized version of Fiat 1100. We try to refresh the memories of Fiat that ruled millions of kilometers of Indian soil while ruling billion Indian souls.

Premier Padmini started off as the Fiat 1100 Delight in 1964 on Indian roads. Yes, the car came to life in Italy under the roof of engineering marvel Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (known as FIAT). Some say, the history of Padmini dates back to few more years. FIAT 500 was the first car from FIAT which was assembled for Indian market since 1951. In 1954, there came a car which all Indians called, the Dukkar. Actually it was a Fiat 1100-103, the predecessor of Fiat 1100 D, an 1100cc, 36 PS four door sedan with its short tail. It transformed a lot before getting evolved into the Fiat 1100D. Fiat 1100D gained pace when Premier Auto started producing it for the Indian market in 1964, under license from FIAT.

At that time the market was dominated by the Ambassador produced by Hindustan Motors based in Kolkata since 1958. The Fiat 1100 Delight was the first car which actually challenged the monopoly of HM Ambassador. It was sleek, compact, more streamlined and a looker than Ambassador thus, it did rise as a potent alternative for the Ambassador. Initially people used to address it as only FIAT, later it gained its identity as Padmini. This car was assembled in Premier Auto’s plant in Kurla, Mumbai till 1997 (the year when Premier sold their stakes back to parent). That is why Mumbai has the largest number of Padminis, be it as taxi or as a personal vehicle.

Premier Padmini advert: showing Padmini as symbol of luxury on offering

The FIAT 1100-103: Known as Dukkar Fiat in India

Yellow and Black: Premier Padmini ruled the world of Mumbai Cab

Aesthetically the car was simple and sleek. It had 3-box design with chrome lined round headlights placed at corners with bigger grill at center housing PAL logo and blinkers placed beneath it. The front end resembled the Morris Mini to a certain extent. It had curved front and rear bumpers crafted in chrome which made it stand out of the crowd. Side profile was simple and carried a chrome line running across the length, chrome door handles and hub wheel cap also made up of chrome. Some mounted the tyres with white colored side walls which completed the overall appearance of the car from the side.

At the rear we can find, stretched oval shaped twin level indicators covered by chrome cap and housed finned structure. The chrome was laid all over the car in abundance. Interiors were plain and sober with few knobs and dials and there were no fancy items and storage spaces on the dash. However get inside the Mumbai cab version of it and you’ll find many gizmos added there like a fan, TV, many LED throwing lights over religious idols and so on.

The beauty is powered by a sweet sounding engine with following specifications -

- Engine: Fiat 1089cc, Four Cylinders, 2 valves/cylinder , Carbureted, Petrol.
- Power: 40 BHP @ 4800 RPM.
- Torque: 71 Nm @ 3000 RPM.
- Compression Ratio: 7.8:1
- Transmission: 4-speed Manual with column mounted shifter, rear wheel drive.

Just crank the engine and you’ll hear the beat that is unmistakably Padmini. From distance it sounds the same over the years irrespective of its age. Later, the engine got a small technical tweak which upped its power to 44 BHP and after that finally it received a major engine upgrade, in the form of a diesel heart in 1996. One of its kind gear lever, placed on the steering column operated a nice four speed gear box. It could do close to 115 km/h of top speed with these mechanicals installed onboard.

The era of the sixties and seventies was not much concerned about gimmicks like ergonomics, pliant ride quality and precision handling, etc. Still ride quality of Padmini was undoubtedly comfortable for city conditions and it would have beaten some of our current generation cars. Seating configuration was like 3+2 which has two sort of comfortable bucket front seats and a flat bench at the rear. Some have fitted it with flat bench at front, which accommodates 3 persons at front, making it a 6-seater. Inside space was enough to occupy 5 people comfortably, although persons measuring more than 6 feet in height may face problem in headroom and legroom. Being a 3-box car, it has full grown 308-litre boot which can house loads, good enough for weekend family trip which sadly was not in trend at those times. So it served many travelers coming to Mumbai by carrying their luggage to destinations. Being a car shorter in height, it had a lower center of gravity and considering light weight of the car, helped in better handling and cornering.

Padmini not only ruled the cab market of Mumbai but also ruled many hearts. Thus, it can still be seen in many avatars now and then. Many proud owners of Padmini have put lot of efforts to keep the car not only in running condition but also to make it a head turner retro beauty. There are fan clubs of Padmini which share their technical knowledge in order to keep the heart of Padmini thumping. Such kind of fanfare is achieved by very few cars in India.

Perfectly restored classic beauty

Cabin of Mumbai Taxi

This FIAT legacy has evolved further in India with another Italian beauty FIAT 124 which is known in India as Premier 118NE being launched in 1985. 118NE is the one version out of the many manufactured across the globe like SEAT 124 in Spain, VAZ 21011 in Russia, TofasSerce in Turkey, etc. 118NE is a successor of Padmini for Premier in India. It is placed as a perfect upgrade to its predecessor. Looking at it, we will notice the change of taste with change in generation, curves were gone to make way for sharp and edgy design. The round lamps are replaced by the rectangular ones, same with the tail lamps. Suddenly chrome disappeared from the car and black finishing took its place. Dark black square grill, black front and rear bumpers are reflecting that only.

Along with cosmetic changes, the mechanicals have changed too. The 118 NE was powered by an engine sourced from Nissan and a manual box coupled to it was also borrowed from Nissan. The thing that everyone in that era remembers is the Nissan gear box – slickest gear box ever. This power packed engine was way ahead of Fiat’s engine found in the Padmini. The power and torque took a big jump assisted by higher compression ratio and higher working RPMs. Later in 2000’s the diesel version also came out as people stared to understand the price advantage of diesel over petrol. There was another version, 138D which got diesel heart under the hood.

Following are the engine specs of the Premier 118NE -

Engine: Nissan A12, 1172cc, 4-Cylinder, 2valves/cylinder, Petrol
Fiat PAD 137NC, 1367cc, 4-Cylinder, 2valves/cylinder, Diesel
Power: 52 BHP @ 5600 RPM (P); 41 BHP @ 4500 RPM (D)
Torque: 79 Nm @ 4000 RPM (P)
Compression Ratio: 9:1 (P)

After some complaints from consumers, an improved version called Viceroy was also launched at the end of its life but then it was stopped in 2001. This car hasn’t got enough time to breathe as competition started to arise very strongly and the main competitor was the Maruti 800!! Maruti 800 being common people’s car which comes at cheaper price tag acted as competition killer for Premier. Finally Premier stopped producing all these cars in 2001 and brought an era, of FIAT’s first attempt in India, to an end.

This is a short little story to blow off the dust which had settled with time over these beautiful cars. Time has changed, world has evolved but no one can wash away the impressions these cars made in hearts of many people.

Article by Suraj Desai

A Roadside Romeo of Automobiles, Suraj is a Mechanical Engineer who has a special ability to recognize camouflaged vehicles from great distanc

Deadliest Nuclear Missiles

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On August 6th, 1945 the first nuclear weapon was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, the city of Nagasaki was subjected to the second, and currently last, nuclear attack in human history. The bombings are credited with helping to bring an end to the war with Japan and preventing the further loss of millions of lives.  Combined, the two bombs killed approximately 240,000 people and ushered in a new era – the nuclear age.

From 1945 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the world endured the Cold War and the constant specter of a possible nuclear exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union. During this time, both sides built thousands of nuclear weapons which ranged from small bombs and cruise missiles to massive Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) and Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM). Britain, France and China added to this stockpile of weaponry with their own nuclear arsenals.

Today, the fear of nuclear annihilation is considerably less than it was in the 1970s or 1980s, yet several nations still possess a large arsenal of these destructive weapons. Furthermore, despite treaties aimed at limiting the number of weapons a nation can possess, nuclear powers continue to develop and improve their stockpiles and delivery methods. A resurgence in anti-ballistic missile development has caused some nations to step up development of new and more effective ICBMs and SLBMs. This has created a fear that a new arms race could open up between the world superpowers as each tries to produce technologies superior to the others.

The following list looks at ten of the most destructive or ‘effective’ nuclear missile systems currently in service in the world. Accuracy, range, number of warheads, warhead power and mobility are factors which make these systems so destructive and dangerous. This list is presented in no particular order because these nuclear missiles don’t always share the same task or objective. One missile may be developed to destroy a city while another type may be designed to destroy enemy missile silos. In addition, this list does not include missiles currently being tested or not officially deployed. Thus, missile systems like India’s Agni-V and China’s JL-2, both in stages of testing and to be officially operational this year, are not included. Israel’s Jericho III is also left out as there remains significant gaps in knowledge about the missile and doubt about whether it is an Intermediate range missile or a full ICBM.

Note: It is important to keep in mind when reading the following that the size of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were equivalent to 16 kilotons (x1000) and 21 kilotons of TNT respectively.

10. M51 – SLBM (France)

via globalmilitaryreview.blogspot.com

Behind the United States and Russia, France deploys the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world. In addition to nuclear bombs and cruise-missiles, France relies on its SLBMs to provide its primary nuclear deterrent. Of this force, the M51 is the most modern component. The M51 entered service in 2010 and is currently installed on the Triomphant class of ballistic missile submarines. The missile has a range of around 10,000 km and is reportedly capable of carrying 6 to 10 100kt warheads per missile. The missile’s Circular-Error-Probability (CEP) is reportedly between 150 and 200 meters – meaning that the warhead has a 50% probability of striking within 150-200m of its target. In addition to decoys released during flight, terminal velocity is reported to be Mach 25, making any attempts to intercept incoming warheads very difficult.

World's most expensive pens

When we were just learning how to write, we all started out using a pencil with an eraser on top. Eventually, we made use of ballpoint inks. Perhaps, we may have even used more expensive pens like the ones created by Parker and Cross ballpoint pens. Pens are used from the most mundane tasks like writing down your grocery list, to real historic events like the signing of an important piece of legislation. When the President of the United States, Barack Obama, finally signed the health care bill, 22 different pens were used for the occasion. By doing that, it allowed the White House to have 22 historical artifacts that they could give away as souvenirs or keepsakes to proponents and supporters of the bill. In time, these pens will certainly command a high price.

There are various kinds of pens, from the inexpensive ballpoint pens that use sticky oil-based ink, or the fountain pens that use water-based liquid ink that passes through a nib, to the markers that make use of felt tips, and the rollerball pens that use gel ink. It can come in a variety of colors, including metallic paint colors and colors that have a glitter-like effect.

Prices will vary depending on the kind of pen and the reputation of the manufacturer. The top ten most expensive pens in the world are listed below.

1. Aurora Diamante Fountain Pen – $1.47 million

Aurora is a pen manufacturer based in Italy known for its luxury writing instruments. The company’s Diamante fountain pen is known for its smooth flow of writing delivery, though it may be hard to concentrate on your penmanship with this pen when it has around 2,000 diamonds encrusted all over its body. Yes, 2,000 diamonds, making this pen not just a writing instrument, but a veritable jewelry as well. To top off the statement of wealth that this pen seems to proclaim, the nib of the fountain pen comes in gold. Only one Diamante pen is created each year by the manufacturer, thus making it a rare collectible.

2. Caran d’Ache 1010 Diamonds Limited Edition Fountain Pen – $1 million

Caran d’Ache is a well-regarded manufacturer of pencils, writing instruments and fine art products based in Switzerland. It should probably add designer of gemstones to its list of credentials. After all, it has created a limited edition fountain pen that is encrusted with 850 diamonds. The cap of the fountain pen also has 26 lines that are studded with 22 baguette-cut diamonds. The entire body of the fountain pen is already luxurious enough, as it is made from white gold. And yes, this limited edition pen does write quite well. Even if it does not, you certainly would not be throwing this away.

3. Heaven Gold Pen – $1 million

Touted as a girly pen as the body is molded from 24k pink gold. Originally called the First Diamond and Gold Pen, it was created by Anita Tan and features 1,888 diamonds weighing 48 carats, including 161 that have brilliant colors. Tsavorite gemstones estimated to be 2 billion years old and weighing 43 carats also adorn this pen. The gems form diamond, heart and flower shapes in the middle of the pen. Tan supposedly drew inspiration from the cosmos at the start of 2012 when the stars and planets realigned.

4. Mont Blanc Limited Edition Mystery Masterpiece – $730,000

What happens when one of the best creators of luxury watches, writing instruments and leather team up with one of the most prestigious high jewelry manufacturer in the world? That was what happened when Mont Blanc and Van Cleef & Arpels collaborated on this limited edition pen, aptly named the Mystery Masterpiece. The luxury-writing instrument was meant to celebrate the centenary of the German giant, and it did not disappoint. The pen was studded with 840 diamonds. Clients can then choose whether to add emeralds, rubies or sapphires to provide the contrast to the diamonds. The result is truly a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

5. Caran d’Ache Gothica Pen – $406,453

Only 1,140 were created by Caran d’Ache in this tribute to Gothic art. The pen is made of sterling silver coated in rhodium, with a Gothic window of rosette and fleur de lis on both sides combining in brilliant colors.

6. Caran d’Ache La Modernista Diamond Pen – $275,000

The La Modernista pen has 5,072 diamonds weighing 30 carats encrusted all over its body. It also features 96 rubies, while the nib is made of gold weighing 18 carats and coated in rhodium. It took the manufacturer six months to finish this pen by hand.

7. Mont Blanc Prince Rainier III Limited Edition 81 Pen – $260,200

The pen was given this name to honor Prince Rainier III of Monaco who passed away in 2005 at the age of 81. Only 81 pieces were made. The body of the pen is molded from 18-carat white gold and is encrusted with 996 facet-cut diamonds and 92 rubies. The clip ring also has 19 rubies on it. The nib is made of gold measuring 18 carats.

8. Visconti HRH Limited Edition Ripple Fountain Pen – $57,000

This pen is available in white gold. The body is made of white gold weighing 18 carats. Diamonds are encrusted in the body, and the nib is made of 18 carat gold. The pen features a double reservoir filling system.

9. Visconti HRH Limited Edition Forbidden City Fountain Pen – $42,200

The Forbidden City fountain pen from the Italian pen manufacturer Visconti is made of black resin. It features an innovative filling system called the Power Filler, and boasts of gold and diamonds in the body and nib.

10. Grayson Tighe Limited Edition Fountain Pen – $24,000

This pen is made from yellow gold weighing 18 carats. An Acanthus leaf is engraved into the pen. It is coated with rhodium and tipped with iridium. The pen is made by hand and customized in Germany.

The wierdest medical Disorders

The world is truly a hypochondriac’s nightmare, full of thousands upon thousands of painful and debilitating diseases and medical conditions, from the mundane to the highly unusual. But you don’t see these 15 disorders every day. Extremely rare and unbelievably bizarre, the world’s weirdest health issues range from ‘possessed’ hands that can’t be controlled to a metabolic disorder that makes sweat, urine and breath stink like putrefying fish.

Alien Hand Syndrome

(image via: film journal)

It’s the plot of a few horror movies, but also a very bizarre reality for some: hands with minds of their own that move and behave seemingly independent of the sufferer’s intentions. The ‘alien’ hands undo buttons, manipulate tools and even grope people without the awareness of those to whom the hands are attached. The individual has full sensation in the hand, but it seems ‘possessed’. It’s caused by a separation of the lobes of the brain whether through injury or surgery, and there’s no cure other than to distract the errant hand with an object to handle.

Bodies Turned to Stone

(image via: wikimedia commons)

Some people’s bodies are a little too proficient at healing injuries, going so far overboard as to turn a joint to stone. The extremely rare condition known as fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva involves a mutation of the body’s repair mechanism, which causes muscle, tendons and ligaments to ossify when damaged. For people with this medical condition, operations on their injuries will only cause additional bone growth. In the most extreme cases, patients may be rendered completely immobile within decades.

Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome

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Imagine having 200+ orgasms each and every day – not just in the privacy of your own home, but on the train, in meetings at work and at dinner with your parents. As opposed to hypersexuality, persistent sexual arousal syndrome is more physical than psychological and is usually detached from sexual desire. One study connected the disorder to restless leg syndrome. There’s no known effective cure.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

(image via: jackieleigh)

When objects appear much small or larger than they should – like dogs the size of mice, or ladybugs as big as a house – you’re either on drugs or experiencing Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, a temporary condition that affects our perception of the world around us. Sometimes associated with migraines and often occurring at the edge of sleep, the disturbances affect sense of size, depth and even time. Doctors believe that it may involve the brain’s occipital lobe, which controls visual information.

Exploding Head Syndrome

(image via: joseph gray)

If the jarring sound of an explosion wakes you up in the middle of the night, it’s usually because a transformer blew or your cat knocked over some dishes. But for some people, hearing such sounds is an everyday occurrence – and it’s all in their heads. People withExploding Head Syndrome hear all kinds of racket in the night, startling them out of a deep sleep. Such incidents are thought to be brought on by anxiety or extreme fatigue, and the condition is not associated with any physical ailment.

Walking Corpse Syndrome

(image via: dan hollister duck)

Walking Corpse Syndrome isn’t just the name of a metal band. It’s an utterly mystifying phenomenon in which the afflicted person is convinced that he or she has died or lost some vital part of the body, but are still aware and walking the earth. Officially known as Cotard’s Syndrome, this mental illness can sometimes be brought about by a brain injury. Very rarely, people with Walking Corpse Syndrome believe they’re immortal and begin testing that theory, resulting in suicide.

Progeria – Accelerated Aging

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We all dread the symptoms of aging – baldness, wrinkles, losing our teeth. But sometimes, they come all too early. Children with the extremely rare disorder known as Progeria begin to look elderly before they’re even two years old, while maintaining age-appropriate intelligence. Sadly, most people affected by Progeria begin to suffer from the same ailments as the elderly including arthritis and cardiovascular disease and rarely live past the age of thirteen.

Foreign Accent Syndrome

Imagine waking up to find that you suddenly have a foreign accent, and it’s completely out of your control. Crazy as it sounds, Foreign Accent Syndrome is not just a pretentious affectation among people who want to sound exotic or sophisticated. This involuntary change in speech usually occurs after a brain injury like a stroke or head trauma, although in at least one case it seems to have been caused by a severe migraine. The specific way in which speech is affected varies in each individual, making it sound as if the person has an accent specific to a particular area of the world.

Aquagenic Urticaria – Allergy to Water

(image via: metro)

Being allergic to substances like milk or peanuts is difficult enough – but imagine breaking out in painful, burning welts every time your skin was touched by water. That’s daily life for people with Aquagenic Urticaria, who are allergic to water in all forms – even tears. One British woman with this highly unusual condition can’t even hold her son because if he sweats, she “gets covered in sore lumps.” “I am a prisoner in my own body,” Michaela Dutton told The Metro. “I don’t see friends because they wrongly think it’s contagious.”

Cold Urticaria – Allergy to Cold Temperatures

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Almost everybody gets goosebumps in cold weather, but breaking out in hives is another matter altogether. People with cold urticaria are actually allergic to cold temperatures. Most people with this condition only get mildly itchy when it’s cold, while others suffer from severe welts on any part of the body exposed to cold, including the mouth and throat when cold beverages are consumed. Some people with severe cold urticaria can’t go swimming, because cool water temperatures could cause them to go into shock and drown.

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

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A word without pain sounds great, right? Except that it would be a complete disaster. Just ask anyone afflicted with Congenital Insensitivity to Pain. Sure, they’re immune to torture and won’t ever complain of a toothache or a sprained ankle, but for children in particular, this disorder often results in debilitating injuries. It’s all too easy to scratch your eye, burn yourself, bite off the tip of your tongue or walk around on a broken bone oblivious to the problem. The condition is caused by either large amounts of endorphins in the brain, or congenital mutations that dull pain-sensing neurons.

Human Werewolf Syndrome

(image via: mental floss)

How much body hair is considered abnormal? It’s generally subjective, but for people with severe Hypertrichosis, hair grows profusely in all sorts of unusual places, leaving no question that something unusual is going on. Sometimes referred to as “human werewolf syndrome”, severe hypertrichosis involves excessive hair growth all over the body which grows back even after laser treatments. Only about 50 living people are currently known to have this condition.

Tree Bark Skin Disorder

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People go to great lengths to get rid of a single wart. What if your entire body were covered in them? That’s reality for the few people in the world who have ‘Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis‘, a hereditary skin disorder in which skin growths caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) spread out of control. One of the most severe cases is that of Dede Koswara, an Indonesian Man who has been called “Tree Man”. 95% of his warts were removed in 2008, but most of them grew back, making it clear that he will require 2 surgeries a year for the rest of his life to keep them at bay.

Blue Skin Disorder

Skin comes in all colors – even shocking shades of blue and violet. Forthe Fugate family of Kentucky, blue skin was a hereditary trait that passed down from one generation to the next over 162 years due to a rare blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. Essentially, because blood is less oxygenated, it appears blue rather than red through the skin. Since the cause of the family’s disorder was discovered, all members carrying the gene have been treated and appear normal. But sometimes people get a strange blue tinge to their skin even without this affliction – argyria is a blue skin disorder associated with consumption of the health supplement colloidal silver.

Fish Odor Syndrome

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How would you like to walk around emitting insanely noxious odors, no matter how good your personal hygiene may be? People withtrimethylaminuria, sometimes called ‘fish odor syndrome’, can’t control the very strong smells that are emitted through their sweat, urine and breath because their bodies don’t properly break down a fishy-smelling organic compound found in food. The smell is so strong that this rare disorder can be life-disrupting. There is no known treatment, but some people manage it through diet and antibiotics.