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Topics: Science, World News
Poppy Bilderbeck
There are seven people in the world who've baffled scientists with their 'superpower' abilities.
It turns out you don't have to just dream about it or be from a different planet to harness superpowers, because there are several people with them right here on Earth.
Seven people in particular have defied the odds of how human bodies are expected to behave and their 'powers' are jaw-dropping.
First up, is Prahlad Jani - also known as Mataji or Chunriwala Majaji - who lived from 1929 to 2020.
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The Indian breatharian monk claimed to have lived without food or water for a whopping 76 years, saying the Goddess Amba provided him with water through a hole in the roof of his mouth.
In order to prove his claims, two tests were carried out on the monk - the first, in 2003, which saw him kept in an observation room for 10 days and the second in 2010, which saw him observed for 15 days.
Both tests saw Jani not each or drink or go to the toilet and his medical tests all came back normal.
Next, we have Wim Hof AKA the Iceman, who's known for being able to withstand freezing temperatures.
The 64-year-old set a Guinness World Record in 2000 for the farthest swim under ice and another record for the longest time to have full-body contact with ice - a whopping 44 minutes.
His ability to control his immune system to such a degree and not get ill after being in the cold so long has been studied by scientists and in 2011, Dr Peter Pickkers resolved that 'through his meditation technique' Hof's inflammatory cells have 'been suppressed more than 1/3 to a half compared to normal subjects'.
The doctor reflected on Hof as being 'remarkable' and 'rather extraordinary'.
However, be warned, just because Hof can do it, doesn't mean you can too, various people having died trying to withstand such cold conditions.
Natasha Demkina is a 37-year-old Russian woman who says she can see inside people's bodies - subsequently able to allegedly spot any issues with their organs and tissues.
The claim has led to her being known as the girl with 'X-ray eyes'.
In January 2004, she correctly identified a sore ankle of a British daytime TV host on This Morning and in 2005, she identified four of seven people's medical diagnoses when investigated by CSI researchers.
However, the score of four out of seven led some scientists to resolve she didn't have abilities. Demkina also misidentified issues with This Morning's Chris Steele's stomach, pancreas and kidney stones, so there's been some scepticism around her 'superpower' - make of that what you will.
The 44-year-old is known as 'the most flexible man on the planet' and has subsequently been nicknamed 'Rubberboy'.
He owns a total of seven Guinness World Records for his contortion abilities and subsequently holds the title of the most flexible person in history.
Smith's 'superpower' isn't quite as baffling to scientists as the rest of the group, with Smith having been diagnosed with a genetic condition called hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
The 49-year-old British architectural artist is known for his ridiculously accurate photographic memory.
After seeing a landscape just once, Wiltshire can draw the entire picture from memory and with astounding accuracy.
Underwood was diagnosed with retinoblastoma cancer in both eyes when he was a young boy and eventually had his eyes removed.
However, at the age of seven, by clicking his tongue, he said he could 'see' the world - think of how dolphins use a clicking sound for echolocation, well, Underwood said he could do this too.
According to WebMD, the human brain can learn echolocation, however, Underwood's ability was considered particularly astounding.
Sadly, Underwood passed away at the age of 16 after his cancer returned.
The 81-year-old farmer, from Vietnam, claims he hasn't slept since 1973.
While many of us would show severe signs of sleep deprivation if we went without sleep for even just a few days, Thai only reported feeling slightly 'grumpy' after an alleged 35 years without sleep, Giao Duc Thoi Dai reports.
His case has yet to be thoroughly studied by scientists, but if they do ever find out how he manages it, then hopefully they can share his secret with the rest of us.