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Weekend


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July 12, 2002

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. If you really know your classic art top to toe, try to cite two instances of human polydactyly (extra digits) in the paintings of Raphael.

    A. One is the case of six toes on the left leg of St. Joseph in "The Marriage of the Virgin," done in 1504, reports the "British Medical Journal" (bmj.com). This is probably deliberate, as Raphael was attentive to detail, and St. Joseph is the only barefooted figure in the painting.


     
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