Odd News

Girl with 26 digits aims for record

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-17 08:07

Sixteen-month-old Le Yati Min blows a kiss at her house in South Okkalarpa township on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, on Tuesday. The girl was born with six fingers on each hand and seven toes on each foot on Oct 18, 2009. Khin Maung Win / Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar - A mother in Myanmar says her baby girl's 12 fingers and 14 toes have been no disadvantage - her grip may even be stronger than normal - and now she's grasping for a Guinness record.

Phyo Min Min Soe, 26, knew her girl Le Yati Min had a little something extra since nearly the moment she was born.

"I asked the nurses whether my kid was born complete with hands and legs," says her mother. "They replied that the baby even has more than she needs."

Born with 12 fingers and 14 toes, Le may be the most "digitally enhanced" person in the world. Now, the 16-month-old girl's family in Myanmar is seeking a Guinness World Record to prove it.

A neighbor is helping her mother apply to claim the record hearing that a boy from India currently holds bragging rights for the most digits, with 12 fingers and 13 toes.

Polydactylism - being born with an extra finger or toe - is fairly unusual, but it is even rarer for someone to have spare functional digits on both hands and feet, as Le does.

Le lives with her family in a small wooden house on the outskirts of the Southeast Asian country's former capital of Yangon, where she runs around with seven toes on each foot.

The proud mom said on Tuesday that she'd be happy to see Le gain a world record, but even without that, her daughter already has a happy life, and even some natural advantages.

"She seems to have a stronger grip on things - so she doesn't drop things much," she said, as Le plays nearby with a mobile phone.

According to the Guinness World Records website, the record for most fingers and toes for a living person is currently held by two people in India, who have 12 fingers and 13 toes each.

Craig Camasta, a surgeon in Atlanta, Georgia, said many parents of babies with polydactylism choose to have an operation to get rid of the extra fingers or toes to avoid social stigma, but that "It's not necessary that the extra digits be removed".

Associated Press