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    17 days ago

    Buchinger was born in Ansbach, Germany, without hands or legs, now considered to be Phocomelia. An artist and performer, he “traveled all over Northern Europe to entertain kings and aristocrats as well as hoi polloi with amazing feats of physical dexterity”…

    He also is rumored to have had children by as many as 70 mistresses.[5][6] Buchinger’s fame was so widespread that in the 1780s the term “Buckinger’s boot” existed in England as a euphemism for the vagina (because the only “limb” he had was his penis).[7] …

    Despite his having small, finlike appendages for hands, his engravings were incredibly detailed. One such engraving, a self-portrait, was so detailed that a close examination of the curls of his hair revealed that they were in fact seven biblical psalms and the Lord’s Prayer, inscribed in miniature letters.[5]

    Buchinger was also an accomplished magician, causing balls to disappear from under cups and birds to appear from nowhere. It also was said that he was unbeatable at cards and would dazzle audiences with his amazing displays of marksmanship. Buchinger made (or mended) the oldest existing model in a bottle in 1719. It is a model of miners underground and can be seen in Snowshill Manor [1]. He had tremendous dexterity, in spite of his disability.[8]

    Buchinger’s musical skills included the ability to play a half-dozen musical instruments including the dulcimer, hautboy, trumpet, and flute and several of his own invention.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Buchinger