Pica

The word “pica” is derived from the Latin name for the magpie bird, which is known for collecting and eating odd items.

 Humans with pica eat an astonishing variety of non-food substances, including:Dirt Rocks Feces Ice or frost Paper Glass Mucous Hair

The threat that pica poses to your health depends largely on what’s being eaten. Children often eat paint chips that are contaminated with dangerous lead.

Treatment usually involves ruling out mineral deficiencies and other physical causes, at which point you’re officially crazy.

Jumping Frenchmen of Maine

Jumping Frenchmen syndrome was discovered among French-Canadian lumberjacks in Maine and Quebec in the 1870s, and it’s hardly been observed elsewhere, leading researchers to believe it’s probably inherited.

Most with the syndrome don’t experience any symptoms. That is, of course, until you sneak up behind the person who has it and shout something crazy like: “HIT YOUR WIFE!” Instantly, the sufferer’s arm shoots out and knocks his no doubt long-suffering wife to the floor. This is a totally involuntary reaction.

The disorder is also characterized by an extreme startle reflex that involves jumping, hitting, or shouting. Less commonly, victims of the disorder have the incredibly irritating habit of repeating back the last thing that was said to them.