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Is this the woman who inspired the kids’ song “Do Your Ears Hang Low?”
A Japanese woman is being compared to Elastigirl from “The Incredibles” due to her wondrously stretchy, nearly 2-inch-long earlobes, which can hold a selfie stick, write with a pen and other physics-defying feats. Clips showcasing her putty-like appendages have racked up more than 5 million views online.
“As long as I can remember, my earlobes have been elastic,” Ayumi Takada told Compass Media of her Laffy Taffy-esque lobes, which stretch up to a whopping 1.7 inches long, allowing her to wrap them around various items like a lemur’s tail. That way, she can accomplish certain tasks that would normally require three hands.
Accompanying footage shows the 37-year-old Tokyo resident furling her elastic danglers around a selfie stick so she can snap a pic of herself clutching her dog without asking for help. Another snippet shows Takada using her loopy lobe to hold an umbrella while both hands are occupied with groceries.
In perhaps the most impressive stunt, the singer-turned-choreographer is seen doing hands-free calligraphy by grasping the brush in her lobe and moving her head so it traces a character on the page.
Takada said she first noticed her unusual talent when she was in elementary school.
“It was a rainy day and my hands were full, so I tried to hold the umbrella with my earlobe and I could,” the aural contortionist explained. “That was the beginning.”
Fast forward to today and Takada can grasp everything from calligraphy brushes to cleaning appliances in her lobes.
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Naturally, using one’s earlobes in this manner might seem agonizing; people often ask if it’s “painful,” Takada said. However, the aurally endowed gal claims that “there’s no pain at all when pulling them or holding an item.”
“The earlobe naturally bounces right back into place straight away,” explained lobe-al sensation, who frequently films her feats of length for Instagram.
A post shared by 高田あゆみ ayumitakada (@takadaayumimi)
It’s unclear how Takada acquired such incredible earring holders; however, she believes the trait was genetically acquired.
“It probably runs in my family, as my mother’s earlobes are also elastic,” she posited. “I often touched and stretched my earlobes when I was little, especially when I was sleepy, so maybe that played a part in it too.”
Speaking of unlikely load-bearing abilities, a Russian acrobat went viral in January after hanging by her hair from a Shanghai subway handrail, as if levitating in mid-air.