two-headed calf
Dual-skulled cattle offspring
A two-headed calf is a calf born with two heads, a rare birth defect that almost always proves fatal shortly after birth.
The image appears in folk songs and poems as a symbol of doomed innocence or curiosity about freakish anomalies: The two-headed calf looks up at the stars, not knowing it won't survive the night.
Historically, such animals were displayed in sideshows and curiosity museums.
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- birth defectAbnormality present from delivery
- freakAbnormal deviation from typical
- freak showExhibition of human oddities
- sideshowSecondary carnival attraction
curiosity · birth · deformity · farm · barn · livestock · country fair · conjoined · twins · anomaly · specimen · jar · formaldehyde · carnival · cabinet of curiosities · oddity · stillborn · tragic
- Odditiescuriosity, curio, unusual, odd, strange
- curiositiesoddities, curiosities, rarities, wonders, anomalies
- Multi-Headed CreaturesCerberus, Hydra, hydra, chimera
- cattle defectshydrocephalus, cleft palate, spina bifida, polydactyly, umbilical hernia
- Sideshowfreak show, sideshow, bearded lady, fat lady, tattooed lady
- omensomens, omen, portent, portents, signs