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This American Life

598: My Undesirable Talent

This American Life

This American Life

Society & Culture, News, Politics, Arts

4.688.8K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2023

⏱️ 59 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

San Francisco’s Spider-Man burglar was remarkable. He dropped into buildings from skylights, leapt 10 feet from one roof to another. But mostly, his talent got him into trouble. This week, his story, and stories of other undesirable talents.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Phoebe Sturio was in high school in Serbia when he learned it was different from other people.

0:07.0

We talked about it through an interpreter. He was on the phone from Serbia. He said it was a rainy day.

0:14.0

They were going to weld gates and fences. And his friend touched the fence they were working on and got a shock.

0:20.0

He told me not to touch anything because there was electricity there.

0:26.0

But I touched it with my bare hand and I didn't feel anything. Nothing happened.

0:33.0

So he didn't believe me that I didn't feel anything that there was no electricity in the fence.

0:40.0

So he touched it again but he was shocked again.

0:44.0

Then another guy touches the fence and he was shocked. Bebe sees this and he thinks,

0:48.0

Oh, it's a prank. They're pretending.

0:53.0

So I touched the fence with both hands again and I didn't feel anything.

1:00.0

And we started fighting. I didn't believe them and they thought that I was lying.

1:11.0

Bebe has a genetic mutation where he doesn't sweat.

1:14.0

It means his skin has a lot less water and so a higher resistance to electricity says he does not feel current that would shock most of us.

1:22.0

And scientists say, yeah, that might be possible.

1:25.0

The superpower does come with that huge downside of not sweating ever.

1:31.0

Having a body that cannot cool itself is really, really miserable.

1:36.0

You know from May until September, I'm a dad man.

1:43.0

Basically.

1:44.0

Because of the heat.

1:45.0

Is it a routine?

1:47.0

Yes.

1:48.0

I need to be next to an air conditioner all day or I'll need to be on a wet t-shirt or next to water or something.

...

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