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It’s not every day that missing persons resurface with no idea what’s happened to them, but it seems to happen often enough to at least be deemed noteworthy. Here are two of my favorite examples from recent history:
The missing canoeist
Englishman John Darwin was presumed lost at sea five years ago when his canoe washed up on a British beach. Extensive searches produced no leads, but his family, lacking a body, could never fully accept that he was dead. Then, last week, Darwin walked into a police station and told a desk clerk “I think I am a missing person.” Darwin has no memory of anything that’s happened over the past five years, but has no signs of illness or bodily injury — he’s simply a blank slate.
According to the BBC Health website, amnesia patients struggle to imagine new and future experiences as well as being unable to recall events from their past. Participants in a new study “were asked to imagine something new and not something they had experienced previously. Those with amnesia could not imagine plausible future events or general fictitious experiences. Researchers said the results showed those suffering from amnesia were ‘forced to live in the present.’”
The piano man
Stranger still is the 2005 case of the so-called “piano man,” who was found wandering aimlessly in a own on the English coast, no possessions save the suit — soaking wet — he wore on his back. Very agitated but unwilling (or unable) to speak, he was taken to a hospital where staff gave him a pencil and paper to help him communicate. He sketched a highly detailed and shaded picture of a piano, so they showed him to one in a common area, and he sat and proceeded to play classical pieces like a virtuosos for four hours straight.
The man’s image and story were disseminated throughout Europe, and despite a massive outpouring of potential leads, the mystery was finally solved when the man suddenly began speaking, after four months of silence in the mental hospital. He revealed that he was a German musician and mental health worker who had recently lost his job (perhaps triggering a mental breakdown). Whether or not he was faking four months of amnesia, or was simply keeping quiet in some twisted attempt to create a stir, we may never know — either way, that’s extreme behavior!
RE:Piano Man
There was a movie entitled “Ladies in Lavender” with Maggie Smith and Judy Dench. They find the young musician on the beach. An enjoyable movie (anything with Maggie and Judy is bound to be good)
posted by KJ on 12-3-2007 at 10:48 am
I remember reading about the “Piano Man.” I never knew the mystery was solved. At the time, hospital workers had classified him as a savant. Interesting… without striving to, I think the situation speaks to the cryptic nature of autistic spectrum disorders.
posted by MoneyPenny on 12-3-2007 at 11:44 am
Fascinating. I always think of amnesia as a Soap Opera convention. You’ve got to wonder how this kind of thing happens.
posted by Beth on 12-3-2007 at 1:18 pm
One can only imagine living fully in the present, with no mental baggage.
posted by gus on 12-3-2007 at 4:16 pm
Has anyone seen the series SAMANTHA WHO? It´s about this woman who gets run down by a car and wakes up with amnesia and no recollection of what a horrible human being she was. The whole show is about how she tries to change who she is, better her relationships, etc. Actually kind of fun to watch.
posted by GTT on 12-3-2007 at 5:28 pm
The canoeist was arrested today, December 5th, at his son’s house. His wife has been collecting life insurance and lives in Panama City. She vehemently denies she knew he was alive and “she accepted that the life insurance payouts might have to be given back, saying: ‘If that happens, of course it won’t be easy, but I’ll deal with it. It is not the money I ever wanted – it was having my husband back.’”
posted by Antanas on 12-5-2007 at 12:55 am
My buddy, Jimmy, had severe pneumonia and went into a coma that lasted for three weeks. When he woke up he was disoriented and had some amnesia symptoms. He was acting odd, which would be expected, and I figured it would take a while for him to fully recover. It turned out that he didn’t remember me. I thought he was kidding, but he wasn’t. I had explain how we knew each other and every time we met I had to answer questions. We had to become friends all over again, but it wasn’t the same, and it was too weird, - I had to stop (”trying”) being friends.
posted by Tdave on 12-5-2007 at 3:48 am
Well, that’s the second creepy post I’ve put on Mental_floss.
posted by Tdave on 12-5-2007 at 9:37 pm