“Jim Carrey Homeless At 12”: 50 Historical Pictures That Speak A Thousand Words

If history classes were as fascinating as the stories on this list, I might have paid a lot more attention. Sometimes it's not the famous historical figures who hold the most interesting stories. But rather the ordinary people who never made it into the text books.

Take Francesco (Frank) Lentini for example. Born in 1889, with three legs, a fourth foot extending from his knee, sixteen fingers and two nether regions. His rare condition developed while he was in the womb. Lentini had a parasitic twin connected at the bottom of his spine. As time passed, he became the dominant twin, and the other one stopped developing.

The baby's parents wanted his extra leg amputated but surgeons weren't willing to carry out the procedure at the risk of his life. He grew up being taunted and bullied because of his appearance, and earned the nickname "the little monster."

But Lentini would go on to overcome his challenges and make history. In 1898 he traveled to America, and within a year, people were paying money to see him perform at the circus.

Instead of the "little monster," the Italian was billed as "The Three-Legged Sicilian," "The Greatest Medical Wonder of All Time, "The Great Lentini," and "The Only Three-Legged Football Player in the World," reports History Expose.

Lentini's talents, and extra leg, earned him celebrity status and a lot of money. He got married, had four kids, got divorced, got married for a second time and lived life to the fullest. He sadly died of lung failure in 1966, at the age of 77.

It's not only human beings who go down in history for their heroic acts. The name Roselle deserves a special mention. The yellow labrador was taking a nap under her owner's desk one morning when she woke to the building shuddering. People were shouting and chaos ensued but the dog calmly got up and did what she was trained to do.

She led her blind owner Michael Hingson from his 78th-floor office down dozens of flights of stairs until they reached the bottom. "It wasn’t until they were outside that the group realized the extent of the damage caused to the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks," reports All That's Interesting.

With people running and screaming, Roselle led Hingson through the crowds and to a subway station. Just ten minutes later, the North Tower collapsed.

Roselle received an award from the American Kennel Club in 2002 in honor of “canine excellence” among service dogs.

"Two years later, a veterinarian diagnosed Roselle with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, a disease that affects blood platelets," reports the All That's Interesting. "Hingson believes the toxic air conditions that she faced helping him escape on 9/11 caused her condition."

Roselle lived another seven more years before she crossed the rainbow bridge on June 26, 2011, with Hingson by her side.