The Green Children

Originally posted by scienceguy94

Originally posted by SFRemmy
Oh well, if that's what you believe fine by me. It just doesn't make sense to me.

maybe these kids have copper poisoning?

Now copper poisoning could make sense, but I thought it only really messed with your hair color, not skin color too? Eh whatever....I'm no medical expert.

Ok so the kids must have had anemia and copper poisoning from copper pots.
maybe this caused them to be green. but it still doesn't explain why the color took time to fade. and the reason why they said everybody in thier land was green.

Ive read about Green Children long ago in "Första Listboken" (eng translation: First Book of Lists) not sure if its the same story thought. This is a book with various mysteries and wierd facts.. if anyone from Sweden have it they could chek if its the same or another story in there.

Originally posted by scienceguy94
Ok so the kids must have had anemia and copper poisoning from copper pots.
maybe this caused them to be green. but it still doesn't explain why the color took time to fade. and the reason why they said everybody in thier land was green.

Now anemia and copper poisoning. That DOES make sense. But you're right, it's still curious why it took years to fade, not months or whatnot. Hmm....

Now anemia and copper poisoning. That DOES make sense. But you're right, it's still curious why it took years to fade, not months or whatnot. Hmm....

but is was anemia and copper poisoning where did they get the copper pots and how did they get anemia. and what was the bizaarre story about everybody in the land was green. I have the feeling that these kids were green like grass or the skin of a lime.
And maybe that the green color was from some chemical that was present in this girls world.

Dammit we need a time machine...

lets have a thoeretical situation. lets say that these green children were the first to make a transdimensional leap to our world. And in the future more will come. what would the worlds' reaction be?

This story is a combination of tales from all around Europe and may even have connection with the Child Crusade of old.
Due to social problems in, I believe Germany, children set off for a better place in some sort of peaceful revolt (You can see the Pied Piper of Hamlin too!)

The children found at Woolpit supposedly had a green tinge to them, imagine after this story was told a hundred times what the colour of these poor children would be.
Green is a colour that's involved in Faerie lore and May pole stories.
Woodwosens were wildmen of the English woods that were also known as The Green Man.

The tale talks of feeding them peas and also the idea that they came from a land with different coloured sky, well did the children really say that?...
This a very old story, Lord knows what's been changed.

Enjoy the tale and find the pathway back, then we'll know!

So we have have it. some really sick kids and the tale got twisted, beyond recognition. The most fishy smelling part was that their color fadded. If they were another race then thier color would be permanent.

I think you're right,
If the color had remained, then it may have been passed onto their children. I know that with interbreeding, this color may have 'bled' out, but the problem we have then is that through general medical checks, we may have discovered the children's anomalies here in the present.
So a tale like this has to die out or fade away, this is the essence of fairy stories... no proof.

Originally posted by IronMan
I think you're right,
If the color had remained, then it may have been passed onto their children. I know that with interbreeding, this color may have 'bled' out, but the problem we have then is that through general medical checks, we may have discovered the children's anomalies here in the present.
So a tale like this has to die out or fade away, this is the essence of fairy stories... no proof.

maybe there is an organization who can check the dna of the people who are the descendants of that guy she married against normal human DNA and see if there is any difference. but there should be some kind of residual color passed to the generations. maybe like a green freckle or two. You can even measure the absorbtion spectra of this girls descendants and see if there is unusual green reflectivity.

I have no theory on this whatsoever, but when I first read the heading, the first thing that came to mind was the Green Polar bears...

CNN Story
BBC Article
And just for fun there was even a purple polar bear...




Maybe these children had algae growing on them? It's a long shot, yeah, but do we know if algae would grow on humans given the right conditions? Hmmm... It was just a thought, but it seems highly unlikely. Polar bears' fur are actually transparent which makes discoloration so much easier.

And as mentioned above, the fact that it was a "temporary" condition indicates that it was a condition - and not a physical trait (i.e. like red haired people appear "red"...)

Originally posted by Gemwolf
Maybe these children had algae growing on them? It's a long shot, yeah, but do we know if algae would grow on humans given the right conditions?

They wont. No source of food, to harsh an envoirenment since we dont have any bodyhair that covers the body (Except for the head, and well, extremely haired people. Maybe related to the disease the "Wolfman" had? Could be.) so the algae would be exposed to the sun killing them.

[quote
They wont. No source of food, to harsh an envoirenment since we dont have any bodyhair that covers the body .
Plus the human body is to acidic for algae to grow. maybe the foods in thier world created the green color. or maybe green skin was a trait but they adapted to our environment and los it fast

Has anyone stated the possibility of feral children. Raised by animals and whatnot. Perhaps they subsisted on something that existed at the time that turned their skin a green color until they stopped eating it.

Probably not likely, but entirely possible.

Originally posted by SFRemmy
Has anyone stated the possibility of feral children. Raised by animals and whatnot. Perhaps they subsisted on something that existed at the time that turned their skin a green color until they stopped eating it.

Probably not likely, but entirely possible.

Actually, I dont think that is possible..

I personally think that it may just be a case of some alternate race of humans. Perhaps they've been extinct for all this time. Maybe the children were one of the last of this green skinned race. Anyways, medival ignorance combined with human inexceptance of difference would probably lead the people to treat them as outcasts or monsters. Who knows how many alternate races were out there who became extinct before meeting with the reat of humanity.

Originally posted by Thain Esh Kelch

Originally posted by SFRemmy
Has anyone stated the possibility of feral children. Raised by animals and whatnot. Perhaps they subsisted on something that existed at the time that turned their skin a green color until they stopped eating it.

Probably not likely, but entirely possible.

Actually, I dont think that is possible..

Why not?

Feral children could explain why they couldn't speak a language, and they did say they were with their "flock" when they got lost.

But it doesn't give anything for the green skin. But anythings possible. It's just a matter of faith. (Not in god, but what you believe) If you stick with what you believe you might get lucky.

What we must remember is that even children from another part of the country would be considered weird. The children may have been Flemish, there is certain evidence of migration from Belgium.

I believe that the green aspect of the tale comes from the pagan side of English religeon. Many villages believed in The Horned God, elementals and ghosts.
Of course the color green was held to be magical and connected to Fairy-land, so it
could well be that this tale was wrapped in beliefs and fears of that time.

Possibly could just be wrapped in legends. But I think I heard something before like there was some little girl who didn't eat anything but sugary food, then she just suddenly stopped, but she turned an orangeish color because her body wasn't getting anymore of that sugar.