Reversed Dishwasher

Pedestrians on the broad streets of Denver one day last week edged over to the curb and stared with amazement at a large, dark man who was calmly walking backwards, carefully avoiding hydrants and baby carriages. When police seized him by the arm and turned him around, he backed away from them, cocked his head over his shoulder, continued walking in reverse.

At Denver General Hospital he said that his name was John Bellinger, that he was 35 years old, that he was a cafe dishwasher, that he had always followed his nose until a few days before. Then he found it impossible to walk forward and, driven by an irresistible urge to walk backward, he began to follow another part of his body. Since hospital physicians found Bellinger in excellent physical health, they called in two psychiatrists.

Within five minutes Drs. Philip Work and James A. Stapleton diagnosed the strange case. John Bellinger was dissatisfied with his status as a dishwasher, they said, and he felt in his unconscious mind that he could not face the world, so he turned his back on it, attempted to retreat into a happy past. He had a simple case of hysteria, much milder than that of many sensitive persons who suddenly become blind or paralyzed when faced with an intolerable situation. Dr. Stapleton began to investigate Bellinger's "life activities from birth to the present," prepared to discuss Bellinger's conflicts with him, hoped to "reeducate him regarding a more adequate means of meeting his difficulties."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.