Zeroing In: Hysterical Strength, Heroic Moms

In honor of Mother’s Day, which will be celebrated in the U.S. on Sunday, May 9th, today’s post will recognize some great tales of mothers in emergency situations.

After centuries of tests and observations, scientists still speculate about the power of the human body under stress. We can look to incredible feats of athletic strength for answers to these questions, but the one piece of evidence cited most frequently, at least in casual conversations, is the famed ability of mothers to lift entire cars off of their trapped children. This ability is attributed by many to a phenomenon known as hysterical strength. The common belief is that adrenaline and the mothering instinct work together to produce incredible results, allowing mothers to perform in ways they’d never be able to under normal circumstances. But where does this claim come from? Is it all a rumor or urban legend, or is it based in reality? Where’s the evidence?

As you might imagine, claims like this are difficult to test or document. No ethical scientist is going to create a dangerous situation and place a child in harm’s way in order to gauge a mother’s strength (and on a related note, thank goodness for ethics). However, there are some authentic pieces of anecdotal evidence to consider. In 1982, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, a woman named Angela Cavallo lifted a ’64 Chevrolet Impala from her teenage son. The car had fallen off the jacks that were holding it up while the boy worked underneath the car. Mrs. Cavallo lifted the car high enough and long enough for two neighbors to replace the jacks and pull her son from beneath the car. In her late 50s at the time, Mrs. Cavallo guessed that she kept the car hoisted up for around five minutes and said she couldn’t have picked the car up under normal circumstances.

More recently, two mothers in England worked together to lift a 1-ton Renault Clio off a young boy who was run over outside of their homes. In June of 2009, Donna McNamee and Abigail Sicolo heard the screams of the eight-year-old and jumped into action. According to Miss Sicolo, “The car was so heavy. I bruised my arm and shoulder when we were lowering it.” Both were stunned at the strength they demonstrated in that moment.

And lest you think that hysterical strength only works on motorized vehicles, a tale from Quebec shows that it works on ferocious bears as well!

In 2006, a woman named Lydia Angyiou was watching as her son and his friend played a friendly game of hockey. When she saw a polar bear approaching the boys, poised to attack, she tackled the bear and wrestled with it while the boys escaped and called for help. Ms. Angyiou did sustain some injuries, but was ultimately okay. The polar bear, however, was not; in order to save Ms. Angyiou’s life, a neighbor swooped in and saved the day by shooting the bear. I love polar bears as much as anyone, but I have to say, that is one impressive story, and I applaud this mother’s protective instincts.

These heroic moms and others like them really make their mark by doing what’s necessary in tough moments. Most mothers will never need to rescue their kids from cars or bears, but they make sacrifices all the same. One sacrifice comes in the form of thinking ahead and preparing for tough times and unexpected events, whether that means building a food storage supply or practicing fire escape plans with the entire family. We’d like to thank all of the moms out there who help prepare their families, the moms who make lunches and go to soccer games, the moms who work hard at home and in the workforce. Have a great Mother’s Day!

Share your own stories of incredible moms in the comments section!