Concussions kept Tintin forever young:
Comic book hero Tintin never aged during his 50-year career because the repeated blows he took to the head triggered a growth hormone deficiency, according to an analysis in the Christmas edition of a Canadian medical journal.Claude Cyr, a professor of medicine at Quebec’s Sherbrooke University, said a study of the 23 hugely popular Tintin books showed the intrepid Belgian reporter suffered 50 significant losses of consciousness during his many adventures.
‘We hypothesize that Tintin has growth hormone deficiency and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (a disorder of the pituitary gland) from repeated trauma. This could explain his delayed statural growth, delayed onset of puberty and lack of libido,’ Cyr wrote.
His article was in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which has a tradition of publishing studies into the ailments of fictional characters in its Christmas edition.
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Another study surmised that Beatrix Potter’s ever energetic Squirrel Nutkin character was in fact autistic.
As the article points out, “Tintin was created by Belgium’s Georges Remi under the pen name Herge.” Hergé, by the way, is a homonym, in French, for RG, Georges Remi’s initials, reversed. A certain Roman de Tirtoff went by a similar pseudonym, Erté, or RT.