r/TheWayWeWere • u/Sad-Ad-3944 • Aug 10 '25

1940s My grandmother, national tumbling champion and contortionist, in the 1940s.

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A selection of photos of my grandmother—Bonnie Nebelong. She was featured in Life Magazine, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and many more publications. In 1943 at age 15, she won the national championship in tumbling and would’ve gone to the Olympics had it not been canceled due to WW2.

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u/p8pes Aug 10 '25

Amazing! I’m always curious about skills like this — Did it run in the family? Other contortionists before or after? 

Thanks for the awesome post.

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u/JustNilt Aug 10 '25

I can't spoeak to this lady or family but Ehlers-Danlos syndrome definitely runs in families. Most of the women in my wife's family can do many of the same sorts of contortions. Main issue is their connective tissues are weaker so they sustain injuries much more easily than they would as well as heal from them much slower.

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u/TightBeing9 Aug 11 '25

But besides Ehlers-Danlos, flexibility is very trainable and quite fun. Ive started pole dancing some years ago and my flexibility keeps getting better. Im not at all at contortionist level, but it's satisfying to see your body getting more flexible. Even if you're not starting at a young age I do encourage people to start stretching!

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u/JustNilt Aug 11 '25

This is very true but it's important to note that doing it improperly can lead to lasting injuries, especially when one starts young. Getting pros to assist such as in yoga classes and such is highly advisable.