#196: Dropping Babies

Michael Jackson dangled a baby from a balcony, and maybe its that cavalier spirit toward raising strapping children that Indians can identify with in the King of Pop.

Indians at the shrine of Solapur in the state of Maharastra have been dropping babies from the holy site's 50 foot ledge for 500 years with the intent of blessing their free-falling newborns with luck and strength.

Both Hindus and Muslims have indulged their superstitions with this practice, proving the Indian obsession with pushing their children through the most stressful and traumatic childhoods is a trait that transcends creed.