The Dionne Quints: The first quintuplets known to have survived infancy that became a sideshow attraction, 1930-1970

With the birth of Emily, Yvonne, Cecil, Mary and Annette Dion in 1934, the province of Ontario together with Canada discovered a "human gold mine".

From the moment Quint was born, they were subjected to dire living standards and were abused by the provincial government for financial gain. But, why did the Dion quintuplets and their parents, Elzire and Oliva, manipulate such a dire fate?

During an era that was struggling financially, the Ontario government took advantage of a very rare event to earn short-term financial gains.

The small Franco-Ontario hamlet of Corbeil, the birthplace of the quintuplets, became a booming tourist attraction, generating huge crowds and enormous amounts of money. This is the story of five girls who were raised in a "baby zoo".

The Dion quintuplets were born prematurely on May 28, 1934, near Calander, Ontario, Canada, to Oliva and Elzire Dion. The parents had 14 children, 9 by single birth.

Elzire was 24 when she gave birth to a quintet. She suspected that she was giving birth to twins, but no one knew that quintuplets were also possible.

, Dr. Alan Roy Dafoe is credited with ensuring the successful live birth of quintuplets. Originally, he diagnosed Elzire with a "fetal abnormality." They gave birth to the children with the help of two midwives, Aunt Donalda and Madame Benot Lebel, who were called in in the middle of the night by Oliva Dion.

The quintuplets had a total weight of 13 pounds, 6 ounces (6.07 kg) at birth. The highest weight was 3 lb 4 oz and the lowest was 2 lb 4 oz.

His personal weight and measurements were not recorded. The Panchak was immediately wrapped in cotton sheets and old handkerchiefs and placed in the corner of the bed. Elzire went into shock, but she recovered in two hours.

The "quint" were notable in being the first clinically and genetically documented set that survived; A member of no other quintet set had survived for more than the first few days. Dion was the sixth member of the set who miscarried during her third month of pregnancy.

The University of Toronto conducted biological, psychological and dental studies of the quintuplets. Biological studies established that the set originated from a fertilized egg.

Dione quintuplets arose from the repeated addition of an early single embryo; Therefore, six embryos were produced, and five surviving infants inherited the same genetic material.

As news of the unusual birth spread quickly, Oliva's brother inquired from the editor of the local newspaper how much he would charge for the announcement of five children in a single birth. Before long, people all over North America were offering aid.

Individuals sent supplies and wellbeing advice (a famous letter from Appalachia recommends small doses of burnt rye whiskey to stop diarrhea); A hospital sent two incubators.

Support was also offered by women who donated their breast milk to quintuplets. The women were compensated for their donation, receiving ten cents per ounce of donated milk. This allowed women to help with household income during the Great Depression.

After the milk was received, it was preserved and shipped in quintuplets by train. Dr. Alan Brown of Toronto's Sick Children's Hospital made sure a train was delivered to quintuplets each morning with twenty-eight ounces of breast milk.

After four months with her family, custody was signed to the Red Cross who paid for her care and oversaw the construction of a hospital for the sisters.