Brazil's 'Magnet Boy' Seems to Attract Metal Objects

It looks amazing, and for X-Men fans it points to flashes of the next Magneto - but be wary of what you see.

An 11-year-old boy in Brazil's northeastern city of Mossoro is drawing attention with his purportedly magnet-like qualities.

The Globo TV network has broadcast images of Paulo David Amorim demonstrating how forks, knives, scissors, cooking pans, cameras and other metal objects seem drawn to his body and remain stuck on his chest, stomach and back.

The boy's father tells Globo that he decided to test his son after learning of a boy in Croatia with a similar ability. Junior Amorim says he was surprised to find "a fork and knife stuck to his body."

But before you start believing this is some miracle, scientists say, all that is needed is a little bit of static by placing a metal object onto smooth, hair-free parts of the body.

The news about 6-year-old Ivan Stoiljkovic’s abilities in Croatia, to attract metal objects, brought a lot of publicity. But people rallied around a Facebook group called “We are all Magneto Boy/Girl” to debunk the mystery. The page shows photographs of various people with metal objects sticking to parts of their bodies.

Still, the youth says classmates call him "magnet boy."

Dr. Dix-Sept Rosado Sobrinho tells Globo it is the first time in his 30-year career that he has seen a case like this.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.