No, that is not a joke headline stolen from The Onion. This is actually a thing that happened.


According to The Independent, Argentina's president, President Christina Fernández de Kirchner adopted a boy named Yair Tawil as her godson so that he would not turn into a werewolf. It's actually part of a longstanding tradition in the country that dates back to a folk story in the country:

According to Argentinian folklore, the seventh son born to a family turns into the feared "el lobison". The werewolf-like creature shows its true nature on the first Friday after boy's 13th birthday, the legend says, turning the boy into a demon at midnight during every full moon, doomed to hunt and kill before returning to human form. As well as feeding on excrement, unbaptized babies, and the flesh of the recently dead, the lobison was said to be unnaturally strong and able to spread its curse with a bite.


Because some people actually believed this hundreds of years ago, they started killing babies. So, to stop that from happening, presidents starting adopting the seventh born boys of families. The practice was later extended to include girls, too. Now, seventh born children not only get the country's president as their new godparent, they also get a gold medal and a scholarship.

According to The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Tawil is also the first Jewish boy to participate in the adoption tradition:

Shlomo and Nehama Tawil, parents of seven boys, in 1993 wrote a letter to the president asking for the honor and were denied. But this year, Yair wrote a letter to the president citing the 2009 decree and asking for the designation of godson. On Tuesday, he became the first Jewish godson of a president in Argentina's history. Fernandez received Yair, his parents and three of his brothers in her office, where they lit Hanukkah candles together. The president in her tweets and photos described to her 3.4 million Twitter followers a "magical moment" with a "marvelous family." She described Yair as "a total sweety," and his mother a "Queen Esther."

G/O Media may get a commission Certified Organic CBD Oil Buy for $49 from Cornbread Hemp Use the promo code KINJA25