There's a tiny village where only girls are born

By Genevieve Shaw Brown

If girls are indeed made of sugar and spice and everything nice, there's a tiny town in Poland that may well be the sweetest place on earth.

The last time the village of Miejsce Odrzanskie welcomed a baby boy was nearly a decade ago, according to a story in The New York Times. Since then, 12 girls have been born in the one-road village that's home to fewer than 300 residents.

Miejsce Odrzanskie caught the attention of the media when it sent an all-girls team to a regional competition for young volunteer firefighters. The remoteness of the town has made the volunteer fire department the center of social life for young people.

Lukasz Kalinowski/East News via Polaris

Girls pose with the volunteer fire department in the town of Miejsce Odrzanskie, Poland, July 31, 2019.

The Times reported that there is no clear scientific reason why only girls are being born in Miejsce Odrzanskie, though scientists have expressed interest in trying to figure out why. Many residents feel it's just a coincidence.

Still, the village is anxious to deliver a boy. The mayor of the commune that includes the village will offer a reward to the next couple who have a boy.

“There has been so much talk about us in the media that for a minute there I was considering naming a street after the next boy born here,” he said. “He will definitely get a very nice gift. And we will plant an oak and name it after him.”