WHERE ARE THEY NOW – KIDS THAT MADE THE HEADLINES

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JESSICA WHO FELL DOWN THE WELL OR THE KID WHO SPELLED "POTATO" FOR DAN QUAYLE???

"Mental Floss" magazine just put out a new "Where Are They Now?" report on some of the kids who made major headlines in the past two decades.  Check them out. . .

BABY JESSICA, THE BABY WHO FELL DOWN THE WELL.

--THEN:  Back in 1987, remember when 18-month old "Baby" Jessica McClure fell down a well in Midland, Texas???  It took 58 straight hours of digging to get her out. . . and 15 surgeries and nine blood transfusions to save her life.

--NOW:  Jessica's 21, she's married, she has a kid, and, by all reports, she's down-to-earth. 

--She also refuses to get plastic surgery to fix the scars from her fall into the well because, she says, it reminds her to be more thankful for her life.

--In four years, she'll be MORE thankful:  While she was in the well, people started making donations into a trust fund for her. . . it's worth a few million. . . and she gets it at age 25.

ELIAN GONZALEZ.

--THEN:  He was the most controversial kid in the U.S. in 2000, when a huge fight erupted over whether he should be returned to his father in Cuba. . . or get to stay in Miami.  He ended up getting returned to his father.

--NOW:  He's a huge celebrity in Cuba.  He gets front row seats to CASTRO'S speeches, has lots of pets (--which are a luxury there) AND helped his dad get a sweet job in Cuba's national assembly.

THE KID WHO SPELLED "POTATO" FOR DAN QUAYLE.

--THEN:  In 1992, when Quayle was the VP, he was in Trenton, New Jersey, serving as a guest judge for a sixth grade spelling bee.  William Figueroa spelled "potato" right. . . but Quayle said, quote, "You're close, but you left a little something off.  The 'e' on the end."

--NOW:  In 2004, a "New York Times" reporter met up with Figueroa. . . and things aren't good.  He dropped out of high school, had his first kid by age 16, two more by age 24 and is working a minimum wage job. 

THE KID FROM NIRVANA'S "NEVERMIND" ALBUM. 

--THEN:  Nirvana hired a photographer to take a picture of a swimming baby for their album cover.  That photographer was friends with four-month-old Spencer Elden's parents. . . and paid them $200 to use Spencer in the shoot.

--NOW:  Spencer is 16, he says he's a big fan of Nirvana, and he's been in documentaries and magazine features about his legendary. . . and totally nude. . . cover photo.

THE GIRL FROM THE "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC" PHOTO:

--THEN.  In 1984, there was a picture of a 13-year-old orphan from Pakistan on the cover of "National Geographic".  She had really HAUNTING eyes. . . and she became famous.  But, the photographer didn't get her name. . . and it took 17 years to track her down again.

--NOW.  The girl. . . Sharbat Gula. . . lives in a remote village in Afghanistan with three children.  She says she never really liked the photo of her. . . she didn't like the red scarf she was wearing. . . and now, she doesn't want to do any more interviews.

DANNY ALMONTE, THE KID WHO WAS TOO OLD FOR LITTLE LEAGUE.

--THEN:  In 2001, Almonte was 12, and pitching for a little league team from the Bronx, New York.  He led them to a third-place finish in the Little League World Series. . . and, along the way, he pitched a perfect game.

--BUT. . . he sure didn't LOOK 12. . . and after a background check, it turned out his dad had tampered with his birth certificate.  Danny was actually 14.

--His team was stripped of all their titles.

--NOW:  He recovered from the scandal. . . led his high school in New York to two public school athletic league championships. . . and, for the past few years, he's been pitching for different independent minor league teams.