Strange facts about the circus are rich . Thecircusis — just put — weird . Part of its appeal is that it ’s outside the realm of normal : We do n’t usually pet World Tamil Association , golf shot from a trapeze or watch goof pile into a car . Since there ’s a lot that ’s " uncanny " about circus acts , we opt to include facts about its line and legacy that may surprise you .
Here ’s a starting : It might shock you that the genus Circus is still a wildly popular patronage . Feld Entertainment , which own Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus , had an estimated $ 1 billion in gross in 2013 , and the owner of Cirque du Soleil is deserving an estimated $ 1.8 billion [ source : Mac ] .
Let ’s take a look at some strange circus facts that made the bizarre and howling genus Circus what it is today .
10: Performing Animals Made Their Debut in Theatres
While we think of elephant as genus Circus loyalist , they actually became democratic in an sports stadium a minuscule more sophisticated than the Big Top . Although elephants had performed in various menagerie and tours for a while , they became a big striking in the august theatre .
In 1829 , a play promise " The Elephant of Siam " was perform at the Adelphi in London and later toured the country . It have a trained elephant that went by the rather hoity - toity name of Mademoiselle D’Jeck . Mlle D’Jeck was trained to complete a numeral of action — ring a bell and steal a crest with her torso , then place it on someone ’s head word , for instance [ source : Speaight ] . This flake of field was quite democratic , and shortly other circus promoters begin advertising elephants that execute tricks in the ringing , as well .
But it was n’t just elephants : Trained lionswere first used on the stage in breathtaking yield . Queen Victoria was in the audience for some of them , which ignite the world ’s appetency for performing cats [ source : Speaight ] .
9: Rope Walkers Were Titillating
Not to paint with too unspecific a brush , but it ’s probably fair to say that many of uswatch tightrope pedestrian and feel fairly much undiluted fear . But that ’s a mod interview , barrage with any sort of scintillating entertainment we want on - requirement . It was a little unlike in the other days of genus Circus , when the sight of a lady wearing pant could rouse a serious bloom .
believe about it — high - conducting wire - walk ladies were go away to give everyone an eyeful if they were have on skirts . The leg - baring doublet and hose woman wire baby-walker wore allowed adult male to gawk at women ’s bodies in a elbow room that certainly was n’t socially appropriate for the time [ source : Victoria and Albert Museum ] . One 1699 review even report how a conducting wire walker ’s dexterity might translate well in the bedroom [ source : Speaight ] . Apparently , watching a wire - walker turn up to be a very chaste way to get one ’s jolly boat .
But allow ’s peel our eyes from the peeress dancing on the rope to learn a little more about the weird lineage of the word circus .
8: A Horse Ring Is the Circus' Namesake
So perhaps you ’re a classic studies scholar and familiar with papistic amusement , or you ’ve seen " Spartacus " one time and mistily remember it . Either way , you ’re credibly under the impression that the famous Circus Maximus ( the ring where chariot races take shoes ) give the contemporary carnival its name . You ’re kind of right , in the sense that it ’s the same word . But that ’s pretty much where the law of similarity stop .
The first modern carnival , founded by Philip Astley in 18th C Britain , was actually concern to as an amphitheater . In George Speaight ’s entertaining Bible " story of the Circus , " the writer indicate the word was initially adopted because it sounded fancy , which is as secure a intellect as any . It was only when equestrian showman Charles Hughes decided to perform a show he foretell " The Royal Circus " did the genus Circus moniker come to be link up with the acts we see today . It in all likelihood had nothing to do with the Circus Maximus of ancient Rome but instead was derived from the " circus " ring around Hyde Park where full-bodied people would exercise their horse cavalry [ origin : Speaight ] . By the 19th C , " circus " was the accepted language .
7: John Wilkes Booth Was From a Circus Family
ill-famed characters populate circus history , like the Hydra - oil salesmanP.T. Barnumand those guy from the Insane Clown Posse . ( completely counts , do n’t render to argue . ) But did you know that because of a simple plait of genus Circus fate , one of the most villainous character in modern U.S. history was born ?
John Wilkes Booth , President Abraham Lincoln ’s bravo , was born on American soil as a result of some circus - related dramatic play . His father was Junius Brutus Booth , a well - regarded British actor . In Liverpool , England in 1821 , J.B. Booth get into a fight with the Portuguese genus Circus performing artist and rope dancer Il Diavolo Antonio , and Booth injured him severely [ source : Speaight ] . Booth decide to make a warm pickup to avoid the long arm of the law — and his married woman , too . He left for America with a blossom - selling fille to make a clean breach . John Wilkes Booth was carry to the couple in 1838 .
But allow ’s give back to the ringing , where you might be amuse to find human action that were once considered incredible acrobatics but are n’t as telling today .
6: Leaping Was Huge
We demand a band from circus performers these day . We not only desire to see them defy gravity , but we also need other twists to make the show super - exciting . Perhaps they could dowild contortionist routineswhile hanging from their hair ? Or maybe perform a high-pitched - wire turn with no net while balancing on a chair ? But in the early day of the genus Circus , the demand of the audience were a lot less challenging , and leaping was a big deal .
Leaping , you say ? Yup . Literally bound over thing . Which is still not reckon " uncool , " I suppose , if you ’re a bigparkourfan . But stick out over stuff ( horses , people , stroller , whatever ) really was a prime attraction . While we might think of acrobats as aerial or contortionist act , in the belated eighteenth century and early nineteenth century , leapers got the pulse beating . In 1842 a clown name Dewhurst ( a fair staid name for a clown ) was jumping over ten horses and through balloons and the like [ source : Speaight ] . But the act allow for one of the genus Circus ' first arcanum : trampoline or jumping-off point were veil to aid the eminent jump shot .
5: Circus Parades Were Spectacles
The glitz and glam of thecircusis pretty much taken for grant in stock show . Companies like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Cirque du Soleil offer a sealed amount of prestige , but there was a clip when the routine under the Big Top find secondary to the arrival of the show itself . The pre - show parade , which herald the genus Circus into town , was no poky thing .
One parade in 1880 is say to have taken five hours as it crawled along the streets of New York , and others boasted themed floats nearly 30 feet ( 9 metre ) high [ source : Speaight ] . The coolheaded affair is that the parade were basically costless eyeglasses for the public . In fact , when Barnum & Bailey went to Germany , the occupant supposedly assumed they develop enough show from the parade itself and did n’t bother buying tag to a public presentation [ root : Speaight ] . As the railroad and larger motortruck caught on , however , circuses no longer caravanned into townsfolk with as much majesty .
4: Circuses Were Publicity Machines
You ’d think that the circus sells itself , withits destruction - defying actsand feats of amazing power . But the carnival was actually a well - oiled car of public relations and became more intemperately boost than pretty much any form of amusement on American stain before it . How did they do it ? report . So much newspaper . Posters became a booming genus Circus business spearheaded mostly by Strobridge Lithographing , a impress company in Cincinnati that meet the high requirement [ source : Duke University Libraries ] . And boy , was the need high .
The Forepaugh Circus alone had over a hundred different posters for promotion , and it ’s estimated that by 1915 Ringling Bros. was posting 10,000 posters a day by employing 70 people in advanced city [ source : Speaight ] . And kind of uproariously , there were serious turf wars over bill distance . carnival would spend lashings of money printing up a jillion posters , and rival circuses would come and post right over them . There was so much breed that the Showman ’s Association even tried to address it in a 1911 Code of Ethics , a codification that was pretty much ignored , which might state you something about the morality of the carnival [ rootage : Speaight ] .
3: Floating Circuses Traversed Rivers
We ’ve spill the beans about howcircusparades came into and went out of style , but another transportation alternative spawned a fresh American carnival custom that was quite pop . While move around with wagons was all well and good , circus proprietors , who desperately depended on the ability to build and excise a tent chop-chop , began to see the appeal of setting up on the Sir Joseph Banks of rivers . They could send their equipment quickly from Ithiel Town to townsfolk without much travel .
But by the eye of the nineteenth 100 , an even better idea was hatched . What if the circus itself was on a flatboat ? The Floating Circus Palace offer such a sight . It hold in a 42 - invertebrate foot ( 12.8 - metre ) ring and adapt 3,400 people [ source : Speaight ] . It journey up and down the Mississippi and Ohio rivers for years , until the Civil War efficaciously shut down the operation . Nevertheless , it provided a lasting house for the circus and became one of the first showboat in a foresighted account of American entertainment .
2: A Tragedy Bred Safety Measures
In July 1944 , one of the most horrificaccidents in American entertainmentoccurred . The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus was in Hartford , Connecticut for an early afternoon show when a fire pull through the paraffin - enshroud tent . It make a stampede , which resulted in 168 deaths , include that of at least 67 children [ source : Daily Kos ] . It was a dire tragedy in carnival story , but it put a spot on some much - needed condom regulation .
After the ardour , Hartford — and Connecticut in general — admit a look at the laws in berth regulating things like fire way out . Temporary structures like the Hartford circus collapsible shelter were not stringently regulated or impose . In reply , the city and Department of State adopted some passing rigid guard regulations , among the toughest yet in the nation , to prevent another disaster . The American Standards Association adopted fresh regulation for impermanent structures to create a national code , and in the 70 yr since the Hartford fire , nobody has die in a commercial tent flack [ reservoir : The Hartford Courant ] .
1: Balloon Ascents Were All the Rage
Look up there , fly high up above the carnival hoop ! No , that ’s no vanish trapeze artist . It ’s a … hot zephyr balloon ? Does that gibe out ?
turn out , it actually does . Balloon climb became a popular part of the British carnival custom in the 19th century . While it might seem pretty unknown to a modern audience , remember that the hot tune balloon ( and flying in ecumenical ) was a gigantic hand back in the day . It was as outre and unusual as an elephant calmly taking command or contortionists twist themselves into closely insensate form .
And at one of the original British circus — that would be Philip Astley ’s in 1840 — the pilot of the balloon decided to bring a Panthera pardus onboard to add some interest [ source : Victoria and Albert Museum ] .
Balloon ascension were n’t all Moon and roses , though . Balloonists were under such pressure to perform that they often ascend in unfavorable conditions . In 1871 , an acrobat describe Professor Torres was performing tricks on a trapeze hanging from a balloon when the balloon exploded . The performing artist survived the crash , only to drown in another balloon accident later that class [ origin : Kotar and Gessler ] .
Lots More Information
Much is owe to George Speaight ’s awesome " story of the Circus , " which is basically chock full of uncanny circus fact . It covers a lot of American and British circus history , and his own divagation — he ’s no milksop when it total to carnival opinion — are deserving the read .
