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A Victorian Flea Circus: The Smallest Show on Earth

21 points by Avawelles 11y ago

putzdown 11y ago
I was under the impression that flea circuses were pure illusion—there were erratic, untrained fleas, or no fleas at all—and the entertainment was provided solely in the mind of the audience. The article seems to suggest otherwise. If it had been published a day later I'd swear it was a joke. The author says that the real attraction of flea circuses included "seeing insects in costumes, pulling carriages, or racing each other." Is he seriously suggesting that fleas were somehow wrangled into miniature suits? The article concludes with the head-patting remark that the Victorian credulity about flea circuses is "humorous, but not surprising." It's not clear to me that the joke isn't on moderns who believe in that type or degree of credulity from our comparatively recent ancestors.
- Avawelles 11y ago
  I think you misread the "humorous, but not surprising" remark. It wasn't about credulity in believing in flea circuses, but about the well-known Victorian tendency to apply human emotions to animals. What the author found "humorous, but not surprising" was that this tendency extended to insects. Also, costumes were little bits of tissue paper. I think a lot of the interpretation of what the fleas were doing came down to the showmanship of the guy running the flea circus.
DanBC 11y ago
This article doesn't have many actual photographs. This BBC site has some. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2LF04Y9n5hJTHK1l6ffLhPc/the-rise-and-demise-of-the-flea-circus http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2LF04Y9n5hJTHK1l6ff... And the article doesn't mention "Mexican Dressed Fleas" - http://timcockerill.com/main/curiosities/mexican-dressed-fleas/ http://timcockerill.com/main/curiosities/mexican-dressed-fle... > Mexican Dressed Fleas or Pulgas Vestidas are a form of Mexican folk art that existed as far back as the turn of the 20th century, but now no longer practised. These tiny curiosities were made by hand by Mexican women and consist of tiny fleas dressed in costumes, often as married couples and sometimes with an elaborate background scene.
- Avawelles 11y ago
  Probably because the website is a 19th century academic sort of site that doesn't cover stuff past the reign of Queen Victoria.

21 points by Avawelles 11y ago

I was under the impression that flea circuses were pure illusion—there were erratic, untrained fleas, or no fleas at all—and the entertainment was provided solely in the mind of the audience. The article seems to suggest otherwise. If it had been published a day later I'd swear it was a joke. The author says that the real attraction of flea circuses included "seeing insects in costumes, pulling carriages, or racing each other." Is he seriously suggesting that fleas were somehow wrangled into miniature suits? The article concludes with the head-patting remark that the Victorian credulity about flea circuses is "humorous, but not surprising." It's not clear to me that the joke isn't on moderns who believe in that type or degree of credulity from our comparatively recent ancestors.

Avawelles 11y ago
I think you misread the "humorous, but not surprising" remark. It wasn't about credulity in believing in flea circuses, but about the well-known Victorian tendency to apply human emotions to animals. What the author found "humorous, but not surprising" was that this tendency extended to insects. Also, costumes were little bits of tissue paper. I think a lot of the interpretation of what the fleas were doing came down to the showmanship of the guy running the flea circus.

DanBC 11y ago

This article doesn't have many actual photographs. This BBC site has some. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2LF04Y9n5hJTHK1l6ffLhPc/the-rise-and-demise-of-the-flea-circus http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2LF04Y9n5hJTHK1l6ff... And the article doesn't mention "Mexican Dressed Fleas" - http://timcockerill.com/main/curiosities/mexican-dressed-fleas/ http://timcockerill.com/main/curiosities/mexican-dressed-fle... > Mexican Dressed Fleas or Pulgas Vestidas are a form of Mexican folk art that existed as far back as the turn of the 20th century, but now no longer practised. These tiny curiosities were made by hand by Mexican women and consist of tiny fleas dressed in costumes, often as married couples and sometimes with an elaborate background scene.

Avawelles 11y ago
Probably because the website is a 19th century academic sort of site that doesn't cover stuff past the reign of Queen Victoria.