The flea circus. It's a bad year for fleas - or, if you're a flea, it's a banner year. In any case the disgusting little sods are everywhere, and the least they can do is provide me with the grist for a post.
Or at least with some entertainment.
Flea circuses were advertised as early as 1833 in England, and persisted as a carnival attraction until around 1930 here in America as well. The Aztecs made sculptures of fleas, but didn't devise any circuses. To be fair, sometimes the "flea" circuses were actually things being directed about with magnets, and it's not like people were going to get up really close to look. But yet most circuses of this moniker truly did have fleas, and there were tricks aplenty to make them look like they were doing things. Tiny balls would be anointed with camphor, which fleas don't like. They would kick the camphor-y balls away: voila! juggling, or playing soccer!
Plenty flea lore here. Enjoy, but spare a thought for me if you will.
About Me
- curator
- Oregon, United States
- loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !
2 comments:
I guess we should be grateful that that particular variety of spectator sport died ou
What's the best thing to give a flea?
Frontline Plus.
We've been having problems with fleas, too. :-)
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