P. T. Barnum’s 10 Most Famous Human “Freak” Show Attractions

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  • čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
  • During the 1800s, Phineas Taylor Barnum - better known as “P.T. Barnum” - became famous as “The Great American Showman.” Barnum specialized in displaying odd and intriguing attractions to audiences who were eager to pay to see something out of the ordinary.
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    Text version: www.toptenz.net/p-t-barnums-10...
    Coming up:
    10. Joice Heth
    9. General Tom Thumb
    8. The Warren Sisters
    7. Myrtle Corbin, The Four-Legged Girl
    6. Zip, The Pinhead
    5. Prince Randian, The Living Torso
    4. The Wild Men of Borneo
    3. Josephine Clofullia, The Bearded Lady
    2. Chang Yu Sing, The Chinese Giant
    1. Isaac W. Sprague, “The Human Skeleton”
    Source/Further reading:
    daily.jstor.org/joice-heth-ho...
    • Big Life Of A Little M...
    www.barnum-museum.org/manmythl...
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavinia...
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtle_...
    • Freaks 1932 Highlights
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_the...
    • Video
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetra-a...
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Me...
    • Surprising Story Of Th...
    www.merriam-webster.com/medic...
    americanhistory.si.edu/collect...
    • IN MEMORY OF ISAAC W....
    www.mndassociation.org/wp-con...
    commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
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Komentáře • 4,3K

  • @vzwc89
    @vzwc89 Před 5 lety +5844

    For some reason, I really liked that they were well paid. PT Barnum obviously valued his freaks and made sure they were taken care of. That's not in line with the freak show stereotype.

    • @riannamajzoub5241
      @riannamajzoub5241 Před 5 lety +257

      It's probably cause he had a physical disability himself(even in the photos you can tell) and technically created a safe haven in a way. Years from now I am not surprised if current day self advocates start getting put on blast for corruption or collusion cause (no offense to my homies in autistic community) I have started noticing alarming trends involving mostly millenial age women and younger in different disabilities communities turn to pagentry and modeling more than looking into other options due to lack of resources and/or gender bias in different agencies. Older women like Temple Grandin and Susan Boyle seem more clean cut and more inspired than Heather Kuzmich and one other chick who said she felt compeled into this type of work to feel better about herself and gain acceptance.

    • @SalahEddineH
      @SalahEddineH Před 5 lety +261

      Exactly! Whenever I hear "Freak show" I think of the cruel exploitation of disabled people (basically like circus animals). I really like that they didn't do the job because they were starving and that they weren't mistreated. He turned them into performers, rather than something he makes money with. Impressive.
      Cheers!

    • @Maki-00
      @Maki-00 Před 5 lety +156

      I remember someone from the freak show saying in an interview that they were grateful to be there because they wouldn't have had any job opportunities otherwise with their physical limitations.

    • @Maki-00
      @Maki-00 Před 5 lety +122

      Honin Akecheta Yeah, that's f'ed up, but these people's lives would have been much worse without him. What else could a man with no arms or legs have done in that time?

    • @JetSteele
      @JetSteele Před 5 lety +124

      @Honin Akecheta The cage was part of the act,he wasn't kept there all the time, it was a performance. And it was his "pinhead" situation that brought about the missing link act. You're the one who brought race into it.

  • @LinkiePup
    @LinkiePup Před 4 lety +3178

    Today this sounds so wrong.
    But Barnum paid these people, and legitimately gave them a chance to make a living when no one would give them that chance.

    • @QUARTERMASTEREMI6
      @QUARTERMASTEREMI6 Před 4 lety +250

      I agree - we cannot try to compare the past to our standards, our morals, or our ethics today as they'll never align.

    • @janellephoenix4378
      @janellephoenix4378 Před 3 lety +242

      Yeah, people seem to not get that it was better to be in a “freak” show getting paid than to have your family haul you off and have you locked up in an Insane Asylum. That’s what happened to people with disabilities who weren’t employable; their families saw them as a burden and embarrassment and had them hidden away. The Asylum was hell on earth.

    • @TouchedByAUncle
      @TouchedByAUncle Před 3 lety +52

      Yeah they pretty much got rich from doing his shows.

    • @nancypiccirillo405
      @nancypiccirillo405 Před 3 lety +61

      I agree. They were paid well and had a choice to leave when they wanted.

    • @vladavram9209
      @vladavram9209 Před 3 lety +34

      Except for the old lady... But I'm glad he treated the others right

  • @dudevahkiin3858
    @dudevahkiin3858 Před 4 lety +2941

    They all married and had kids. And here I am, a normal looking guy in his late twenties trying to teach my cat a backflip.
    Edit; To answer the question, yes, my cat can do a backflip now. All I needed was a cucumber.

    • @paintinganimalsonrocks7633
      @paintinganimalsonrocks7633 Před 4 lety +46

      Just remember, only one out of two marriages last.

    • @MangoPuree
      @MangoPuree Před 4 lety +110

      i'd pay to see a cat do a backflip

    • @ChristianDoretti
      @ChristianDoretti Před 4 lety +42

      They weren't as materialistic and superficial as we are today...

    • @daniele9209
      @daniele9209 Před 4 lety +63

      @@ChristianDoretti yes sure..... Did you miss the part of the video where it says they were all filthy rich?

    • @ChristianDoretti
      @ChristianDoretti Před 4 lety +7

      @@daniele9209 Nah, still, someone same would marry them on today's standards, they are so asymmetric that they were scary.

  • @butter_beez
    @butter_beez Před 4 lety +324

    Can we all agree though that the picture of General Tom Thumb is really adorable-

    • @tommillard4193
      @tommillard4193 Před 3 lety +12

      And he was loaded and also had a wife I'm able bodied and have neither of those things

    • @chuckrobinson599
      @chuckrobinson599 Před 3 lety +13

      He was a man, just smaller than most, that's all. It was Barnum that put together the crazy stories, that made these people somebody you'd pay to see.

    • @FabFanFour
      @FabFanFour Před 3 lety +2

      I've always loved it.

    • @ushalweerathunga7081
      @ushalweerathunga7081 Před 2 lety

      Reminds me of mini khabib

  • @Silkendrum
    @Silkendrum Před 6 lety +9701

    It's easy to dislike P. T. Barnum for exploiting both his "exhibits" and his customers, but on the other hand, he paid his employees extremely well under their contracts, much better than he had to, and he let them keep what they earned, no charges for room and board and costumes. Very unusual in that era.

    • @_MythicalWolf
      @_MythicalWolf Před 6 lety +1172

      Silkendrum that's what I was thinking. And honestly he was offering well paying work for people with deformities that even in today's world will generally land you penniless and alone. Seems like most people who were with him lived happier, healthier lives then a lot of people.

    • @MysteriumArcanum
      @MysteriumArcanum Před 6 lety +682

      and the myth that he was a conman purposely duping people is exactly that, a myth. His audiences knew there was quite a fair bit of embellishment in his acts and spectacles but they were only there for entertainment so in their eyes it didn't matter that he was stretching the truth. It's the same reason people go to magic shows today even though there have been countless programs debunking the tricks; it's all for the purpose of entertainment.

    • @JoseFlores-xh5cj
      @JoseFlores-xh5cj Před 6 lety +497

      Well his workers signed contracts on their free will, and most of them worked for him for years, I'm going to assume they liked the money they were making and how they were treated.

    • @gratefuldead4605
      @gratefuldead4605 Před 6 lety +348

      And he treated them with humanely. Wealthy people tended to treat the lower classes as if they were nothing more than animals in those days.

    • @bigstink9
      @bigstink9 Před 6 lety +55

      Jose Flores
      How can a mentally handicapped person sigh a contract of their own free will??
      I doubt most of them knew what they were signing anyway.

  • @dabeez.kneez_
    @dabeez.kneez_ Před 5 lety +1722

    5:58 "Sometimes they would dress him up as a snake, a caterpillar, or a potato" what😂😂

  • @nabihak2743
    @nabihak2743 Před 4 lety +3085

    this dude looks like vsauce more than vsauce looks like vsauce

  • @bellat3280
    @bellat3280 Před 4 lety +121

    Its nice to know, Phineas treated his employees with so much care. He payed them well, and treated them as equal.

  • @Spills51
    @Spills51 Před 5 lety +2672

    45 lbs and can lift 300??
    DAMN SON!!!!

    • @Thenotfunnyperson
      @Thenotfunnyperson Před 5 lety +254

      Got that ant power.

    • @wokeslush9489
      @wokeslush9489 Před 4 lety +46

      Spills51 I thought I was cool for being 115 and lifting 200...

    • @pdot8659
      @pdot8659 Před 4 lety +3

      Spills51 Aliens

    • @gucci355
      @gucci355 Před 4 lety +39

      @@wokeslush9489 ur still cool 😊

    • @wokeslush9489
      @wokeslush9489 Před 4 lety +8

      G U C C I • Thank you :) I bet you’re cooo aswell

  • @MegaJiffyman
    @MegaJiffyman Před 5 lety +590

    P.T barnum is such an intriguing character. In a time with literally zero social justice he both took advantage of these people and his customers but at the exact same time built these people up to be proud of who they were and wanted to bring joy to everyone

  • @doyourworseneatme
    @doyourworseneatme Před 3 lety +59

    People have tried to vilify Barnum for years but he loved each and everyone of his performers in the freak show and made sure no one hurt any of them, they were all well taken care of and all of their health care needs were met. Without PT they didn't stand a chance outside of the show.

    • @Hannah-zw9ow
      @Hannah-zw9ow Před 2 lety +1

      I mean… multiple things can be true at once. It is wrong to pay money to mock and make fun of people. They also were paid well.

    • @Factsonmen
      @Factsonmen Před 2 lety +2

      They would have been mocked by people regardless, Atleast they got paid handsomely for the mocking

    • @SnowyMidnite
      @SnowyMidnite Před 2 lety

      @@Factsonmen and making people laugh.

  • @lisachatham1127
    @lisachatham1127 Před 2 lety +22

    I actually lived in P.T. Barnam's house he built for his wife and children in Denver Colorado. It is now an AirBNB. It was a beautiful old Victorian style house with 7 bedrooms, 3 living rooms and a very large kitchen and dining room. I love that house and all it's history.

    • @SnowyMidnite
      @SnowyMidnite Před 2 lety

      Please, let this not be lie...❤ if not, u just lived my dream! I LOVE OLD STUFF! And HISTORY'!

  • @kellie5476
    @kellie5476 Před 6 lety +5878

    To get to 80 years old anyway in 1836 is freaky enough they didn't need to lie.

    • @ariefraiser140
      @ariefraiser140 Před 6 lety +358

      michael Longford yeah...especially if you were black

    • @donovanchilton5817
      @donovanchilton5817 Před 6 lety +401

      Seriously, though. Everyone dropped dead at 35 and she lives to be 80.

    • @Adam-zq4ty
      @Adam-zq4ty Před 6 lety +273

      Not quite that low, more so around 50

    • @puppetmasterey
      @puppetmasterey Před 6 lety +248

      A dam still though, being black on that time period and living to your 80s was a miracle. Living to 80+ in the modern era with medical science what it is, is a miracle. Your lucky to live past 70

    • @Primalxbeast
      @Primalxbeast Před 6 lety +237

      A dam The average lifespan back then gives you a really inaccurate view of how long someone was likely to live because a very high child mortality rate skewed that statistic very far towards the low end.

  • @bazookahorse
    @bazookahorse Před 5 lety +3920

    Abraham Lincoln was amused by midgets is the best thing I've heard all year.

    • @mattjones1992
      @mattjones1992 Před 5 lety +46

      BazookaHorse I don’t know why this comment is so funny 😂

    • @sylvadob1229
      @sylvadob1229 Před 4 lety +82

      And he was a giant

    • @michaelheeheejackson7255
      @michaelheeheejackson7255 Před 4 lety +23

      @@sylvadob1229 6'4 is hardly a giant.

    • @sylvadob1229
      @sylvadob1229 Před 4 lety +133

      @@michaelheeheejackson7255 to the midgets he was

    • @superflan2981
      @superflan2981 Před 4 lety +66

      @@michaelheeheejackson7255 only 1% of people are over 6'4 smartie pants

  • @oppaloopa3698
    @oppaloopa3698 Před 3 lety +67

    This is 2 years late but I commend Top Tenz for their respectful behavior. As a disabled person, I was hesitant to click on the video given how people treat my people. It’s even worse when they’re referring to the past. I’m touched by how kind and honorable the script is. I truly am in awe.
    Thank you.

    • @fenfaerielee94
      @fenfaerielee94 Před 3 lety +4

      Differently abled just sounds ableist to me 🤷‍♀️

    • @fenfaerielee94
      @fenfaerielee94 Před 3 lety +6

      @@Stevie-steel Maybe ableist is the wrong term, but what I meant was the word disabled shouldn't be seen as a bad thing. When people use words like differently abled etc it's like it's almost infantilising or shaming disability. Like ohh it's okayy you're not disabled, you're differently abled! :D
      Also I think it can run the risk of completely dismissing/downplaying the ways your particular disability affects your life, and the fact you need support in some ways
      It kind of sucks how even the word disabled can make people with disabilities recoil and feel lesser than (including myself)

    • @camilladyrefrank
      @camilladyrefrank Před 3 lety +10

      @@Stevie-steel You can identify however you want, but that goes for other people, too. I call myself autistic, not a person with autism. Just like I am also bisexual - not a “person with bisexuality”.

    • @rapa2894
      @rapa2894 Před 2 lety +1

      @@Stevie-steel how is it not? It is something you can't change that effects the way you live and how others treat you.

    • @Hannah-zw9ow
      @Hannah-zw9ow Před 2 lety

      @@Stevie-steel no one called it a medical condition, you’re just treating this like the oppression olympics. Stop trying to prove you’re worse off than everyone else when it literally doesn’t matter.

  • @realityquotient7699
    @realityquotient7699 Před 4 lety +83

    For a bunch of people who were 'exploited' they sure made a great living as entertainers and lived long and happy lives.

  • @KittyNoir3083
    @KittyNoir3083 Před 5 lety +2372

    *”HEY VSAUCE... Michael here”* Come on I can’t be the only one that thought this ?

  • @RicardoEsteves
    @RicardoEsteves Před 4 lety +603

    That guy had no arms and no legs and still managed to marry and have 5 children... What's _your_ excuse?

  • @Saasan
    @Saasan Před 3 lety +73

    My jaw dropped several times from how insanely offensive Barnum's backstories were, but I am glad he at least paid them well. They deserved it, but wow. I hope they enjoyed their lives despite being constantly gawked at.

    • @AceGoodheart
      @AceGoodheart Před 3 lety +11

      Offensive as the backstories may be, it helped sell tickets which in turn made better earnings for the performers.

    • @FabFanFour
      @FabFanFour Před 3 lety +2

      I miss the freak shows.

    • @hazelatwood2292
      @hazelatwood2292 Před 3 lety +2

      I just watched a two-hour documentary on the history of the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus on Public Television. I was engrossed the entire two-hours (which is unusual for me). It was really excellent.

    • @Sir99percent
      @Sir99percent Před 3 lety +1

      @@hazelatwood2292 Would you mind saying what the documentary is called? I'd totally watch that.

    • @hazelatwood2292
      @hazelatwood2292 Před 3 lety +5

      @@Sir99percent If you Search PBS for American Experience: The Circus, Pt 1. It’s Part One of a Two-Part Documentary that I just watched (which is news to me). I just couldn’t sleep the other night, and thankfully something interesting was on tv. 🤓

  • @TheLeper2001
    @TheLeper2001 Před 5 lety +3201

    I'm just glad they got well paid

    • @ENEN-tz6eg
      @ENEN-tz6eg Před 4 lety +68

      They didn’t.

    • @VeganMotorcyclePilot
      @VeganMotorcyclePilot Před 4 lety +18

      Elephants are better can whip and no pay

    • @lizzaangelis3308
      @lizzaangelis3308 Před 4 lety +72

      They went from being paid to not being able to be hired pretty quickly unfortunately

    • @kristinaj9159
      @kristinaj9159 Před 3 lety +63

      @@VeganMotorcyclePilot you're wrong for saying/thinking that

    • @kristinaj9159
      @kristinaj9159 Před 3 lety +16

      @Andy C they weren't always paid well for a long time and they weren't able to be hired after

  • @babiskatopodis2787
    @babiskatopodis2787 Před 6 lety +401

    They were presented like monsters but lived like kings.

  • @brendarose442
    @brendarose442 Před 5 lety +413

    "She had babies (5) out of both sets of legs? " Young man! THAT is not where babies come from (legs). LOL.

    • @mileyrocks852
      @mileyrocks852 Před 4 lety +14

      Brenda Rose HAHAHAHA I thought I was the only one who heard it that way lol

    • @ovrezy
      @ovrezy Před 4 lety +29

      She had two sets of 'lady parts'

    • @reuvenknight1575
      @reuvenknight1575 Před 4 lety +37

      Its weird cuz she had her sister's kids and her own, but because she would have been an identical twin no one would know whose was whose.

    • @Artliker1234
      @Artliker1234 Před 4 lety +65

      So her husband tried both vaginas lol the first three some with 2 people

    • @ohmareshah
      @ohmareshah Před 4 lety +8

      @Joe Striker what? both sets of organs would be the same age. She was one person at the end of the day

  • @shinigami1315
    @shinigami1315 Před 2 lety +42

    PT Barnum was actually a great man who valued people who were shunned from society. I went to the museum when I was a kid and learned a lot. He played people and tricked them yes but he gave a lot to their imagination so these "freaks" could live a great life.

    • @davidleomorley889
      @davidleomorley889 Před rokem

      "There's a sucker born every minute" was a saying in the 19th century about P.T Barnum being able to trick people into believing in nonsensical things like the ‘Fiji mermaid,” “The Cardiff Giant” the “161 year old nursemaid” and many other hoaxes designed to earn an income from.
      The ability continues into the internet age and the fantastical stories & videos on CZcams about “lost civilizations,” “unexplainable mysteries” and “ancient high technology" put out by profit seeking book authors like Graham Hancock, Brien Foerster, UnchartedX, Erich Von Daniken, Bright Insight, Christopher Dunn, Randall Carlson and others like them are the proof.

  • @miaouew
    @miaouew Před 5 lety +505

    Fun fact: the article in the newspaper who accused Joice of being an automaton was actually written after Barnum himself used a pseudonym and sent in loads of such accusations in order to drum up more interest in Joice, which had been waning at the time. It worked...when people heard she might actually be some kind of robot they swarmed to come see her, which had the added effect of making almost everyone who had already paid to see her at least once come back for a return visit out of curiosity. Barnum may have been a scumbag but he was an entertainment industry genius.

    • @THEPELADOMASTER
      @THEPELADOMASTER Před 5 lety +22

      Not mutually exclusive. A lot of geniuses are scumbags actually

    • @miaouew
      @miaouew Před 5 lety +3

      @@THEPELADOMASTER very true

    • @danielsantos6437
      @danielsantos6437 Před 5 lety +12

      @@miaouew Being a genius also means thinking logically and not making decisions based on emotions and primal nature, so most of the time genius people, in the eyes of common folk, seem to be scumbags.

    • @starlightanddreams1317
      @starlightanddreams1317 Před 5 lety +1

      @@danielsantos6437 like a robot or a Vulcan. Very logical without emotional involvement. Sounds like a horrible human to me.

    • @jennymk01
      @jennymk01 Před 5 lety +3

      You know idk man, he seemed more than fair to the people in the show. Idk what else he did though

  • @retroladyland2943
    @retroladyland2943 Před 5 lety +77

    Actually Zip ‘the pinhead’ was perfectly ‘normal’, he did have slight learning difficulties and a smaller head than the average size, but he didn’t actually share the same condition as other famous ‘pinheads’.
    In fact, on his death bed he allegedly said to his sister ‘We sure fooled them, didn’t we’.

  • @A_JinglyRabbit
    @A_JinglyRabbit Před 4 lety +155

    "who're you calling 'pinhead'?"

    • @carlooblomov4255
      @carlooblomov4255 Před 4 lety +8

      Zip's last words to his sister were "Well, we fooled 'em for a long time, didn't we?"[

    • @ddd1hhh
      @ddd1hhh Před 4 lety +4

      Is “who’re” a word?

    • @melonybard9578
      @melonybard9578 Před 4 lety +2

      John Blakeney I want to know too😆

    • @MangoPuree
      @MangoPuree Před 4 lety +7

      @@ddd1hhh its a spongebob reference

    • @Shadamyfan-rs8xc
      @Shadamyfan-rs8xc Před 3 lety +6

      I wanna be Dirty Dan

  • @janetslater129
    @janetslater129 Před 3 lety +43

    The Chinese Giant: “He drew a crowd, at least for a short time.” I see what you did there.

  • @Samuel-ku1qb
    @Samuel-ku1qb Před 5 lety +1376

    “Chang yu sing?”
    “No, I only dance.”

    • @UniqueGeekFreak
      @UniqueGeekFreak Před 5 lety +18

      Hahaha😄 I died!!

    • @ki-ge5qv
      @ki-ge5qv Před 4 lety +46

      I’m so disappointed, yet so proud

    • @undertalereacts7519
      @undertalereacts7519 Před 4 lety +9

      👌 perfection

    • @drumboarder1
      @drumboarder1 Před 4 lety +9

      yes but CAN Richard Funk?

    • @keegyweegy7803
      @keegyweegy7803 Před 4 lety +4

      💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

  • @circleinfinite
    @circleinfinite Před 5 lety +428

    "she experienced giving birth out of both sets of legs" a term i will only hear once in my lifetime!

    • @wrathofthelamb318
      @wrathofthelamb318 Před 3 lety +28

      That sounds like pure torture

    • @laurab5750
      @laurab5750 Před 3 lety +15

      The cringe factor redlined. Doesn't that technically mean he slept with her sister?

    • @Kriegbaum1000
      @Kriegbaum1000 Před 3 lety +15

      Technically some of the children are her unborne twin sisters children.

    • @nigel900
      @nigel900 Před 3 lety +1

      Sadly during consummation, he had been repeatedly kicked in the nuts, and later suffered E.D.

    • @erin9680
      @erin9680 Před 3 lety +4

      @@nigel900 what

  • @bread8936
    @bread8936 Před 4 lety +89

    Most of the people featured in this video sounded like they had better lives than most “normal” people.

  • @lovelydragon23
    @lovelydragon23 Před 3 lety +22

    Me; getting bullied today for my mental illnesses and disability; to the “freaks”: You guys are getting paid?
    (They were treated so much better than I’d thought they’d been omg)

    • @sarahhenry5577
      @sarahhenry5577 Před 3 lety

      They were able to make their own money and lives in a time when that wasn't easy for "able bodied" people. We tend to have a very narrow, modern version of these sorts of shows, without understanding what it was like for them. The movie Freaks, actually shows these people as a happy family.

    • @lovelydragon23
      @lovelydragon23 Před 3 lety

      @@sarahhenry5577 I watched that movie and I did enjoy it very much :) I'm just glad everyone was treated with some degree of respect and professionalism

  • @amallukose1485
    @amallukose1485 Před 5 lety +255

    He saved all of them from miserable life and gave a wonderful rich life.
    And they were with other people with challenging condition.

    • @janellephoenix4378
      @janellephoenix4378 Před 3 lety +11

      Exactly! Most of the time people with disabilities were locked up in Insane Asylums that were hell on earth.
      He saved them from that terrible fate and gave them a life of their own.

  • @luigi55125
    @luigi55125 Před 6 lety +591

    Ironically, these people actually had jobs. Money. A purpose. People with these looks nowadays can't even say the same.

    • @samuellawrencesbookclub8250
      @samuellawrencesbookclub8250 Před 6 lety +34

      Many deformed persons do work, actually. Of course some deformities prevent them from pursuing certain types of careers, a person with dwarfism will probably be unsuitable for a physically demanding career - but that doesn't mean these anomalies are exempt from working.

    • @hunterkai6772
      @hunterkai6772 Před 6 lety +15

      Corvyn Malfoy, Mediocre Collector I think they ment some of the more extreme cases.

    • @cynthiaverdon526
      @cynthiaverdon526 Před 6 lety

      Something something username x

    • @anthonyfreeman6513
      @anthonyfreeman6513 Před 6 lety

      Something something username 500 like

  • @daydream4life444
    @daydream4life444 Před 5 lety +96

    This man was born without arms and legs yet earned A LOT of money, was popular with the ladies, and fathered 5 kids. Dang, that’s amazing in more ways than one! 👏👏👏
    And he can light his own cigarette using only his mouth. 😳

  • @jackhughman9450
    @jackhughman9450 Před 3 lety +25

    "Sometimes they would dress him up like a snake, a caterpillar or a potato"

  • @Jah_LEASE_yah
    @Jah_LEASE_yah Před 6 lety +560

    P.T . Barnum will always be someone who confounds modern understanding. On the one hand he exploited people who were disabled and put them on display to be laughed or gawked at as if they were less then human, and on the other hand he took people who, in their time, would have probably been societal outcasts and made them apart of a community that would accept them, gave them a purpose, and made them incredibly rich and famous. Was he a villain or a hero? who knows...

  • @christinegreen6255
    @christinegreen6255 Před 6 lety +547

    Instead of being dependent upon and possibly feeling like a burden to their families , Mr. Barnum gave them an opportunity to make enough money to financially care for their family. It also gave them a second family of other "freaks" , an opportunity to meet others similar issues as them

    • @Nirrrina
      @Nirrrina Před 5 lety +24

      That's kind of what I thought. Plus I bet some, like Tom thumb, really enjoyed performing and being famous.
      So far I haven't heard anything about Barnum mistreating them either. Considering the money they earned it seems fair. Plus if they don't enjoy it they could earn enough pretty quickly to help live a comfortable life. Then just leave. Like the Chinese giant seemed to do.

    • @stuffstuffer643
      @stuffstuffer643 Před 5 lety +13

      The way he did it was incredibly disrespectful. He put a black man in a cage, and let people question a woman's gender because of a condition she had. He let people disrespect them. And made them think they were anything less than boring.

    • @SavitarTheSurfingGod
      @SavitarTheSurfingGod Před 5 lety +14

      @@stuffstuffer643 It's not much different then the entertainment industry today they signed contracts and were paid well to act and be gawked at during showtimes honestly it's was probably a better gig then what celebs deal with today what with the constant harassment and paparazzi.

    • @Tofindexpress
      @Tofindexpress Před 5 lety +1

      Exactly. Right now they live basically from their parents or help from the gov because they can't do nothing. What a bs

    • @narararamammily5386
      @narararamammily5386 Před 5 lety +4

      Stuff Stuffer I think you’re referring to Josephine Waas. Although we don’t know if she/he was really a hermaphrodite or not. She/He was well-paid like the rest of the performers in PT’s circus and She/He was able to married a guy named George Wass and lived a normal life despite being classified as a “freak”.
      You need to remember at his time people with a mental disorder or disability are deemed as unacceptable in society and they are usually forced to go to asylum where they will be tortured. He actually provided these guys well-paid money and when their contracts ended, most of them either still work with him or settled down like Josephine. So even though it’s bad that he taking advantage of their disabilities, he’s the reasons why they were able to live a normal life.

  • @edwardkenway1177
    @edwardkenway1177 Před 4 lety +25

    4:42 so her husband was double dipping

  • @squeaz8268
    @squeaz8268 Před 3 lety +43

    Lol the bearded lady one had me cackling. 8:00 It took 3 doctors to go "Hmmmm, yeah I'm pretty sure that's a vagina. You might want a second opinion though"

  • @kosukemiura1226
    @kosukemiura1226 Před 5 lety +482

    **time travels to the 1800s**
    random pheasant woman : oh my what a freak!
    rich guy : i wanna buy you

    • @qwertyuiop5734
      @qwertyuiop5734 Před 5 lety +21

      - aesthetic_boi - wait did you just say pheasant

    • @cullenholloway8377
      @cullenholloway8377 Před 4 lety +7

      Back in my day a nickle used to cost a penny

    • @cullenholloway8377
      @cullenholloway8377 Před 4 lety

      @CodeHurricane Originals buying people to put on display for shows and make money did that help ?

    • @cullenholloway8377
      @cullenholloway8377 Před 4 lety +2

      @CodeHurricane Originals i cant help down syndrome people

    • @noti7510
      @noti7510 Před 4 lety +7

      Plot twist: The rich guy wanted to buy the talking pheasant.

  • @popes446
    @popes446 Před 6 lety +353

    I deadass thought u were vsauce for a second

  • @realkushman
    @realkushman Před 3 lety +50

    By the time she was 8 she had a full beard
    “So what you’re saying is she was Italian?”
    (I’m Italian, don’t send me hate)

    • @bellemalott9806
      @bellemalott9806 Před 3 lety +1

      Sending no hate, just love😊

    • @aryssamansfield9735
      @aryssamansfield9735 Před 3 lety +12

      Nobody roasts Italians harder than Italians man.

    • @camh6328
      @camh6328 Před 3 lety +1

      I'm not Italian but thanks for giving me a laugh.

    • @Katharoni
      @Katharoni Před 3 lety +1

      As an irish person with bushes for legs I concur.

    • @paul-ld9vh
      @paul-ld9vh Před 3 lety +2

      It's been said Italian men wear gold chains around their neck so they know where to stop shaving.
      Lmao

  • @proness1989
    @proness1989 Před 4 lety +2

    Great video Simon!! Thank you so much for your hard work!! I speak for us all when I say we love your videos!!

  • @LeeLee-pk4ss
    @LeeLee-pk4ss Před 6 lety +467

    You know the Freak Show gets a bad rap but there are two things that should be pointed out. First the freaks were paid very well and if not for the show they might not have any work and probably die early in life. Second the Freak Show is still around and we all line up on the couch and watch it all the time; "Little People Big World," "My 600lb Life," "The Little Couple," "Little Women: LA," "Hoarders Buried Alive," "The Kardashians," "Long Island Medium," and all of the real housewives shows.
    My point is don't judge the past because of your so called moralities when the past is alive and well and you are a participant in it.

  • @MadameRaven1
    @MadameRaven1 Před 6 lety +3604

    11,000 a week? Heck yeah, I'd be in a freak show!

    • @bittersweethufflepuff6519
      @bittersweethufflepuff6519 Před 6 lety +189

      Madame Raven
      Me : PUT ME IN YOUR FREEK SHOW
      Manager : But you only have ADHD mrs ...
      Me : *JUST DO IT !*

    • @MadameRaven1
      @MadameRaven1 Před 6 lety +9

      Bitter Sweet Hufflepuff hahaha no doubt!

    • @philswift52
      @philswift52 Před 6 lety +41

      But you have to to be a freak first to qualify

    • @bittersweethufflepuff6519
      @bittersweethufflepuff6519 Před 6 lety +10

      Give 1,000 soobs plez . I know that , that's why I have a degree in being that one weirdo at partys that everyone thinks is creepy . *JUST GIVE ME THE JOB*

    • @aaliyahetc.6687
      @aaliyahetc.6687 Před 6 lety +17

      He abused them

  • @shhshepherds6319
    @shhshepherds6319 Před 3 lety +1

    I subscribed- I love how there is very interesting, informative content. I really commend you for getting right to it- and kept right on going through it! 👏🏼👏🏼 it’s rare, but awesome 👏🏼. Thank you

  • @Hakseng
    @Hakseng Před 5 lety +1

    Wow! Thank you so much! Your videos are all in one. 😍

  • @tiny021085
    @tiny021085 Před 5 lety +1329

    At last. A youtuber who just gets right in to the video and doesn't go off subject or try and be zaney and funny. And waits till end to ask for a like and sub. So I did.

    • @andreasimon2752
      @andreasimon2752 Před 4 lety +17

      Yea the waiting till the end part is a nice change

    • @canadiandee6342
      @canadiandee6342 Před 3 lety +12

      I don’t think you’d like Business Blaze

    • @karelanneferil5446
      @karelanneferil5446 Před 3 lety +1

      Yes, I agree. I think we actually read the same research on this. Word by word... I remember.

    • @amandajones661
      @amandajones661 Před 3 lety

      Go watch his Business Blaze channel. 🤣🤣🤣

    • @avissmit2478
      @avissmit2478 Před 2 lety

      Shame

  • @madhonib
    @madhonib Před 6 lety +2380

    Oh! my gosh, that means #7 Myrtle was both Mom And Auntie. Depending on which pair of legs the kid came out of... odd.

    • @IAMNOTANGEL0123
      @IAMNOTANGEL0123 Před 6 lety +57

      mad honeybee i thought that was so weird also

    • @calichef1962
      @calichef1962 Před 6 lety +185

      I have a LOT more questions about her. I'd LOVE to see an x-ray of her, but I know they probably don't exist. Still, a photo, diagram or pencil sketch would do. I just can't imagine how all the parts come together, ya know? I'm thinking that the twin's lower half must protrude from her lower stomach... maybe? I dunno.

    • @noka1979
      @noka1979 Před 6 lety +121

      Her husband was a lucky man

    • @jasonl.8400
      @jasonl.8400 Před 6 lety +56

      I’m not trying to laugh but....

    • @applepeel1662
      @applepeel1662 Před 6 lety +71

      2 pussys

  • @nyloncamel9148
    @nyloncamel9148 Před 5 lety +126

    I’ve seen several comments that we no longer have side shows. Yes, we do. Check out the current USA House of Representatives.

  • @spiderj379
    @spiderj379 Před 3 lety +19

    It's great that no one was forced to act and they where all paid extremely well

  • @Voltanaut
    @Voltanaut Před 6 lety +415

    I have a physical condition that makes me pretty noticeable. Honestly, I wouldn't mind living in the 19th century if it meant earning 11K a week.

    • @tiko5876
      @tiko5876 Před 6 lety +33

      HarryIsTheGamingGeek when life hands ya lemons...

    • @Ryan-jx4vh
      @Ryan-jx4vh Před 5 lety +23

      Would you mind sharing the physical condition?

    • @snoutysnouterson
      @snoutysnouterson Před 5 lety +14

      @@Ryan-jx4vh Why would you want part of his condition?? Weirdo! 😂

    • @user-km7ch9nd7b
      @user-km7ch9nd7b Před 5 lety +17

      @@snoutysnouterson i wanna know too...
      Just curious

    • @dilloncroom
      @dilloncroom Před 5 lety +2

      Seems like it was a great way to find love as well

  • @freckledandred
    @freckledandred Před 6 lety +273

    people say freaks shows are outdated as if no one watches TLC

  • @mileyrocks852
    @mileyrocks852 Před 4 lety +9

    I love that most of them had found love after finding their way to P.T. :)

  • @alexaguidry1111
    @alexaguidry1111 Před 3 lety +49

    Does anyone realize this is the greatest snowman

    • @shrimp274
      @shrimp274 Před 3 lety +10

      SNOWMAN PLSSSS *showman

    • @shortbean0
      @shortbean0 Před 3 lety +8

      I do... I thought this was common knowledge?

    • @alexaguidry1111
      @alexaguidry1111 Před 3 lety +4

      @@shortbean0 I thought it was kinda obvious but I did not see anyone else comment it so idk

    • @finosuilleabhain7781
      @finosuilleabhain7781 Před 3 lety

      'Colonel' Tom Parker: 'Hold my cigar.'

    • @jewelsgrl
      @jewelsgrl Před 3 lety +6

      No, Frosty was the greatest snowman

  • @pineapplecoke7627
    @pineapplecoke7627 Před 5 lety +336

    Where is daddy long neck and wide neck

    • @Thenotfunnyperson
      @Thenotfunnyperson Před 5 lety +5

      They could be real attractions lol. I would pay a few bucks to see them irl.

    • @jegeriufanen4415
      @jegeriufanen4415 Před 5 lety +5

      Wide neck's grandgrandgrandson is Corey Taylor

    • @SubBubz
      @SubBubz Před 4 lety

      @@jegeriufanen4415 wrong, it's corpsegrinder.
      But on another note, I think it's all the headbanging they do they made their neck so thick. Idk how wide neck got his so thick though. I doubt he likes metal.

    • @nathalie_desrosiers
      @nathalie_desrosiers Před 4 lety

      Just besides Daddy-Long-Legs.

    • @Criticalr6
      @Criticalr6 Před 4 lety +3

      Fred Parrish i’m pretty sure he was born with it

  • @CultureCrash
    @CultureCrash Před 6 lety +2564

    This video was really interesting and well researched - loved it!

  • @chrisuniverse5979
    @chrisuniverse5979 Před 3 lety +5

    When I was a kid,my father would always ask me,"so Chris,when are you going to run away with the circus" as I always had a fascination with the freak shows,and would probably make a great freak(won't say which one)

  • @ilovemydog6847
    @ilovemydog6847 Před 3 lety +4

    I’m glad that they were all well looked after and well paid and not ripped off and exploited. I love all the Top 10 videos. They’re always really interesting well researched and very informative. Brilliant 😊👍🏻.

  • @jessiejones3858
    @jessiejones3858 Před 6 lety +761

    The 4 legged girl. How do her periods work? Can each uterus have their own periods at their own time meaning a double period? Could she even have 2 pregnancies at once?

    • @dramasbomin
      @dramasbomin Před 5 lety +115

      I would assume so since they were both fully capable of carrying and delivering children to term

    • @devait4752
      @devait4752 Před 5 lety +91

      @@dramasbomin no, she had only one womb meaning she can't be pregnant twice simultaneously

    • @whyisnokillthecronch2772
      @whyisnokillthecronch2772 Před 5 lety +198

      I was born with two uterus's both were fully functional. The periods were horrible. I didn't find out until I had a hysterectomy at age 28. They told me that I could have carried two different babies at the same time with different fathers if a fertilized egg had gone into each uterus. So glad that didn't happen. My husband might have been pissed too...lol.

    • @Nouta1
      @Nouta1 Před 5 lety +71

      What would it be like to have sex with her?
      Two vaginas? How many anuses? Does she ever get confused when she needs to pee? Like sit thinking is gonna come out that one but then it goes down her leg?

    • @606Pixels
      @606Pixels Před 5 lety +33

      @Not Hitler Why ew?

  • @_MythicalWolf
    @_MythicalWolf Před 6 lety +109

    Okay not gonna lie. It's surprising and kind of neat that most of these not only were volunteers but also were paid amazingly and taken care of.

    • @d.m.173
      @d.m.173 Před 6 lety +2

      well I am sure the report wasn't on the mentally ill, children or slaves that were forced. I am sure given the time though it was nice to have that opportunity but only because they wouldn't otherwise have any options. The option are unlimited now for everyone now (athough harder for some). They don't HAVE to do only that.

  • @mona-mo3sd
    @mona-mo3sd Před 3 lety +7

    was abt to say "basically greatest showman, then" when i realised that the greatest showman _was_ based on P.T. Barnum

  • @dr.skulhamr3220
    @dr.skulhamr3220 Před 4 lety +1

    As usual, a great video. Thank you!

  • @MartinsGarage97
    @MartinsGarage97 Před 6 lety +204

    I wish we knew how these people felt. Were they thankful for work and were happy to support themselves? I have seen many interviews done in "carnival" towns, they enjoy their town, because no one is different and they don't get bullied. I hope as a people we are a lot more welcoming to different people, but history repeats itself.

    • @johncomstock2759
      @johncomstock2759 Před 6 lety +37

      Overall the people Barnum displayed were happy and glad that they could earn a living. Many of them had acts not only in the sideshows but appeared in the three ring ballyhoo that closed the circus performance. One such pair were a man who had no legs and a man who had no arms. They rode around the tent on a tandem bicycle making jokes about their condition.
      It has been suggested that the "Freak Show" led to wider acceptance of disabled people in general and perhaps more important allowed disabled people to see that their problem wasn't as bad as it could have been.

    • @jigglypuff52
      @jigglypuff52 Před 6 lety +9

      There is plenty of information available about that when you Google it. The bearded lady was especially vocal.

    • @katiebayliss9887
      @katiebayliss9887 Před 6 lety +2

      Random Chaos who wouldn't be happy to support themselves........?

    • @sCarrieCemetery
      @sCarrieCemetery Před 6 lety +1

      Katie Bayliss, entitled Americans wouldn't.. :)

    • @dracenstein5556
      @dracenstein5556 Před 6 lety

      Uh 11,000$ A WEEK, a MILLION ! I think they were pretty damn happy.

  • @rofln00b
    @rofln00b Před 6 lety +41

    On one hand, P.T. Barnum took advantage of other peoples' disabilities and displayed them as freaks, pocketing huge amounts of money in the process, but on the other hand, DAMN if he didn't also pay them all enormous sums of money for their performances, AND in some cases even took care of them after they retired!

  • @victoriaanaredding8915
    @victoriaanaredding8915 Před 3 lety +5

    Despite P. T. Barnum's "bad" reputation, he helped a ton of people. Especially people who were "odd", "different", and unique(unusual gifts or skills). They wouldn't have been included in normal society and they would never find a steady job of any type, in any industry. Barnum himself knew what being a poor outcast felt like. These folks often had been born with their "odd issues" and Barnum gave them a job that paid well and many other benefits. It was a very different world back then...and he helped a lot of folks who would have been destitute, beggars, and cast outs and folks destened to the dreaded Olms Houses.( Look it up...it's really awful) I'm NOT saying it was perfect, always fair, and correct. But he gave opportunity to people who had nothing.

  • @rosejustice
    @rosejustice Před 3 lety +2

    I love the research Simon and his team put into all his topics. I was especially pleased to see that Simon also used the correct terminology for people with restricted growth.

  • @Shimarenda
    @Shimarenda Před 6 lety +54

    I have a hard time condemning people for attending "freak" shows to see something out of the ordinary considering how much time I've spent this evening trawling CZcams.

  • @lawrenceyoung6985
    @lawrenceyoung6985 Před 6 lety +259

    "Chang Yu Sing"
    Me: "No I can't"

  • @robertdyer5294
    @robertdyer5294 Před 3 lety +1

    I really like the way you put this together. Fascinating ! I just subscribed

  • @jaithon7254
    @jaithon7254 Před 2 lety +1

    The fact that Lincoln liked little people was adorable. Idk if his liking to them had mean intentions or not but if they didn't then that's great!

  • @EVITANDY
    @EVITANDY Před 5 lety +239

    It’s very easy by today’s standards to see Barnum and the other showmen as the villains.
    Look at how much money these people earned (more than I do today), and then work out what their lives would have been without the show.
    They weren’t forced into this. They wanted to do this for a living.
    Barnum seems to have been a decent kind of chap, in the whole.

    • @jessycac6311
      @jessycac6311 Před 2 lety +1

      Joyce was bought as a slave- nobody can get out of the willingly

    • @EVITANDY
      @EVITANDY Před 2 lety +2

      @@jessycac6311 Too simple an answer - I understand what you are saying, but she had a far better life with Barnum than she would have had otherwise

    • @jessycac6311
      @jessycac6311 Před 2 lety

      @@EVITANDY I understand where you’re coming from, and I do agree to an extent. However, I don’t think we should denounce the possible pain and suffering she went through just because she could’ve had it worse.

    • @EVITANDY
      @EVITANDY Před 2 lety +2

      @@jessycac6311 I am certainly not doing that. But thanks to Barnum, she was looked after a lot more than most. None of this is ideal, but the reality is that it was happening, and some people were trying to make it better for those who were being exploited.

  • @daphneloose5880
    @daphneloose5880 Před 6 lety +93

    I am surprised that Ang and Chang Bunker were not on this list. they were P.T. Barnum's famous siamese twins.

  • @casketbutter
    @casketbutter Před 4 lety +8

    I feel like the reason they were so amused that she looked so old was because 15 was considered middle aged at the time.

  • @Rattlebones427
    @Rattlebones427 Před 3 lety +1

    very thorough research thank you for your videos thus far

  • @78Soko
    @78Soko Před 6 lety +795

    dude with no arms or legs was married with kids. here i am alone with no one.

  • @leiannesw4926
    @leiannesw4926 Před 6 lety +153

    Great video. I always imagined that the Talent of Barnum were not treated well. Maybe had to join as disability back then could be difficult for a family.
    But the Employees joined willingly, treated very well, and made great money. And were able to marry, have kids, etc. Amazing lives they had.

    • @TheProxy066
      @TheProxy066 Před 6 lety

      LeiAnne Stevens Did you forget about the woman he bought?

    • @ashtheintroverted7204
      @ashtheintroverted7204 Před 6 lety +3

      Susie Lee
      I think we all have to take in account the time period and morals they had. Slavery was still a thing, selling black people wasn't necessarily uncommon.
      Although I do say that it's a horrible thing now, back then it was just kinda... Eh.

    • @lucretialee3691
      @lucretialee3691 Před 6 lety +1

      Susie Lee, yes slavery is bad, and there isn't one argument that can ever justify one person owning another. Yet in the context of the time that this happened it could be said she was treated extremely well. In return for sitting in a chair and telling stories to the audience, she was clothed, fed and her needs met in her old age. Try and imagine what her life could have been like at that age if a more typical slave owner had of bought her...

  • @viaurgalaxygurl1014
    @viaurgalaxygurl1014 Před 4 lety +16

    So that old joice lady was like the 1800s Danielle Cohn no one knows her age

  • @78asasou
    @78asasou Před 2 lety +2

    Barnum was a big showmen and a big heart!

  • @hazer3248
    @hazer3248 Před 6 lety +156

    that bearded lady has a lord farquaad hair cut

  • @pavelvalcov6539
    @pavelvalcov6539 Před 6 lety +286

    Why does this guy look like Michael from Vsauce?LMAO

  • @ShadowSumac
    @ShadowSumac Před 4 lety +4

    On one hand this is the story of exploitation of human deformities and disabilities, on the other, this exploitation gave those people chance to acknowledged, rich and find happiness and families.
    Also, in a manner it is very inspirational - even if those people who faced hardships, most people can't even imagine, could find themselves love and families, it means that everyone else have chances to do that.

    • @bigmax5780
      @bigmax5780 Před rokem

      Exploitation would be making money of them solely keeping it to themselves, but he gave it to the freaks too so

  • @flowertrue
    @flowertrue Před 4 lety +8

    I always thought Barnham would have put me in one of his freak shows had I been born 100 years ago. However perhaps he would not have found me unusual enough.

    • @gloomycandy101
      @gloomycandy101 Před 4 lety +1

      Karina Flower How come? What makes you belong in a freakshow?

  • @luckz4873
    @luckz4873 Před 5 lety +137

    Today you just open CZcams and you can admire thousands of freaks from the comfort of your sofa 😗

  • @pzooka
    @pzooka Před 5 lety +157

    Calling that dude the missing link was genius advertising

    • @sireawfulthe1st291
      @sireawfulthe1st291 Před 4 lety +31

      He is, he's basically the guy who invented clickbait

    • @fuckinantipope5511
      @fuckinantipope5511 Před 4 lety +7

      @@sireawfulthe1st291 OMG! THE MISSING PIECE IN HUMAN EVOLUTION!?! (possibly gone sexual)

    • @davidcopson5800
      @davidcopson5800 Před 3 lety +1

      They also had a guy they claimed could fart for five minutes continuously. However, he ran out of gas and they called him the missing stink.

  • @withlessAsbestos
    @withlessAsbestos Před 4 lety +19

    6:55 he said nineteen sixties but the caption said 1800.

  • @cucharlie2006
    @cucharlie2006 Před 3 lety +1

    Thank you. Very informative.

  • @Jebbtube
    @Jebbtube Před 6 lety +63

    On the one hand, Barnum did give these folks a living and even fortune that they'd never have gotten otherwise.
    On the other hand, he was a swindler, and exploited these people to no end.

    • @dunno71
      @dunno71 Před 6 lety +1

      MagnuMagnus your right but that’s what helped him pay the performers well

    • @loomick
      @loomick Před 6 lety

      just like most corporations nowadays.

    • @rbrainsop1
      @rbrainsop1 Před 5 lety +6

      He didn't exploit them. The definition of exploit is to benefit UNFAIRLY from someone's work, either by overworking or underpaying them, and he did neither. Simply benefiting from something the modern mind finds distasteful is NOT exploitation

    • @WhyYouMadBoi
      @WhyYouMadBoi Před 5 lety

      It;s not exploiting if you're being paid extremely well. Its basically being paid for people to look at you and you light a cigarette

  • @RowanSteyn3D
    @RowanSteyn3D Před 6 lety +453

    who u calling a pinhead?

    • @calichef1962
      @calichef1962 Před 6 lety +8

      My mother and grandparents actually knew a circus performing pinhead who went by the stage name "Schlitzy the Pinhead." Apparently he was a very nice man, even if he was intellectually challenged. They also knew one of the clowns in the movie "The Greatest Show On Earth." Lefty Frizzel, the man who wrote the song, "Long, Black Veil," was their next-door neighbor for a time. Then I came along, and they never met another famous person, although I did speak to Susan St. James on the phone once when she was arranging the services of my grandparents' business.

    • @AnonyMous-vs2tq
      @AnonyMous-vs2tq Před 6 lety +16

      SANDY! NO

    • @giannegomed2209
      @giannegomed2209 Před 6 lety +18

      QuickscopingFTW
      I'M DIRTY DAN!

    • @martiqueheisler5959
      @martiqueheisler5959 Před 6 lety +9

      Son of Poseidon No, I'm Dirty Dan!

    • @gracefuller9554
      @gracefuller9554 Před 6 lety +7

      *casually punches Dirty Dan out of the way* Now its your turn, Pinhead Larry.

  • @badactor3440
    @badactor3440 Před 2 lety +3

    PT Barnum was a Saint. He made many people rich who would have otherwise been cursed with miserable lives.

  • @TheAcquibajo
    @TheAcquibajo Před 5 lety

    Great video!

  • @sandy4498
    @sandy4498 Před 5 lety +174

    We don't have side shows any more, we have reality shows now

  • @hallmonitor98
    @hallmonitor98 Před 6 lety +11

    Its nice to hear that Barnum actually paid these people well

  • @dr.rajasaurusandunclebonec6526

    When ppl see something like this on CZcams they'd probably expect the people mentioned to have a hard and tragic life,
    I'm glad all these guys had a happy and wealthy ending!

  • @apoorwtiwari5483
    @apoorwtiwari5483 Před 2 lety

    A very informative video it was.❤

  • @alexanderdawes1979
    @alexanderdawes1979 Před 5 lety +98

    Anyone else think Barnum looks a bit like Casey Neistat

  • @AshtonAndrews89
    @AshtonAndrews89 Před 6 lety +77

    Beetle juice from the Howard Stern show also suffers from the same condition as the “pin head”. Crazy to think not much has changed as far as exploitation goes. It’s really a tricky situation in the sense yes they’re wealthy having a life they would of never had without being made a joke of, but morally is this acceptable? Regardless I love Beet.

  • @davidmccann9811
    @davidmccann9811 Před rokem +2

    In London during the 1960s it was still quite common to call someone with messy hair, "The wild man/woman of Borneo." My dad used to sometimes call me this when I woke up in the morning.

  • @nathanpell-cook499
    @nathanpell-cook499 Před 4 lety

    Awesome video