Category
page 1Sideshow attractions
Mike the Headless Chicken
chicken
human zoo
public exhibit of members of a foreign nation
fire breathing
act of making a plume or stream of fire by creating a precise mist of fuel from the mouth over an open flame
bearded lady
a woman with a beard; historically, such women earned their income as a circus-like attraction
Wall of death
a carnival sideshow with motorcycles riding along a vertical wall
sword swallowing
performance skill
Cardiff Giant
nineteenth century US hoax
flea circus
circus sideshow attraction in which fleas are attached (or appear to be attached) to miniature carts and other items, and encouraged to perform circus acts within a small housing
Fiji mermaid
fake mummified body of a half-mammal half-fish
fire eating
the act of putting a flaming object into the mouth and extinguishing it, either as a part of Hindu, Sadhu, or Fakir performance to show spiritual attainment, or as a sideshow or circus act (starting in the late 1880s)
Elmer McCurdy
American outlaw
Alice Elizabeth Doherty
Sideshow performer
bed of nails
oblong piece of wood, the size of a bed, with nails pointing upwards out of it
Minnesota Iceman
hoax