Know it All

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The costume of a circus ringmaster is designed to look like a gentleman’s riding habit of the 18th century.

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One of the most frequently asked questions of sword swallowers is if they need to get their tonsils removed. The answer is no.

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P.T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum (1810-1891) began his career in showbiz in 1835. He bought a slave named Joice Heth, who claimed that she was 161 years old and had been the nurse of George Washington. Barnum charged admission to see her and was soon making $750 a week.

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Jo Jo the Dog-Faced Boy and Mandog were Fedor Jeftichew (born 1868) and his father. The Russian men both had hypertrichosis — their entire bodies were covered in hair. P.T. Barnum, made them famous in his circus sideshow.

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The 1952 movie "The Greatest Show on Earth” starred Charlton Heston (born 1924) as a circus manager. The film was produced, directed and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959).

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We have all heard of the Ringling Brothers, but do you know how many brothers there were? See answer at end.

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Harry (1902-1985), Daisy (1907-1980), Gracie (unknown-1970) and Tiny (1914-2004) Doll were four dwarf siblings who sang and danced in circus sideshows from the 1920s until their retirement in the mid-1950s. All four were Munchkins in "The Wizard of Oz” (1939).

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The dining car on a circus train is called the Pie Car.

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Circus Peanuts, orange marshmallow candy, are banana flavored.

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In 1963, as an experiment, a product developer at General Mills added bits of his favorite candy to a bowl of Cheerios. The candy was Circus Peanuts. He invented Lucky Charms.

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A good luck charm for circus performers is hairs plucked from an elephant’s tail braided into a bracelet.

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George Hackenschmidt (1878-1968) was a strongman and the World Champion of wrestling in 1905. Over the next three years, Hackenschmidt, known as "The Russian Lion,” was undefeated in 3000 wrestling matches.

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American animal trainer Isaac Van Amburgh (1800-1868) was the first man to put his head in a lion’s mouth. Amburgh performed for Queen Victoria in 1868.

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Rosa and Josefa Blazek, born in Czechoslovakia in 1878, were conjoined twins, joined at the hip. Rosa shocked the world when she had a baby. The baby was born out of wedlock, another shock. However, she was not able to get a marriage license because marriage to a conjoined twin was considered bigamy.

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"Monty Python’s Flying Circus” (1969-1974) was a comedy sketch television show in Britain. Some titles that were originally considered for the show were "Owl Stretching Time” and "Bun, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot.”

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In the 1870s, Leander Sawyer trained circus horses in the land around what is now Crystal Springs Reservoir. Sawyer also provided food and lodging to travelers on a trail between Half Moon Bay and San Francisco. The trail is now named after him, the Sawyer Camp Trail.

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Answer: There were five brothers in the Ringling family. They were Albert (1852-1916), Otto (1858-1911), Alfred (1861-1919), Charles (1863-1926) and John (1886-1936). The brothers began their entertainment business in 1884 with a traveling wagon show. They bought out their main competition — Barnum & Bailey Circus — in 1907. By 1930, Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus was the largest circus in the world.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? E-mail knowitall@smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 x114.