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Home » Old-time

Old Time Activities That You Never See These Days

January 13, 2015 By This Blog Rules Guest Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered what people did in the old days for fun?

The truth is that old time hobbies and activities were even weirder than the stuff we do to pass the time these days.

Listening to Citizens Band Radios

Old Time Activities That You Never See These Days

My wacky uncle had a CB radio and used to get hours of entertainment out of it. At the time he seemed to me like the coolest guy with the best hobby in the world. However, now that I am no longer a dribbling toddler who can´t be trusted to go to the toilet alone I can see that I was utterly wrong. This is the worst hobby in the world. All he would do was sit in front of the contraption for long spells and listen to complete strangers utter random nonsense like “10-2 big boy, bird dog on the loose, affirmative”. What on Earth were they on about and why didn´t he just listen to a normal radio station with faintly less insane people talking through it?

Playing the Harmonica for Fun

Old Time Activities That You Never See These Days

When was the last time you saw someone younger than Bob Dylan or Neil Young play the harmonica for fun? That´s correct; 1924 is when. For some reason the act of blowing sweet, winsome music out of a piece of metal is a dying art. This is probably why no one gets called things like Blind Harmonica Wolf Boy or Blowing Bill Hickabilly these days.  Give a kid a harmonica just now and he´ll ask you where the USB port is, whether it is compatible with his digital boxers and whether it feeds directly to his Twitter account.       

Visiting the Morgue

Old Time Activities That You Never See These Days

If your ancestors lived in Paris in the 19th century then there is a good chance that they spent some time peering at dead bodies. This quaint old time hobby started when the local morgue was built near tourist attractions like Notre Dame Cathedral and the Seine. It had a glass wall built into it and theatrical style curtains at either end. The morgue got pretty famous among thrill seekers who wanted to see dead French dudes on slabs, which was probably pretty much everyone in those days.

Hoop Rolling

Old Time Activities That You Never See These Days

The gentle pleasure of rolling a hoop along the street with the help of a stick is one of those hobbies that time has robbed us of. To be fair, this is a still a valid pastime in some Third World countries but everywhere else it is something that simply doesn´t exist anymore. If you don´t believe me then try the following test. Take a random 10 year old boy. Hand him a hoop and a small stick and tell him to take the hoop down the street in the most effective and fun way possible. After he has beaten to you to a pulp with the stick he will contact Uber on his iPhone and get a private hire vehicle to transport the hoop to the end of the street. Fact. 

Pistol Dueling

Old Time Activities That You Never See These Days

Wouldn´t you have loved to have lived in the days when the most sensible comeback to someone insulting you was to challenge them to a pistol duel at dawn? Probably my favorite internet myth of all time is that in Paraguay it is legal to carry out a pistol duel as long as both combatants are registered blood donors. In fact, it might be true for all I know but the world can´t possibly be as much fun as that, I don´t think.

Filed Under: strange news Tagged With: activities, old time activities, Old-time

5 of the Most Incredible Old-time Circus Freak Show Acts

July 13, 2014 By This Blog Rules Guest Leave a Comment

The days of circus freak show acts are long gone, which is no bad thing really. However, it is very interesting to look back at some of the incredible old-time circus acts that once took people’s breath away and made them recoil in horror in the past.

James Morris and His Elastic Skin

Incredible Old-time Circus Freak Show Acts

This guy was known as the India Rubber Man or the Elastic Skin Wonder due to the fact that he could pull his skin and stretch it so far out. He was said to be able to pull the skin from his neck over his ears, which is a pretty cool thing to be able to do when you think about it. He joined the Barnum circus and earned a living from this bizarre ability. As with most of the famous circus freak shows acts from the past, there is a sensible scientific explanation for it. In this case, Morris has something known as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Mary Ann Bevan – The Ugly Woman

Incredible Old-time Circus Freak Show Acts

This woman became a widow at the start of the First World War and took on a farm labouring job near London while disguised as a man. To be fair, it probably didn’t take that much of a disguise going by this photo. She was talked into entering a beauty contest and, perhaps unsurprisingly, didn’t win. However, her lack of beauty led to her being offered the chance to join travelling fairs, billed as the Ugliest Woman in London. Her fame then grew and she travelled all over the world in shows. She seems to have been happy enough, calling her ugliness “a blessing”.

Josephene Myrtle Corbin and Her Extra Legs

Incredible Old-time Circus Freak Show Acts

It’s pretty clear why this lady became famous. Doctors in the 19th century called her a “dipygus dibrachius tetrapus” and even a “monster by fusion”. However, to put it in simpler terms, she had 4 legs. She could move the two inner legs but they were said to be unsuitable for walking on, as they were too weak. At 13 years of age she joined circus shows as the Four Legged girl from Texas. In later life her condition didn’t stop her from having children of her own.

Madame Clofullia – The Bearded Lady

Incredible Old-time Circus Freak Show Acts

The bearded lady is one of the classic circus show freak acts and Madame Clofullia (born in Switzerland as Josephine Boisdechêne) was one of the most famous. By the time she was 8 she had a 2 inch beard and before long she was touring Europe to show off her unusual looks. She was given a giant diamond by Napoleon III and then went on to tour in the US with Barnum. She ended up in court; accused of being a man in disguise but it was proven that she really was a woman. At one point her beard measured 6 inches.

Ella Harper – The Camel Girl

Incredible Old-time Circus Freak Show Acts

At first sight Ella Harper might not look like she has much to offer a circus but just look at those legs. The bizarre ability that she had was that of being able to bend her knees forwards and walk around on all fours like. She became the Camel Girl for a few years before seemingly giving up the freak show circuit to go to school. The medical term for her condition is now known as congenital genu recurvatum.

Filed Under: strange news, top list Tagged With: Circus, Freak Show Acts, Incredible, Old-time

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