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Isaac W. Sprague
Isaac W. Sprague (May 21, 1841 – January 5, 1887) was an entertainer and sideshow performer, billed as the living human skeleton. Biography He was born on May 21, 1841, in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Although normal for most of his childhood, Sprague began irreversibly losing weight at age 12 after feeling ill after swimming. The weight loss continued throughout his life despite having a healthy appetite.J Tithonus Pednaud"Isaac W. Sprague - The Original Living Skeleton" ''The Human Marvels'', June 29, 2016 His condition has been described by historians as extreme progressive muscular atrophy. This ultimately led to his death.M Asher Cantrell"The True Stories Behind 11 Famous Sideshow Performers", Mental Floss, June 28, 2016 /ref> Isaac bounced around from job to job during early adulthood. He worked as both a cobbler for his father and a grocer. However, his illness kept him from continuing down either of those career paths. His parents died and Sprague could not work eno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac W Sprague, Living Skeleton, 1867
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the son of Abraham and Sarah, the father of Jacob and Esau, and the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel. Isaac's name means "he will laugh", reflecting the laughter, in disbelief, of Abraham and Sarah, when told by God that they would have a child., He is the only patriarch whose name was not changed, and the only one who did not move out of Canaan. According to the narrative, he died aged 180, the longest-lived of the three patriarchs. Etymology The anglicized name "Isaac" is a transliteration of the Hebrew name () which literally means "He laughs/will laugh." Ugaritic texts dating from the 13th century BCE refer to the benevolent smile of the Canaanite deity El. Genesis, however, ascribes the laughter to Isaac's parents, Abrah ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
East Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,440 at the 2020 census. It is also a part of Massachusetts' 8th congressional district, of which it is represented by Stephen Lynch. History The lands that would become East Bridgewater were first settled by Europeans in 1630 as an outgrowth of the Plymouth and Duxbury plantations. It was a part of Olde Bridgewater, as the "East Parish" founded in 1723, until it officially separated from Bridgewater and incorporated on June 14, 1823. The town was located on the northern portion of the Taunton River, and had an economy primarily based on agriculture, though industrial development followed. Iron works in the town provided muskets and cannon for the Colonial armies during the American Revolution. There was more residential development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries along the community's rail and trolley lines. The famous bank robber Jack Turner had a brother who owned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Progressive Muscular Atrophy
Progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), also called Duchenne–Aran disease and Duchenne–Aran muscular atrophy, is a disorder characterised by the degeneration of lower motor neurons, resulting in generalised, progressive loss of muscle function. PMA is classified among motor neuron diseases (MND) where it is thought to account for around 4% of all MND cases. PMA affects only the lower motor neurons, in contrast to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common MND, which affects both the upper and lower motor neurons, or primary lateral sclerosis, another MND, which affects only the upper motor neurons. The distinction is important because PMA is associated with a better prognosis than ALS. Signs and symptoms As a result of lower motor neuron degeneration, the symptoms of PMA include: * muscle weakness * muscle atrophy * fasciculations Some patients have symptoms restricted only to the arms or legs (or in some cases just one of either). These cases are referred to as f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term ''circus'' also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1768, Astley, a skilled equestrian, began performing exhibitions of trick horse riding in an open field called Ha'Penny Hatch on the south side of the Thames River, England. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown to fill in the pauses between the equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus". Performances developed significantly over the next fifty years, with large-scale theat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sideshow
In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten sequential acts under one tent for a single admission price. The ten-in-one might be partly a freak show exhibiting "human oddities" (including "born freaks" such as midgets, giants or persons with other deformities, or "made freaks" like tattooed people, fat people or "human skeletons"- extremely thin men often "married" to the fat lady, like Isaac W. Sprague). However, for variety's sake, the acts in a ten-in-one would also include "working acts" who would perform magic tricks or daredevil stunts. In addition, the freak show performers might also perform acts or stunts, and would often sell souvenirs like "giant's rings" or "pitch cards" with their photos and life stories. The ten-in-one would often end in a "blowoff" or "ding," an extra act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barnum's American Museum
Barnum's American Museum was located at the corner of Broadway, Park Row, and Ann Street in what is now the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, from 1841 to 1865. The museum was owned by famous showman P. T. Barnum, who purchased Scudder's American Museum in 1841. The museum offered both strange and educational attractions and performances. Some were extremely reputable and historically or scientifically valuable, while others were less so. History In 1841, Barnum acquired the building and natural history collection of Scudder's American Museum for less than half of its appraised value with the financial support of Francis Olmsted, by quickly purchasing it the day after the soon to be buyers, the Peale Museum Company, failed to make their payment. He converted the five-story exterior into an advertisement lit with limelight. The museum opened on January 1, 1842. Its attractions made it a combination zoo, museum, lecture hall, wax museum, theater and freak show, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can induce asphyxia, all of which are characterized by the inability of a person to acquire sufficient oxygen through breathing for an extended period of time. Asphyxia can cause coma or death. In 2015, about 9.8 million cases of unintentional suffocation occurred which resulted in 35,600 deaths. The word asphyxia is from Ancient Greek "without" and , "squeeze" (throb of heart). Causes Situations that can cause asphyxia include but are not limited to: airway obstruction, the constriction or obstruction of airways, such as from asthma, laryngospasm, or simple blockage from the presence of foreign materials; from being in environments where oxygen is not readily accessible: such as underwater, in a low oxygen atmosphere, or in a vacuum; envir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_type2 = Counties , subdivision_name1 = Illinois , subdivision_name2 = Cook and DuPage , established_title = Settled , established_date = , established_title2 = Incorporated (city) , established_date2 = , founder = Jean Baptiste Point du Sable , government_type = Mayor–council , governing_body = Chicago City Council , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Lori Lightfoot ( D) , leader_title1 = City Clerk , leader_name1 = Anna Valencia ( D) , unit_pref = Imperial , area_footnotes = , area_tot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital media, digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as ''The Daily (podcast), The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones (publisher), George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won List of Pulitzer Prizes awarded to The New York Times, 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national "newspaper of record". For print it is ranked List of newspapers by circulation, 18th in the world by circulation and List of newspapers in the United States, 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is Public company, publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 189 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artie Atherton
Arthur "Artie" Atherton (born Charles Arthur Moll; January 30, 1890 – May 31, 1920) was an American entertainer, showman and circus sideshow performer during the early 20th century, who was billed as "the living human skeleton" or "skeleton dude". Biography He was born Charles Arthur Moll, in Saginaw, Michigan on January 30, 1890, weighing just at birth. Until the age of 6, his parents carried him around on a pillow due to his frailty. He used a wheelchair until the age of 10 and for greater mobility used crutches until the age of 17. He was the son of Alphons “Al” Moll (1871–1952) and Mary “Francis” Smith (1868–1949). His father was a salesman of dried goods from Pontiac, Michigan, of dual German parentage with roots back to Hamburg. His mother was born in Wallaceburg, Ontario. He joined the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1909, and took the stage name of Artie Atherton, working alongside many others like him with disabilities and unique physical traits, who were subjec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Robinson (sideshow Artist)
Peter Robinson (born April 8, 1873; credited professionally as The Living Skeleton or as The Cigarette Fiend, and The Thin Man), was an American theater and sideshow art performer, perhaps best known for his only film appearance in the Tod Browning cult film ''Freaks'', with a lengthy career in the carnival circus circuit at Coney Island and with Ringling Bros. He also appeared briefly in Broadway. He worked as a carnival sideshow entertainer, weighing in at 58 pounds. He had a career in that genre in the vein of circus thin man Isaac W. Sprague and Artie Atherton. He was married to fellow sideshow entertainer Baby Bunny Smith, a , circus fat lady. He married her numerous times for promotional purposes. He was also purported to be an expert harmonica player. Early life Robinson was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sideshow Performers
In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten sequential acts under one tent for a single admission price. The ten-in-one might be partly a freak show exhibiting "human oddities" (including "born freaks" such as midgets, giants or persons with other deformities, or "made freaks" like tattooed people, fat people or "human skeletons"- extremely thin men often "married" to the fat lady, like Isaac W. Sprague). However, for variety's sake, the acts in a ten-in-one would also include "working acts" who would perform magic tricks or daredevil stunts. In addition, the freak show performers might also perform acts or stunts, and would often sell souvenirs like "giant's rings" or "pitch cards" with their photos and life stories. The ten-in-one would often end in a "blowoff" or "ding," an extra act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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