Time to run away and join the circus! But first, join us for a discussion of P.T Barnum on episode twenty-two of the Doneson podcast. P.T Barnum was a showman and a politician but was perhaps most well-known for his world-famous Barnum & Bailey Circus. His motto was that no one got ahead by being the same as everyone else, and with that in mind, he definitely was an original. Known for creating outlandish events that entertained the masses-his most famous being that of the 161-year-old blind slave who supposedly was the nurse to George Washington. Although obviously false, it was a success nonetheless.
Barnum made his mark by selling tickets to scandalous shows featuring the bearded lady, the human caterpillar and Jumbo the elephant, just to name a few. He also proved the safety of the Brooklyn bridge by walking elephants and camels across it and introduced American society to higher culture by bringing over a European opera singer. If ever there was an opportunity to be in the spotlight, P.T Barnum took it and made it his own. However, in doing so he also created large scale hoaxes that duped the public. It raises the question-Is entertainment at the price of truth, acceptable? Was P.T Barnum just an upscale con artist or a true entertainer?
