The flea circus, which I had always assumed comprised entirely of mechanical (and well synchronised) gymnastic apparatus, is apparently completely real! This may not surprise or worry you, but I've seen The City of Lost Children too many times to not discover more...
So, which flea to use? The connoisseur's choice seems to be the female human flea Pulex irritans, which grows to around 4mm long. To begin with, they must be trained to not jump, which is achieved simply by keeping them in a jar with a lid. Apparently, after repeatedly hitting their head on the lid of the jar, they learn to jump to a lesser height and never regain the ability to jump any higher. Next, a harness (!) of gold thread is tied around their neck (!), which allows you to hilariously tether them to whatever mechanical contraption you have to hand. The 'Chariot Race' seems to be a popular choice [1].
Unfortunately, not all fleas get to spend their lives tethered to chariots for our amusement. At one time fleas were actually glued down to a scene with musical instruments glued to their limbs, with the entire scene heated so that their agonised flailing be made to look like a performance [2].
To be honest, the whole thing freaks me out...
[1] http://www.noonco.com/flea/agitators_streaming.htm
[2] http://www.noonco.com/flea/faq.htm
Image graciously provided by Reilly Stroope
1 comment:
You can find out a whole lot more about flea circuses at the Flea Circus Research Library. Includes a history, disasters, fleas in advertising, books and film and a directory so you can find your local flea circus performer.
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