Secrets of the Flea Circus

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ค. 2024
  • Tim Cockerill is an entomologist by day and a circus performer by night. It seems only natural that he would become fascinated by the flea circus. Did they use real fleas? How did they work? What do you feed a flea? He tells us what he found, illustrated by his amazing collection of flea circus props and ephemera.
    Created to support the Miniatures event at Wellcome Collection on 19th January 2011 which will feature a modern day flea circus. For more information see www.wellcomecollection.org/wha....
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ความคิดเห็น • 57

  • @0biRonKenobi
    @0biRonKenobi 4 ปีที่แล้ว +80

    I started out watching videos of the Red Hot Chili peppers, then interviews with Flea and the band, and now I'm watching a video of actually fleas doing a circus. Thanks TH-cam! 👌

    • @melizmatea
      @melizmatea 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      That's hilarious! I've followed that sort of TH-cam quicksand trajectory before...you start at A and end at god know where...

  • @Brad-lt6mr
    @Brad-lt6mr 8 ปีที่แล้ว +73

    I'm glad it's not just me who's interested in this.

  • @IDKJeanHuh
    @IDKJeanHuh 7 ปีที่แล้ว +60

    I looked at the video because this dude looked like Steve from Blue's Clues lol

    • @anthomyhernandez7920
      @anthomyhernandez7920 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Jean Slice I came here checking if anybody commented on that yet

    • @MrOrgeston
      @MrOrgeston 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Same here.

  • @marsbars4767
    @marsbars4767 6 ปีที่แล้ว +105

    I always thought a flea circus was a metaphor of some sort not literal fleas in a circus

  • @sebastianelytron8450
    @sebastianelytron8450 5 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    I've seen a lot of weird shit in my life, but this? Good lord, this takes every cake in existence.

  • @gabe-po9yi
    @gabe-po9yi 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Absolutely fascinating. I first heard of flea circuses about 50 some odd years ago and always wondered what they were all about. Thanks to the Internet I finally find out. Your video is excellent - very comprehensive and informative. Great job!

  • @1schwererziehbar1
    @1schwererziehbar1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    "I live off them and they live off me."

    • @vofcups2836
      @vofcups2836 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I very loudly said "Nooo!" When he said that. 😱

  • @generaltso5592
    @generaltso5592 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Where's a flea rights activist when you need one

  • @UnwantedSteel
    @UnwantedSteel 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    So this is where my struggle of sleep left me

  • @cass_p
    @cass_p 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Thanks for this - I always wondered about the mechanics of the flea circus. Its interesting how an audience can attribute intentional performance where there is none - I used work with a troupe of "performing turtles" and really it was all about staging so that whatever the turtles did of their own accord was packaged as performance.

  • @zelphx
    @zelphx 5 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Now THAT was ridicu-louse!

  • @jessiejohnson8959
    @jessiejohnson8959 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I went to flea circus as a child,tonight talking to my mom she remembered going as a child!
    My bloke could not believe us!thought we were conded to believe!
    So it is GREAT to find your TH-cam😂

  • @BlackCatVestie
    @BlackCatVestie 8 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    This video made me itch so much

    • @sfncheko
      @sfncheko 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I thought I was the only one..

  • @KanonHara
    @KanonHara 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    this guy is pretty passionate about fleas

    • @mesofius
      @mesofius 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      who isn't...

  • @NiallMoranClan
    @NiallMoranClan 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    This is insane! Letting the fleas feed off of him! Mad

  • @Spaethon
    @Spaethon 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Amazing. Thank you. Ive seen flea circus stuff in movies from the 1800s and was always intrigued by the flea circus. I assume they arent "trained" but are using their instincts, which is primarily through the use of their incredible leg strength. I didn't realize they didn't use dog or cat fleas. I actually didnt think there was a difference between the two. But they use human fleas. I always thought a flea was simply a flea. Fascinating.

    • @thefluffyneko4450
      @thefluffyneko4450 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Fleas actually don't even have proper brains and function on a collection of nervs and react purely by reflex. These shows are essentially a magic trick and sometimes they didn't even have fleas anywhere near the performance.

    • @mesofius
      @mesofius 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      ah, yes, all those movies from the 1800s about flea circuses

  • @LindaG
    @LindaG 12 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Very interesting. But why didn't they show a performance?

  • @melizmatea
    @melizmatea 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I can't believe they got collars on them. That is insane! I thought they were impaled on the wires, which is kind of awful, even though they are fleas! I would never have guessed they had collars!

  • @anngarbo
    @anngarbo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Where do you keep the fleas when there not performing?

  • @jordanlucasthemusician
    @jordanlucasthemusician 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    thats cool steve from blues clues is still keeping busy

  • @alle6621
    @alle6621 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Bet Europe hated the flea circus.. gave them flashbacks to the bubonic plaque

  • @Seabird0904
    @Seabird0904 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The Julia A. Purnell Museum in Snow Hill has fleas dressed in tiny clothes. ❤️

  • @TrapperAaron
    @TrapperAaron 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Im almost 40 years old ive seen flea circuses when i was a kid. But never have i seen one w real fleas. It was my understanding the flea circus was always a bit of humbug as Barnum would say.

  • @TheLabrat67
    @TheLabrat67 11 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    just heard of the german flea circus deaths ,unbelievable, the whole troop wiped out ,very sad indeed .

  • @trinityramirez3567
    @trinityramirez3567 10 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Hehe I peed! This is so cute and funny little tiny fleas :3

  • @ThatsRight1001
    @ThatsRight1001 9 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Which secrets exactly were shown here?

    • @hansendesigns
      @hansendesigns 8 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      +ThatsRight1001 that it wasnt all magnets and sleight of hand like it is now. and that we cant imagine it because we've only seen tiny cat and dog fleas. though without a demo, you never know

  • @l1ghtbl4d3x
    @l1ghtbl4d3x 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    im surprised, going on a random video spree, I was watching a spider being tased and beamed to death with a laser with tons of people crying insect abuse? shouldn't they be prowling here too?

    • @lampshade8818
      @lampshade8818 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Kevin Soh Why the question mark on the first sentence? What question are you asking?

  • @sujoms
    @sujoms 10 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I fucking hate fleas...

  • @rollacoastaride1937
    @rollacoastaride1937 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    don't they ever try to escape like Nelly the Elephant? just imagine calling out the police helicopter to search for your superstar flea,,,,? wow, there's a good movie plot in there somewhere, I swear, My old dog (R.I.P) could dispatch his fleas out like little messengers, and they would go back to him, obviously for some munchies

  • @belindaspechtenhauser6621
    @belindaspechtenhauser6621 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Weemikie, You couldn't of expressed the truth in better words. Creapy how certain individuals minds disfucton.

  • @mesofius
    @mesofius 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Sounds pretty gruesome and not fun, to be perfectly honest.

  • @weemikey70
    @weemikey70 11 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Very interesting document. However, there are obvious ethical implications here in meddling with other creatures' livelihoods for the sake of science and entertainment.
    "A man is truly ethical" wrote Albert Schweitzer, "only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives."
    As a human being first (before a scientist), would you not agree?