Strange and unusual rides past involving animals

In the past, the strange and unusual attractions involving animals were part of everyday life. You can engage in battle with octopus, to become a witness of how the dead whale exhibit in car parks or scientists (presumably) the pigs to read your mind.

Today we have other activities such as, for example, the Theater Cat Kuklachev or contest bee beards. But can anything from today to beat the strange and fascinating attractions of bygone days? ..

10. Levodrom (Lion Drome)

In 1930 motodrom have become extremely interesting (and even dangerous) place. Some stuntmen trained lions sit in a specially built wheelchair, and then raced at high speed together with the animal, who was sitting beside him. Such races arranged at a speed of 130 km / h on almost vertical wall motodrom track, known as "wall of death."

Do you want to - believe it or - no, but sometimes even that was not enough for the riders and spectators. In such cases, additional entries thrill-called "struggle for life" ( "Race For Life"). Trained lions specifically exempted from the cell and had to run for the move by motorcyclists trying to hit them with his huge paws.

Last Levodrom was closed in 1964, when a drunken employee attraction shoved his hand into a cage with a lion named King (King), who, in obedience to natural instinct, a bit off it.

9. Scientists pigs

In the XVIII and XIX centuries attraction "scientists pig" was a popular form of entertainment, it attracts a huge number of viewers both in England and in the United States. The owners have trained their "scientists pigs" more spectacular tricks: pigs demonstrated his ability to write and read using the cards to tell the time of day, to distinguish the sex of the person and allegedly even read the thoughts of the audience members. Due to payment and rates that pet owners were getting pretty good income. And it was well-deserved, because training pigs took up to two years.

Many people have published work on preparation of pigs, revealing the techniques that were used trainers. For example, pig encouraged to move in a certain direction with a special stick and taught to choose the cards that smelled food.

8. Flea Circus

"Flea Circus", otherwise known as "the smallest circus in the world" was a popular attraction at a sideshow Victorian period. Fleas, dressed in tiny costumes perform various circus tricks such as walking a tightrope, race, juggling and horse carriages and carts in a cab, and as a horse.

Flea Circus performed at the arena the size of a dinner plate. It was surrounded by a small box, which served as home to the "artists" and "garage" for their carts and carriages.

The audience consisted of a single person with a magnifying glass and the circus owner, who was standing nearby, armed with a pair of tweezers in case any of the fleas will misbehave.

It was believed that the flea circus had outstanding mental abilities, but to teach them was not easy. However, recent reports suggest that it was most likely "mole flea" - less energetic species of insect. They harnessed a thin piece of gold wire and pushes with a heat lamp.

7. The show geeks (Geek Show)

At the beginning of the XX century "geeks" farce called street actors, whose specialty was that they bit off the heads of live animals (usually it was chicken or snake) and drank their blood.

"Show geeks" often inspires fear that normal people in the audience, too, could become the same, because the geeks in the rest were ordinary people. Most of these were men, although women booms, which were very small, especially valued because the participation of women in such a brutal representation was rare.

Geeks often broke their teeth and even the jaw, and the constant interaction with the animals in the immediate vicinity meant that the booms are often suffering from diseases of animals. In addition, they were paid very little money, because it was replaced quickly and easily.

6. The fight with the bear

In the early 1900s, the struggle with the bear has been a popular sport that attracted huge crowds, especially in the southern United States. Bear often fought with a specific wrestler, usually its owner or trainer. Together they performed a kind of choreographic competition, there is the road that it could see everyone.

Sometimes a bear trained to deal with another person who acted as a coward and lost the match in favor of the bears. And sometimes face off with the bear invite someone from the audience. And if such a person was able to overcome the bear, he received a cash prize. Of course, most wrestlers bears were deprived of teeth and claws.

5. dives horse

A popular attraction is the mid-1880s under the name "horse dive" consisted in the fact that the horse jumped into the pond, sometimes with a height of 20 meters. This idea was invented by William "Doc" Carver (William "Doc" Carver), when he crossed the bridge that partially collapsed, and his horse fell from the bridge into the water. After the Second World War, the popularity of the attraction to the diving horses decreased due to criticism from animal welfare activists. Sometimes the horses were forced to dive up to four times a day, seven days a week. Owners show also accused of using electric current and the trapdoor to get to jump into the water the horses, who did not want to do it on their own.

4. octopus wrestling

octopus wrestling was curious sport that has been popular in Puget Sound (Puget Sound) in Washington in 1950-1960. In 1963 there was held the International Championship of the fight with an octopus, which was attended by 111 divers.

Divers engage in battle with octopus, pulls them onto the water surface to give points depending on the weight of the animal, and equipment used.

However, the octopus wrestling really was not a struggle as such. Divers just sticks his hand in the sea basin and there groping octopus head. diver octopus then pulled over until until he unhooks its tentacles, allowing a person to hold on to its surface.

Giant octopus - a timid creature, so most of provocations ended with the octopus resisted or fled.

3. Inserting ferrets pants (Ferret-Legging)

"Inserting ferret in your pants" - is a game that consisted in the fact that the participants live ferrets pushed down the leg. Trousers should have been tied in the ankle area so animals can not escape.

Pants also had to be sufficiently large to allow ferrets to move freely. In addition, under the pants were forbidden to wear underwear. Teeth and claws ferrets could not "neutralize" as well as any ferret, no competitor was not to be under the influence of drugs. game winner is the person who was able to withstand the longest pain that caused him weasel with its teeth and claws. In the past, hunters sent ferrets muzzled in hare and wormholes to the scare. However, this kind of hunting was banned in the Middle Ages, and the hunters started hiding ferret in his pants to discreetly carry them past the rangers. Ultimately "zasovyvanie ferrets in trousers" was a sport that is widely practiced in the UK, particularly among yorkshirkskih miners in the 1970s.

2. The dead whales

In 1950-70-ies of the tour, during which showed the dead whales, have been a popular attraction that attracted the attention of thousands of people in Britain and the United States.

Three main surviving whales in the UK called Goliath (Goliath), Jonah (Jonah) and Hercules (Hercules). They are shown on the car parks and large grassy areas, such as racetracks.

For an entrance fee of curious spectators could see the whales and the various instruments of death, such as a harpoon whaling and other tools. Initially, these whales were caught near the Norwegian coast and drove across Europe to promote whaling after World War II.

Over time, the whales were sold attractions owners who rated their financial capacity.

1. Dropping goats

On the fourth Sunday of January in the Spanish countryside manganeses de la polvorosa (Manganeses de la Polvorosa) in honor of St. Vincent, patron of the city, a goat shed with the church tower.

Traditionally, the live goat climb to the top 15-meter church tower and dumped on the crowd of people standing at the bottom of that catch the animal by a tarpaulin.

According to local legend, once the priest was a special goat that fed all the poor people in the village with her milk. One day a goat accidentally climbed the church tower and was so scared of the church bells that played Sunday Mass, which fell down on the street. Amazingly, the goat caught in a blanket and saved. Thus, the tradition of dropping the goat was to be a miraculous escape. Today, this tradition is no longer practiced because of complaints from animal rights activists. As you might guess, the residents actively express dissatisfaction with this. Ostensibly, and the mayor said that the event without dropping a goat, like Christmas without a Christmas tree.