10 SIDESHOW FREAKS That REALLY EXISTED!! A 4-Legged Woman.. THE ELEPHANT MAN!!!!

It's a sad reality that on occasion a human being is born with a deformity or abnormality that effects their physical appearance and in turn their ability to live a normal life. For thousands of years, in the most severe cases, one of the only ways the individual could actually make a living was by being exhibited to the public. Crowds would flock to these exhibitions and witness these individuals, known as freaks, at what would become known as freak shows or sideshows.
As far as back as the 17th century, Lazarus Colloredo would tour Europe, along with his parasitic twin brother, Joannes Baptista, who protruded out of the chest of Lazarus, but could not speak or open his eyes. Rumor had it that if you poked Joaness in the chest, he would squirm or shake his hands.

These sideshows reached their peak in the 19th Century in both the United States and Europe, during a time when photography first existed, so many of these individuals have been captured on camera or film, as the massive popularity of freak shows continued into the early 20th century.
Traveling exhibitions, circuses, fairs, carnivals and dime museums charged curious individuals to see some of these performers up close and in person and made a fortune. There was more than just "natural freaks," as they were called - those with physical abnormalities. There were also self-made freaks like people with extreme tattoos and piercings, along with exotic curiosities from places like Africa promoted as savages or cannibals. Oftentimes, they were just performers born locally putting on an act, but the paying customer was none the wiser.

These freak shows began to fall out of popularity in the mid-20th century as scholars argued against exploiting people with disabilities for profit. They were worked long hours with grueling travel schedules and were paid just a small percentage of the profits. Most people never attended these shows to make fun of the performers, rather to see an entertaining show that the human oddities would perform. Nevertheless, the general population began to see the exploitative nature of the freak shows and the changing attitudes led to a decline in their popularity. Today, these types of shows exist in a different form, with the performers having more control of their own careers. The re-emergence of the old sideshow exists today and in recent times with performers like the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, the Happy Side Show, Tokyo Shock Boys, and many others. In today's video, we will look back at 10 of the most popular sideshow performers of the 19th and early 20th century, during a time when the sideshow was at its most popular.

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Annie Jones - the Bearded Woman
Isaac Sprague - the Living Skeleton
Four-legged Lady Myrtle Corbin
The Hilton Sisters
Stephan Bibrowski - Lionel the Lion Faced Man
Frank Lentini - the Three Legged Wonder
General Tom Thumb
Schlitzie the Pinhead
Grady Stiles - The Lobster Boy
Joseph Merrick - THE ELEPHANT MAN