Best Of

In my earlier days, I came across what I called 'The Invisible Flea Trick'. It had a small box as a platform, maybe 8"Lx4"Wx2"H, with an open bottom. On the platform was a ladder, 12" tall, with a diving board at the top. Next to the ladder was a small swimming pool with water in it.

The diving board had a small string attached to it, running up the side of the ladder, hidden from the viewers, which would make the board go down and spring back to its resting position. The swimming pool had a spring-loaded flipper under it, which would make the water splash.

The operator would convince the crowd that his trained fleas were circus performers and so tiny they were practically invisible. He would announce that the flea was ready for the act and describe how it was climbing the ladder. Then, once the flea was "on the diving board", you guessed it; he would pull the string, making the board bounce, and flip the flipper to splash the water.

Truth be told, I don't know if this was an actual memory or an idea I came up with as a young hippy. But it would be an awesome thing to pull our with grandkids or the children in the neighborhood, right?

Looking for a job? Start a flea circus. Here's how:

Training Fleas

“Mr. Bertolotto, the well-known educator of the flea, is now in New York exhibiting his curious success. The insect he employs appears to be the species of flea common to dogs. The first lesson, he says, is to put the fleas in a small circular glass box, where, by jumping and knocking their heads against the glass for a day or two, the idea is finally beaten into them that it is useless to jump. During the remainder of their natural lives—about eight months—they are content to crawl.

The instructor then fastens a delicate pair of wire nippers to the middle of the flea’s body; to the nippers any desired form of miniature vehicle, such as a wheelbarrow, car or wagon, is attached, and the flea trots away with the load. The professor harnesses his insect pupils to perform many curious duties, such as the operation of a fortune-telling wheel, orchestra playing or racing. The fleas are allowed to feed twice daily upon the instructor’s arm.”
--Scientific American Magazine, 1875

“The only way to deal with this life meaningfully is to find a way to laugh at it.”
— Albert Camus

edit: LOL