By the time American circuses achieved their massive character in the 1870s, the menagerie was a major feature.  They were exhibits held in separate tents from the primary circus and audiences had to pass through them on the way to the “big top.”  At first, they featured unusual animals like elephants, camels and zebras. If you were really lucky you could see rhinoceroses or giraffes.  It was kind of like having the zoo brought right to your town.

Soon, these sideshows became a much bigger part of the circus.  And they shied away from zebras and elephants and instead focused on acts much more akin to the Elephant Man. 

Widely credited with coining the adage "There's a sucker born every minute" P.T. Barnum was a major influence in sideshow development, having demonstrated their popularity at his American Museum.   His Museum of oddities would mutate into something different and give birth to exhibitions of biological rarities for the amusement of the masses.  Once upon a time - Sideshows were the worst.


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