Carnival Midway Melodies and Memories

March 10, 2012 By Editor

Memories On The Carnival Midway

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This page is for those who chase Ferris Wheels in the summer sun across this great land of ours. It’s for sharing great jackpots, bits of history and personal reflections. It is always wonderful to be able to share your stories too. They keep our rich and colorful history alive and entertaining.

Be sure to send in your stories by emailing me your contributions and after I’ll review it, andget it up here A S A P for everyone to enjoy.

International Independent Showmens Museum

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International Independent Showmens Museum

The Cardiff Giant is one of the most famous hoaxes in American history. It was a 10-foot-tall purported "petrified man", uncovered on October 16 1869 by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. "Stub" Newell, in Cardiff, New York. The giant was the creation of a New York tobacconist named George Hull. He was an ardent believer in science, especially in the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin. Hull, an atheist, got into an argument with a fundamentalist minister named Reverend Turk and his supporters at a Methodist revival meeting about a Bible passage (Genesis 6:4) which states that there were giants who once lived on Earth. Hull lost the argument to the fervent congregation and was quite miffed. Hull decided he wanted to prove how easily he could fool people with a fake giant so in 1868, Hull, accompanied by a man named H.B. Martin, hired men to quarry out a 10-foot-4.5-inch-long block of gypsum in Fort Dodge, Iowa, telling them it was intended for a monument to Abraham Lincoln in New York. He shipped the block to Edward Burghardt in Chicago, a German stonecutter he had sworn to secrecy. Burghardt hired two sculptors, Henry Salle and Fred Mohrmann, to create the giant. They had taken cautious steps to cover up their work during the carving, putting up quilts to lessen the sound of carving. For the giant to look ancient, various stains and acids were used to make the giant appear to be old and weathered, then buried the "Gaff" behind the barn and waited until he thought the time was right to unveil it. It initially caused a lot of speculation both pro and con and opinions abounded as to its validity by "experts" and it even resulted in a court ruling.On December 10, 1869, Hull confessed everything to the press.The Cardiff Giant was displayed at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition but did not attract much attention.Iowa publisher Gardner Cowles, Jr. bought it later to adorn his basement rumpus room as a coffee table and conversation piece. In 1947 he sold it to the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, New York, where it's still displayed. These Cardiff Giant "gaffs" were extensively used on carnival midways as stand-alone side shows from the early 1900s, right through the latter part of the 20th century. Incidentally, we have a pretty good "Cardiff Giant" of our own going under another name that's displayed here at the sideshow exhibit at the Showmen's Museum. ... See MoreSee Less

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Carnival Midway Melodies and Memories

Memories On The Carnival Midway

Share Your Jackpots!

Great Hilliar’s Mentalist Show

Early Forms of Entertainment In America

Showbiz And The Big Screen

Memories On The Carnival Midway

Share Your Jackpots!

Magic Acts

Carnivals

Carnival Movies