
The Spectacular P. T. Barnum - evilsimon
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/08/pt-barnum-biography-robert-wilson/592780/
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WheelsAtLarge
Here's a Barnum story that in my mind illustrate his genius for marketing.
This is from, "The 48 laws of power by Robert Green."

"Barnum’s first big venture of his own was the American Museum—a collection of
curiosities, located in New York. One day a beggar approached Barnum in the
street. Instead of giving him money, Barnum decided to employ him. Taking him
back to the museum, he gave the man five bricks and told him to make a slow
circuit of several blocks. At certain points he was to lay down a brick on the
sidewalk, always keeping one brick in hand. On the return journey he was to
replace each brick on the street with the one he held. Meanwhile he was to
remain serious of countenance and to answer no questions. Once back at the
museum, he was to enter, walk around then leave through the back door and make
the same bricklaying circuit again. On the man’s first walk through the
streets, several hundred people watched his mysterious movements. By his
fourth circuit, onlookers swarmed around him, debating what he was doing.
Every time he entered the museum he was followed by people who bought tickets
to keep watching him. Many of them were distracted by the museum’s
collections, and stayed inside. By the end of the first day, the brick man had
drawn over a thousand people into the museum. "

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lostlogin
What would happen if someone tried this now?

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Kaibeezy
Always enjoyed his: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the
American public." I'm sure he'd be as disappointed as I was to hear it's
actually an H.L. Mencken line.

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carapace
"The Art of Money Getting"

[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8581](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8581)

-or-

[https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/p-t-barnum/the-art-of-
mone...](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/p-t-barnum/the-art-of-money-
getting)

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russellbeattie
"He was a great galumphing racist."

Well, gosh golly and gee willickers! That old rascal!

I don't think anyone benefits from this sort of white-washing the past. How
about taking the topic seriously and writing, "Sadly, he was an unrepentant
racist who literally bought or kidnapped his 'performers' before exploiting
their racial differences or physical deformities. This was not a good man."

Honestly, I stopped reading after that. I have no desire to read some
revisionist history puff piece about such a horrible human being.

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tinus_hn
This is one of those places in Barnum’s story where a modern sensibility must
struggle to understand him.

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spking
I was shocked to find out P.T. Barnum didn't even get into the circus business
until he was in his 60s.

