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freaks!!!
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Of course it may have gone on, but circus 'freaks' such as Zip the Pinhead, Chang and Eng Bunker (The Siamese Twins), Jim Tarver (the Texas Giant), Jack Earle (Tallest Man in the World) and Madame Olga (the Bearded Lady) were all born with their condition (the word freak is rather pejorative).
Zip (William Henry Johnson) was born to a very poor African-American family, his unusual appearance caused many to believe that he was a "pinhead", or microcephalic. Microcephalics are characterized by a small, tapering cranium and impaired mental faculty. William Henry though was not mentally deficient.
Zip's early performances were set against a background story. It was told to the audience that a tribe of "missing links" had been discovered in Africa, and that Zip was one of these. It was further explained that the "wild man", the "What-Is-It", subsisted on raw meat, nuts, and fruit, but was learning to eat more civilized fare such as bread and cake.
Zip would then be revealed in a cage where he could rattle the bars and screech. It is estimated that during his 67 years in show business, Zip entertained more than one hundred million people. He was termed "The Dean of Freaks" and became a shy hero when he rescued a drowning girl from the ocean near Coney Island in 1925.
He died in 1926 aged 84. His last words were to his sister, Mrs. Van Duyne. He is quoted as saying, "Well, we fooled 'em for a long time!"