THE P. T. BARNUM HALL OF FAME
(or)
“There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute”
(or)
“There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute”
THE GREAT HOAX
“…P. T. Barnum is most often associated with the circus sideshow and the display of freaks. While this is true, he is also the founding force behind one of America's most famous circuses: Barnum & Bailey Circus. Barnum is also affiliated with the famous quote "There's a sucker born every minute." History, unfortunately, has misdirected this quotation. Barnum never did say it. Actually, it was said by his competitor. Here's the incredible story….
From 1866 until 1868 Mr. George Hull, of Binghamton, New York studied archeology and paleontology. Over this period of time Hull contemplated how to pull off a hoax… Hull hired a group of quarry workers to cut off a slab measuring twelve feet long, four feet wide and two feet thick… he had hired a stone cutter named Edward Burghardt to carve a giant. Burghardt and his two assistants… The instructions were to carve the giant as if it had died in great pain, and the final result was an eerie figure, slightly twisted in apparent agony, with his right hand clutching his stomach. …
The giant finished, Hull then had the figure shipped by rail to the farm of William Newell, his cousin, located near the town of Cardiff, New York. In the dead of night, Hull, Newell and his oldest son buried the giant between the barn and house. …Luckily, about six months later, on another farm near the Newell's, some million year-old fossil bones were dug up. … one year after burying the giant, Hull sent word to his cousin on October 15, 1869, to start the next stage of the hoax. … two laborers rushed up to the house to announce their discovery: a giant turned to stone! …News of this amazing discovery spread throughout the valley and soon wagon loads of neighbors streamed into Newell's farm to see the giant. …
… Hull sold two-thirds interest in the giant for $30,000 to a five-man syndicate in Syracuse, the head of which was a banker named David Hannum. The syndicate moved the giant to an exhibition hall in Syracuse and raised the admission price to a dollar a head. Unknown to them, P. T. Barnum sent an agent to see the giant and make an assessment. The particular Sunday the representative saw the giant, the crowds were abnormally large -- about 3,000 people. The agent wired the news back to Barnum and Barnum instructed him to make an offer of $50,000 to buy it. Hannum turned his offer down.
The Cardiff Giant was the most talked about exhibit in the nation. Barnum wanted the giant to display himself while the attraction was still a hot topic of the day. Rather than upping his offer, Barnum hired a crew of workers to carve a giant of his own. Within a short time, Barnum unveiled HIS giant and proclaimed that Hannum had sold Barnum the original giant and that Hannum was now displaying a fake! Thousands of people flocked to see Barnum's giant. Many newspapers carried the version that Barnum had given them; that is, Hannum's giant was a fake and Barnum's was authentic. It is at this point that Hannum -- NOT BARNUM -- was quoted as saying "There's a sucker born every minute." Hannum, still under the impression that HIS giant was authentic, was referring to the thousands of "fools" that paid money to see Barnum's fake and not his authentic one.
Hannum brought a lawsuit against Barnum for calling his giant a fake. When it came to trial, Hull stepped forward and confessed that the Cardiff Giant was a hoax and the entire story. The judge ruled that Barnum could not be sued for calling Hannum's giant a fake since it was a fake after all. Thereafter, Hannum's name was lost to history while Barnum was left with the misplaced stigma of being the one to say "There's a sucker born every minute."
From 1866 until 1868 Mr. George Hull, of Binghamton, New York studied archeology and paleontology. Over this period of time Hull contemplated how to pull off a hoax… Hull hired a group of quarry workers to cut off a slab measuring twelve feet long, four feet wide and two feet thick… he had hired a stone cutter named Edward Burghardt to carve a giant. Burghardt and his two assistants… The instructions were to carve the giant as if it had died in great pain, and the final result was an eerie figure, slightly twisted in apparent agony, with his right hand clutching his stomach. …
The giant finished, Hull then had the figure shipped by rail to the farm of William Newell, his cousin, located near the town of Cardiff, New York. In the dead of night, Hull, Newell and his oldest son buried the giant between the barn and house. …Luckily, about six months later, on another farm near the Newell's, some million year-old fossil bones were dug up. … one year after burying the giant, Hull sent word to his cousin on October 15, 1869, to start the next stage of the hoax. … two laborers rushed up to the house to announce their discovery: a giant turned to stone! …News of this amazing discovery spread throughout the valley and soon wagon loads of neighbors streamed into Newell's farm to see the giant. …
… Hull sold two-thirds interest in the giant for $30,000 to a five-man syndicate in Syracuse, the head of which was a banker named David Hannum. The syndicate moved the giant to an exhibition hall in Syracuse and raised the admission price to a dollar a head. Unknown to them, P. T. Barnum sent an agent to see the giant and make an assessment. The particular Sunday the representative saw the giant, the crowds were abnormally large -- about 3,000 people. The agent wired the news back to Barnum and Barnum instructed him to make an offer of $50,000 to buy it. Hannum turned his offer down.
The Cardiff Giant was the most talked about exhibit in the nation. Barnum wanted the giant to display himself while the attraction was still a hot topic of the day. Rather than upping his offer, Barnum hired a crew of workers to carve a giant of his own. Within a short time, Barnum unveiled HIS giant and proclaimed that Hannum had sold Barnum the original giant and that Hannum was now displaying a fake! Thousands of people flocked to see Barnum's giant. Many newspapers carried the version that Barnum had given them; that is, Hannum's giant was a fake and Barnum's was authentic. It is at this point that Hannum -- NOT BARNUM -- was quoted as saying "There's a sucker born every minute." Hannum, still under the impression that HIS giant was authentic, was referring to the thousands of "fools" that paid money to see Barnum's fake and not his authentic one.
Hannum brought a lawsuit against Barnum for calling his giant a fake. When it came to trial, Hull stepped forward and confessed that the Cardiff Giant was a hoax and the entire story. The judge ruled that Barnum could not be sued for calling Hannum's giant a fake since it was a fake after all. Thereafter, Hannum's name was lost to history while Barnum was left with the misplaced stigma of being the one to say "There's a sucker born every minute."
P. T. BARNUM QUOTES
(applicable to Al Gore & Global Warming)
“Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”(applicable to Al Gore & Global Warming)
“How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?”
“More persons, on the whole, are humbugged by believing in nothing, than by believing too much”
“Without promotion something terrible happens... Nothing!”
“Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now.”
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
“Advertising is like learning -- a little is a dangerous thing.”
“If you can’t dazzle them with dexterity, baffle them with bull.”
“There’s no such thing as bad press, as long as they spell your name right”.
“…"The Mermaid, Woolly Horse, Ploughing Elephants, etc., were merely used by me as skyrockets or advertisements, to attract attention and give notoriety to the Museum and such other really valuable attractions as I provided for the public. I believe hugely in advertising and blowing my own trumpet, beating the gongs, drums, etc., to attract attention to a show; but I never believed that any amount of advertising or energy would make a spurious article permanently successful. -- P.T. Barnum, private letter, 1860
“…"I think it is conceded that I generally do pretty big things as a manager, am audacious in my outlays and risks, give much for little money, and make my shows worthy the support of the moral and refined classes." - P.T. Barnum, letter to Mark Twain, 1878
P. T. Barnum or Al Gore – Read the life.
Trackposted to Right Pundits, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson's Website, , DeMediacratic Nation, guerrilla radio, Right Truth, The Populist, Shadowscope, Leaning Straight Up, Cao's Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, The Pet Haven, Conservative Cat, Nuke's, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Right Celebrity, Faultline USA, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Pirate's Cove, Dumb Ox Daily News, CORSARI D'ITALIA, and Church and State, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.">
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