Talk:Flea circus

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Contents

[edit] Issues

Specific issues with the page?

Does anyone know what specific issues are wrong with this page? If so then I'm happy to revise the appropriate comments and seek removal of the tag.

I probably should have replied here, but see my reply on your talk page. — Epastore 20:14, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wild Tigers & Tame Fleas

I've got a copy of this book and I concur that it has no ISBN on it. Flea Circus Director 15:17, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New section on popular culture

I like the idea of having a new section on popular culture but it would be better to have a couple of paragraphs about how flea circuses have influenced films, books, poems etc otherwise we going to simply end up with a mirror of my flea film listings that already exist at http://www.fleacircus.co.uk/Films.htm.

This is a very minor observation, but I thought I'd point it out anyway - in Jurassic Park, Richard Attenborough's character doesn't say his flea circus was in the United States. He says "when i first came down from Scotland" (ie to England), and that his flea circus was on Petticoat Lane, which is a famous street in East London. I don't know why I felt I had to point this out, but I do. I guess that's what wikipedia is about. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.175.128.101 (talk) 20:50, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

(Flea Circus Director 10:31, 2 April 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Early history

There are a couple of references to the watch makers, one in the appendixes of "Jay's Journal of Anomalies" and the other recently found in The diary of a surgeon in the year 1751-1752 by John Knyveton.

Flea Circus Director 15:23, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Numbering of external references?

I notice that there are some external references in the page which are also present in the list in the last section which is not numbered. Is there a Wikipedia standard for this? Do those numbers need to be updated?

212.125.73.242 08:40, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] So, is this real?:

Human fleas are used for performances as other fleas are too small. For the same reason, female fleas are preferred over males. The fleas live only for a short time and hence training of fleas is an ongoing requirement.
Fleas are trained not to jump by keeping them in a container with a lid. Once trained, they are harnessed by carefully wrapping a thin gold wire around the neck of the flea. Once in the harness the fleas usually stay in it for life. The harnesses are attached to the props and the strong legs of the flea allows them to move objects significantly larger than themselves.

That does not seem quite right.

[[ hopiakuta Please do sign your signature on your message. ~~ Thank You. -]] 02:05, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Possibly the second paragraph might be improved by authoritative quotes.

As for the first paragraph, some links might help:

Thank You,

[[ hopiakuta Please do sign your signature on your message. ~~ Thank You. -]] 06:00, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Didn't understand

If this is a real matter or fictional. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.68.192.151 (talk) 13:02, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Performing fleas.jpg

Image:Performing fleas.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 20:27, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Real Flea Circuses

There is actually plenty of evidence to support the idea that some flea circuses did or have used real fleas such as news paper reports from Denmark, USA and UK, there is video footage from pathe and Maria Cardoso and current performers who are using fleas.

Flea Circus Director (talk) 15:18, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Notes on the size of different fleas and the use of female fleas come from L.Bertolotto's book "The History of the Flea with Notes and Observations"

Flea Circus Director (talk) 15:16, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Contradiction

This article seems to contradict itself. On one hand it asserts that flea circuses are/were basically a ruse and on the other it goes into detail about training real fleas (all unsourced). Very confusing, unclear and unreliable. IvoShandor (talk) 13:55, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] List of current flea circuses

I attempted to add another item to the list of current flea circuses, but the bot said this was Not OK. (

  • Professor Payne's Phantasmagorical Flea Circus can be seen at public libraries and private shows in Washington state. [1]) Is there a particular reason the existing list is definitive?Khedges1 (talk) 07:29, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

No, that list is only a fraction of the list of current performers. I've 46 listed on the Flea Circus Research Library Directory [2] Professor Payne is not currently one of them but will be added shortly. I'm wondering if this a list of current performers has any place in the article at all but it's hard for me to be objective on this topic as I maintain my own list.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NOTLINK#LINK

Flea Circus Director (talk) 09:17, 28 May 2008 (UTC)