Posts Tagged ‘1880s’

National Yo-Yo Day is designated Yo-Yo day to honor the birth of Donald Duncan, the owner of Duncan Yo-Yos and champion of the yo-yo to the world.

There is evidence to suggest that the yo-yo is actually 2500 years old and from China. Yo-Yos first made their appearance in the United States in the 1880s. Duncan’s company, located in Luck, WI, made that town the “yo-yo capital of the world,” producing as many as 1,000,000 yo-yos per day.

Unfortunately, Duncan’s company went out of business in 1965, mostly due to their loss of the exclusive name “yo-yo.” Today the yo-yo is still a favorite toy for children.

The idea of taking minced meat and putting it between two pieces of bread can be traced back to the days of Ghengis Khan. There are stories of sandwiches like hamburgers from Russia, Germany and all over the United States. In fact, there are so many different “inventors” of the hamburger in the US that it is impossible to know who actually invented the sandwich. (more…)

Today is Ringling Brothers Day. There were 7 brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred, Charles, John and Henry. In 1884 the brothers started a small circus in Baraboo, Wisconsin. By the late 1880s, the circus had grown and had become known as one of the best circuses in the nation.

What distinguished Ringling Brothers from other circuses of its day was their commitment to a good quality show. The brothers refused to allow games that might short-change or con their customers. Their circus quickly became known as a good value for the price of admission.

In 1889 the brothers purchased railroad cars and transformed their circus into a railroad circus. This was a significant move because now they were able to travel longer distances and skip the small towns in favor of the larger ones, which would draw a bigger audience.

In 1907 the brothers purchased the Barnum and Bailey circus, running the two separately until merging them in 1919. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus remains to this day the Greatest Show on Earth.