I can't remember where I read this, but P.T. Barnum had a struggling museum in New York. Despite all of his clever tricks, he couldn't get the foot traffic he needed to keep the museum afloat.
He ended up putting signs all over New York announcing a free concert in front of the museum. He knew that being the summer time, lots of people wouldn't be able to resist the combination of free music played outdoors on a warm summer night.
The night of the concert, there were hundreds of people milling around the front of the museum. He had the musicians set up on the balcony and start playing. P.T. Barnum had purposefully hired the worst musicians he could find and after a few minutes of truly awful music, people started leaving. The vast majority however, having nothing else to do, decided to buy a ticket and go see what was inside the museum.
One of my favorite Barnum stories is probably more well-known:
His Scudder's American museum in New York was struggling, in part, because the customers he did have would often end up lingering in front of the exhibits for an unnaturally long time, while they enjoyed the free heat and conversation of other patrons. He added a sign that read "This way to the egress!" and an arrow. Most patrons thought they were going to see a strange and unusual creature, but they were actually being herded to the exits (Exit=Egress.) He then charged them another quarter if they wanted to re-enter the museum. Maximizing throughput!
My in-laws lived across the street from P.T. Barnum's granddaughter (possibly great-granddaughter - I never really asked) in Florida. A lot of the stuff from the circus was apparently sold off but she still had lots of really cool stuff.
In fact, if I remember correctly, she has a tiny little sofa and end table which belonged to Tom Thumb!
I can't remember where I read this, but P.T. Barnum had a struggling museum in New York. Despite all of his clever tricks, he couldn't get the foot traffic he needed to keep the museum afloat.
He ended up putting signs all over New York announcing a free concert in front of the museum. He knew that being the summer time, lots of people wouldn't be able to resist the combination of free music played outdoors on a warm summer night.
The night of the concert, there were hundreds of people milling around the front of the museum. He had the musicians set up on the balcony and start playing. P.T. Barnum had purposefully hired the worst musicians he could find and after a few minutes of truly awful music, people started leaving. The vast majority however, having nothing else to do, decided to buy a ticket and go see what was inside the museum.
I love that story.
One of my favorite Barnum stories is probably more well-known:
His Scudder's American museum in New York was struggling, in part, because the customers he did have would often end up lingering in front of the exhibits for an unnaturally long time, while they enjoyed the free heat and conversation of other patrons. He added a sign that read "This way to the egress!" and an arrow. Most patrons thought they were going to see a strange and unusual creature, but they were actually being herded to the exits (Exit=Egress.) He then charged them another quarter if they wanted to re-enter the museum. Maximizing throughput!
I'm about 1/4 of the way into his autobiography right now and it's excellent.
My in-laws lived across the street from P.T. Barnum's granddaughter (possibly great-granddaughter - I never really asked) in Florida. A lot of the stuff from the circus was apparently sold off but she still had lots of really cool stuff.
In fact, if I remember correctly, she has a tiny little sofa and end table which belonged to Tom Thumb!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Tom_Thumb
"Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed."
Best Chapter 1 advice ever!
"Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed."
How am I gonna get paid to surf porn :(
Sometimes when I read old literature that says "by nature" I get the impression that they just mean "deeply ingrained."
When did the nature vs nurture question become a widespread meme? Was it after this book was written?
This is great...thanks for the link!
Great Post. I have scheduled to read this on my holiday.
Thanks for that story jkush. That was interesting.
Chapter titles alone make an excellent and readable Top 20 list.
should be in scribd :(
scribd shouldn't be.