Yes, there are (or at least were) piano cases. This is what I thought of first: Laurel and Hardy’s Oscar-winning short, The Music Box
You’re probably thinking of the CP-70. I can’t find any pictures, but you could definitely get an Anvil case (actually, a set of two) for it.
Actually it’s more of a non-traditional freak show. Along the lines of The East Village Comes To Brooklyn. Very post modern. But they do have some actual freaks…(I liked the guy who rolled cigerettes with his lips).
In some places, there are. In fact, this is the source of some of those funny-sounding laws, like “It’s illegal for a monster to perform in public in Cupertino, California.” People with various deformities were formerly referred to as “monsters”, and there are laws in various places against exhibiting or exploiting them.
I thought the Lollapalooza music festival used to have a freak show-- guys pounding nails up their noses and such.
Freak shows are at least illegal in South Lyon, Michigan based on this 1988 law:
I’m not sure why the prohibition on endurance contests, unless the fine people of Michigan imagine truly weird things to endure.
A review of one of their shows:
http://www.dropd.com/issue/50/JimRoseCircus/
(warning - some photos may not be safe for work)
I’d imagine that endurance shows were banned because of the massive popularity of them during the depression years.
There have been tv shows about this fairly short lived phenomenon, but one common type was endurance dancing - which usually ended up as a shuffling waltz with couples literally propping each other up.
I’d hazard a guess and reckon that desperate folk, public spectacle and money would produce a pretty tacky show and could result in injury or long term damage.
It’s also not particularly humane either.
Endurance contests haven’t completely died out, of course, though the may require less exertion than in days gone by. For example, see Hands on a Hardbody
He was, however, probably the all-around biggest person ever, having stood 7’6" (not that he probably ever actually stood).
Did anybody else find Carol Yager touchingly, if grotesquely, cute?
