• Berengaria_of_Navarre@lemmy.world
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    1 hour ago

    From the Wikipedia article on pig-faced women:

    “Once the bear was dressed and in the chair, the audience would be allowed into the tent. The showman would tell the audience that the Pig-faced Lady could not speak, but would answer questions put to her, with one grunt for “yes” and two for “no”. The audience would ask her questions, and a member of the crew would poke the bear with a stick to make it grunt in reply. The Pig-faced Lady would then eat a meal of gruel, beer and apples, served in a silver trough. The display of “pig-faced ladies” became extremely popular, to the extent that by 1861 Charles Dickens remarked that “no fair was complete without one”. Exhibitions of this type were particularly popular in Dublin; an exhibition in Plymouth in the 1880s was less successful, and a disbelieving mob pulled the wig and hat from a “Pig-faced Lady” in her tent and proceeded to attack the showmen. The fate of the bear is not recorded.”