The Man Who Defied Gravity

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Science, The Smithsonian, Tony Cohn, Art19, African American History And Culture, Exhibit, Dc, Exhibits, Pop Culture, Zoo, National Museum, National Zoo, Natural History, Air And Space, Smithsonian, Postal Museum, History Of The World, History, Sidedoor, Museum, Washington, Society & Culture, American History

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 September 2017

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the late 1800s, Paul Cinquevalli was one of the most famous and thrilling entertainers in the world. Tales of his juggling and balancing exploits spanned continents. But by the mid 20th century, his name was all but forgotten. In this episode, Sidedoor explores Cinquevalli’s epic rise and fall, and brings you inside the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s circus tents for a one-of-a-kind Cinquevalli-inspired juggling revival.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Side Door, a podcast from the Smithsonian with support from PRX.
0:13.0	I'm Tony Cohn.
0:15.0	One of the most famous people in the world died on July 14, 1918.
0:22.0	The First World War was raging, but still newspapers around the world
0:26.6	found space on their front page to pause and acknowledge a man who wasn't a military
0:31.2	leader or a politician or a Nobel Prize winner or a war hero.
0:36.0	Nope, Paul Chinkavale was an entertainer,
0:40.0	a juggler, but a bit of a strong man and an acrobat as well.
0:45.0	In a time before large-scale air travel, Chinkavali was a global celebrity,
0:50.0	amazing audiences
0:53.7	he was the subject of countless newspaper stories
0:57.5	all praising his mastery over everyday objects
1:00.4	pool balls wine glasses plates bathtubs, and many others, stunned at his apparent ability
1:07.1	to pause the rules of Earth's physics.
1:10.3	In 1910, the New York Tribune pointed out,
1:12.8	had Chinkovale lived in the Middle Ages,
1:15.2	he would have been burned at the stake as a sorcerer.
1:18.8	Even today, some people say he is aided by the devil.
1:22.4	This is a guy who was regularly called. Some people say he is aided by the devil.
1:23.4	This is a guy who was regularly called
1:25.4	the greatest juggler in the world.
1:28.5	But in the years following his death,
	...

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