In 1949, LIFE magazine sent famed photographer Nina Leen to document the daily life of a sassy troupe of young women who had run off and joined the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus in Sarasota, Fla. What developed was a portrait of a sisterhood formed over acrobatics that mixed high-flying wire acts with fashionable high-waisted shorts. Sarasota was once considered “the home of the American circus”. Here: an aerialist smoking while rehearsing for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Sarasota, FL in 1949. (Photo By Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire caught on a passenger train, ahead of the general election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on January 5, 2024. (Photo by Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters)

An Emerald City Kickball member makes their way up the parade route on March 02, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. Emerald City Kickball began in 2020 as a project between friends to find a safe and affirming way to create an inclusive community during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a recreational sport that is available to players regardless of skill or experience level, kickball quickly became a vibrant piece of the Sydney LGBT community. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)

A woman with Kimono looks at cherry trees in bloom in Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday, April 4, 2024. (Photo by Noriko Hayashi for The Washington Post)

A caiman swims amidst trash in Canal das Taxas at the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood in west Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 22, 2023. The urban expansion of the area and the resulting pollution have put the yacare caiman (Caiman latirostris) “in danger of extinction”. (Photo by Tercio Teixeira/AFP Photo)

Carnival revellers take the metro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 19, 2023. Shaking the ground to the beat of their drums, Rio de Janeiro's famed carnival parades returned Sunday in a swirl of glitter, sequins and samba, the festival's first full-on edition since Covid-19 and Brazil's bitterly divisive elections. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

Los Angeles Angels' Mickey Moniak, center, is doused after hitting a walk-off home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, August 31, 2024. The Angels won 5-4. (Photo by Ashley Landis/AP Photo)

Devotees gather to take part in the celebrations to mark the Krishna Janmashtami festival at a temple in Jalandhar on August 26, 2024. (Photo by Shammi Mehra/AFP Photo)