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)

A boy plays at a flooded street in front of a passing bus as tropical storm Fung-Wong battered the Philippine capital Manila September 19, 2014. Heavy rain in the Philippine capital, Manila, caused flooding in many areas on Friday, shutting schools, government offices and financial markets as a tropical storm made landfall to the north. Thousands of residents in low-lying areas were moved to higher ground, officials said, as flood waters rose quickly after the equivalent of half a month's usual rain fell in six hours. (Photo by Erik De Castro/Reuters)

“I’d come to the Altai Mountains on an Adventure Sherpas tour. Our group of 12 was made up mostly of Minnesotans who’d left warm weather and falling leaves for frosty Mongolia. We’d come to sleep in cozy ger tents, the traditional yurt abode of the Mongolian steppe; sip mare’s milk tea; climb mountain glaciers; ride horses to an ancient battle site, and attend the annual Eagle Hunting Festival in Ölgiy...”. – Kathryn Kysar via The Star Tribune. Here: hunter Berek and his eagle outside his home. (Photo by Brad Ruoho/The Star Tribune)

During a break from the rain of Storm Aileen, the leaves of the Virginia creeper begin to take on their Autumn colour at the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont tea room on the banks of the River Conwy at Llanrwst in north Wales on September 13, 2017 in Llandudno, Wales. The cottage named Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) was built in 1480 and has become a magnet for phtographers and tourists from across the world during Autumn. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Relatives of inmates of the «Santiago 1» jail react outside the prison after a large number of prisoners attempted to escape amid panic over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Santiago, Chile, on March 19, 2020. (Photo by Javier Torres/AFP Photo)

A person takes a picture of the “Temple”, a 21-foot painted bronze sculpture from 2008, by British artist Damien Hirst, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in the Alpine resort of St. Moritz, Switzerland February 25, 2021. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

The Greyfriars Bobby statue is pictured wearing a mask as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, March 23, 2020. (Photo by Russell Cheyne/Reuters)

Armed homeowners standing in front their house on Portland Place and confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's house in Missouri, U.S. on June 28, 2020. The protesters called for Krewson's resignation for releasing the names and addresses of residents who suggested defunding the police department. (Photo by Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post)