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)

In this March 22, 1975 file photo, a refugee clutches a baby as a government helicopter gunship carries them away near Tuy Hoa, Vietnam, 235 miles northeast of Saigon. They were among thousands fleeing from Communist advances. AP Photographer Nick Ut will be retiring from the AP in March 2017 after 51 years of taking photographs from the front lines of the Vietnam War to the red carpets of Hollywood. (Photo by Nick Ut/AP Photo)

OMG! «Milf Gone Wild» (Madonna Girl Gone Wild Parody) by CharlieHidesTV.

A model of a prehistoric icthyosaurus is dragged from its pond in the grounds of Crystal Palace, London, for its annual clean. The 'keeper' is being helped by some of the local police force. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). February 1927

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev as he bids the last farewell to his wife Raisa Gorbacheva during the funeral ceremony in Moscow, Russia, 23 September 1999 (reissued 30 August 2022). According to a Moscow Central Clinical Hospital statement, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has died at the age of 91. As a supporter of the de-Stalinization programs of his predecessor Nikita Khrushchev, Gorbachev initiated numerous reforms during his tenure. He signed a nuclear arms treaty with the United States and withdrew the Soviet Union from the Soviet-Afghan war. His policies created freedom of speech and press, and decentralized fiscal policy planning and execution to increase efficiency. Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union, overseeing Russia’s transition from one party rule to fragile democracy. (Photo by Sergey Chirikov/EPA/EFE)

A tow car for the children's “Grand Prix” races which take place in a parking lot in Livonia, Michigan a suburb of Detroit, circa 1955. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

After finding the bricklaying business too full of ups and downs, this amazing young girl decided to take a shot at iron girdering for a change. She is Miss “Collie” Collier, a reporter for the Chicago Herald-Examiner. August 17, 1920. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)