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)

Amateur contestants (L-R) Phil Bailey, John Hindle and Eren Emir pose in telephone booths during the annual European Elvis Tribute Artist Contest and Convention in Birmingham, central England January 2, 2015. (Photo by Darren Staples/Reuters)

“Like most Brits, Emmie Stevens is dog mad. But the 25-year-old has taken it to the next level, spending £30,000 on her nine pets. Emmie’s dogs enjoy regular manicures and fur dyes and have their own walk in wardrobe to store their £15,000 clothing collection”. – Daily Record. Photo: Bailey the Staffordshire bull terrier, holding a red rose. (Photo by Helen Yates/Barcroft Media)

“Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor white farmers in the Southern United States. It is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Georgia and Alabama), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality).

The Redneck Games are held in East Dublin, Georgia annually. The games were started by General Manager for WQZY-FM «Y96»; Mac Davis in response to a comment made by the media; that when the 1996 Olympic Games went to Atlanta, it would be held by a group of rednecks”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Barbara “Redneck Queen” Bailey shows the crowd the proper way to do the Bellyflop during the 13th Annual Summer Redneck Games July 11, 2009 in East Dublin, Georgia. Bailey won the event several year running in the 1990s. (Photo by Stephen Morton/Getty Images)

Martin Joe Laurello, originally Martin Emmerling, was born in Germany around 1886. He was a sideshow performer who could turn his head a full 180 degrees. He performed with groups such as Ripley's Believe it or Not, Ringling Brothers, and Barnum & Bailey. He moved to America in 1921. He also trained dogs to do things such as acrobatics.

A man dressed as a Santa Claus poses at the front of the Kollhoff Tower at Potsdamer Platz square in Berlin December 14, 2014. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

The Photographers 2015 runs from 25 November to 23 December at Osborne Samuel and Beetles+Huxley, London. Here: Untitled, 1950, by Bert Hardy. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Beetles+Huxley & Osborne Samuel)

Aviation enthusiast Patrick Wilson 8, from Wetherby looks at an Avro 504 k at “The Shuttlesworth Collection” at Old Warden on July 21, 2014 in Biggleswade, England. Of the 55,000 planes that were manufactured by the Royal Army Corps (RAC) during WWI, only around 20 remain in airworthy condition. Six of these belong to The Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden, Bedfordshire, making it the most complete collection of original airworthy WWI aircraft in the world. Amongst the collection is the SE5a. The SE5a is a single seater fighter aircraft. It is an original biplane designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory, with its engine built by Wolseley Motors Ltd, and it was issued to 84 Squadron in November 1918. The National Archive in Kew has recently verified that the plane saw action in France with 84 Squadron the day before Armistice, November 10, 1918. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)