“Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. The History of Tom Thumb was published in 1621, and has the distinction of being the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tangling with giants, and becoming a favourite of King Arthur. The earliest allusions to Tom occur in various 16th century works such as Reginald Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft (1584) where Tom is cited as one of the supernatural folk employed by servant maids to frighten children”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Portrait of the dwarf, Tom Thumb standing on the hand of a Guardsman. Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838 – 1883) was nicknamed General Tom Thumb by P T Barnum, the circus owner. (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images). Circa 1875

Ravi Nath poses for a photograph with a cobra snake in Jogi Dera (Snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India November 10, 2016. An ancient tribe of snake charmers, known as Saperas, have thrived over the generations by catching venomous snakes and making them dance to their music. Snakes are revered by Hindus in India and snake charmers are considered the followers of Lord Shiva, the blue-skinned Hindu god who is usually portrayed wearing a king cobra around his neck. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Chinese conglomerate Tiens Group employers take photos while waiting to be served Paella in Madrid, Spain, Friday, May 6, 2016. The billionaire founder of Chinese conglomerate Tiens Group is treating 3,000 of his best salespeople to a traditional Spanish paella meal in a free Madrid trip that also includes a bullfight and a tour of King Felipe VI's Royal Palace. The smiling salespeople washed down their heaping plates of paella with sangria Friday at a mass spread of picnic tables in a riverside park during the event footed by Li Jinyuan and organized by China's U Tour travel company. (Photo by Paul White/AP Photo)

A Palestinian man dressed as Santa Claus gestures as he rides a camel in Jerusalem's Old City during Christmas celebrations, on December 23, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP Photo)

While the lido was described as bringing “modernism to the masses” on the British coast it was just the latest example of a trend that had been developing since Victorian times – transforming seaside towns into resorts for leisure and entertainment. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the fashion was for local authorities to build great piers stretching from the promenade out into the sea. The Eastbourne Pier, pictured here in May 1931, was erected between 1866 and 1870 to an ingenious design by Eugenius Birch, which saw the structure sitting on special cups allowing the supporting struts to “move” in bad weather. Arranged on the pier's 1,000-foot length were kiosks, a theatre, a ballroom and a camera obscura. 1931. (Photo by Aerofilms Collection via “A History of Britain From Above”)

Josef Tödtling – Longest duration full-body burn (without oxygen) Guinness World Records 2016. Location: Styria, Austria. (Photo by Richard Bradbury/Guinness World Records)

Local residents fight to collect free drinking water from municipal corporation tanker on a hot summer day on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India June 1, 2016. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

Children play with toy guns during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Peshawar, Pakistan, 24 May 2020. Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the three day festival marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr is one of the two major holidays in Islam. (Photo by Bilawal Arbab/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)