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)

Crowds look on as the super moon rises behind the Fremantle War Memorial at Monument Hill on November 14, 2016 in Fremantle, Australia. A super moon occurs when a full moon passes closes to earth than usual, with the November 14th moon expected to be closer than it has been in over 70 years. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

American rapper Megan Thee Stallion performs onstage during the EA Sports Bowl at Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest on January 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for EA Sports Bowl at Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest)

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is seen on the concourse at Waterloo Station, July 11, 2016, in London. Ghostbusters take over Waterloo Station as Stay Puft Marshmallow Man smashes through the concourse during the morning rush-hour. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Australian knight Philip Leitch (R) has a floral basket on his helmet smashed by an opponent at the St Ives Medieval Fair in Sydney, one of the largest of its kind in Australia, September 25, 2016. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

Waves to the height of 10m reaching 20-30m at the point of impact smashed against the coastline of the idyllic coastal city of Saint Malo, France on April 10, 2024. The extreme tidal waves were the result of Storm Pierrick. (Photo by Mathieu Rivrin/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Villagers wade through a flooded road following heavy rains after cyclone Remal's landfall at Singi Mari village of Nagaon district, in India's Assam state on May 29, 2024. A powerful cyclone that smashed into low-lying Bangladesh and India killed at least 65 people, including in torrential rain storms in its wake, state government officials and media said on May 29. (Photo by Biju Boro/AFP Photo)