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May 21, 2017, was the final show of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It began at 7pm EST and ran for a little over two hours. Then everyone went home.
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May 21, 2017, was the final show of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Much has been written about this; the short version is that the name was too long for modern audiences. It began at 7pm EST and ran for a little over two hours. Then everyone went home.

Feld Entertainment will no doubt find new jobs for the acts and crew in their other productions, and likely there will be some other circus-like show popping up at some point. The point is this is the end of an era; while there will always be the connection of the tradition of the circus, the loss of the actual 149-year-old circus is a big moment in the life of a world.

After you see "Hidden Figures" (or read the book) check out Tom Wolfe's story of the same events. It's interesting to see the same events from a different perspective.
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After you see "Hidden Figures" (or read the book) check out Tom Wolfe's story of the same events, sans mathematicians. It's interesting to see the same events from a different perspective; what's left out can be infuriating, but that's what's instructive. And fair dues to Wolfe, his book is a great read and he doesn't contradict the other version so much as leave it out -- possibly was unaware of it? -- concentrating on the story from the perspective of the astronauts, which is what makes the combination of these two versions a compelling, rounded history of this time and place.