During the golden age of circuses, the audiences of the world were much like children. Having never seen much beyond their local communities, the circus brought to town visions of things thought not humanly possible, and audiences young and old marveled at it as children do.

My son was enthralled with the acrobats and everything they did, simply because he'd never seen the human body do anything like that before. The power of seeing something he didn't think possible (seeing it with his own eyes!) was enough to leave him in awe.

In the youtube-enabled global village of today, it's easy to claim to have seen the extent of what is humanly possible. It's easy to remain unimpressed by simple acts of strength and agility, but before casting judgement, ask yourself, "Can I do this?" Can anyone I know do this?"