The 'Sideshow Attraction' That Saved Lives
And the creative idea that was rejected for half a century
When is the last time you came across a story that actually shocked you?
The kind of story that makes you do a double-take and check that you are on a reputable news site and that you’ve not accidentally stumbled on The Onion?
THIS is one of those stories.
Are you ready?
Did you know that premature babies used to be a SIDESHOW ATTRACTION?
Yes, there was a time when people paid to see premature babies in incubators because it was such an unbelievable sight.
Although incubators were first used on premature babies in France in the 1880s, it took more than half a century for the idea to be accepted by the medical community.
But there was one place people flocked to see them for 40 years - Coney Island.
In the early 1900s, New York’s Coney Island was the destination for thousands of pleasure seekers. People would come for the beach, the amusements, and the sideshow entertainment.
And in 1903, a new attraction was added to Coney Island’s Luna Park: premature babies in incubators.
At that time, babies who were born premature in the US had little chance of survival.
But one man was determined to change that.
His name was Martin Couney, and from 1903-43, he ran a sideshow exhibit at Coney Island that offered tourists the opportunity to see premature babies in incubators.
Couney first learned about “baby warming devices” in Europe and worked alongside one of the incubator pioneers, French obstetrician Pierre Budin. In 1896, Budin and Couney took six incubators to the World’s Fair in Berlin. They borrowed several premature babies from a local hospital to showcase the new model and promote its use in Europe.
More than 100,000 visitors paid to see the tiny babies – and that gave Couney an idea. At that time, there wasn’t a lot of hope (or medical intervention) for premature babies. And he believed the incubators would save babies’ lives – even though most of the medical community dismissed the idea.
Couney realized that the public would pay to see babies in incubators, and decided he could use fairs and exhibitions to draw crowds and money to provide neonatal care for the premature babies.
He toured with the incubators to various exhibitions in Europe and the US, and then in 1903, set up an exhibition featuring babies and incubators alongside the ‘freak show’ attractions of Coney Island.
Parents who had felt there was no hope for their premature babies brought them to Coney Island for help. Caring for premature babies was expensive – but Couney did not charge the parents a penny for their medical care – the public paid.
Coney Island had plenty of foot traffic, and people came in such numbers that Couney could easily cover his operating costs, pay his staff a good wage, and have enough left over to begin planning more exhibits.
He was eager to distance himself from Coney Island’s more ‘freak show’ elements, and stressed his facility was a miniature hospital, not a sideshow attraction. The incubator facility was spotlessly clean, and he employed physicians, nurses, and wet nurses to tend to the babies.
Couney's techniques were advanced for the time, including his emphasis on breast milk and his strictness about hygiene. But he also adopted a few showman's tactics, like having ‘barkers’ outside the exhibit to lure people inside, and having the babies dressed in clothes several sizes too large to emphasize how small they were.
Despite his life-saving work, there were regular attempts to shut Couney down. Children's charities, physicians, and health officials accused him of exploiting the babies and endangering their lives.
But Couney persisted – and maintained his Coney Island facility for 40 years. He also set up a similar facility in Atlantic City in 1905, which he also ran until 1943. During that time, he took his incubator ‘show’ to other amusement parks, World's Fairs and Expositions across America.
A lot changed in the four decades he ran his facilities – including attitudes toward incubators. By the time Couney closed his shows, his techniques were no longer dismissed or considered unusual. Doctors, hospitals and the public had been convinced that incubators saved premature babies’ lives. Many hospitals across the US had adopted Couney’s methods and created neonatal units using incubator technology.
In a career spanning nearly half a century, Couney claimed to have a success rate of 85%, saving nearly 6,500 babies. Though Couney’s medical credentials have since been questioned, the success of his incubators is evident through the stories of the ‘Boardwalk Babies’ who survived because of Couney’s innovation and persistence.
Had you heard this story before? Please let me know in the comments!
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Until next time!
-Beth