When Jumbo arrived in America, it was the biggest celebrity arrival since the Statue of Liberty. He was paraded through the streets of New York City with a police escort. Barnum sold "Jumbo Collars" and "Jumbo Cigars." He even built a special railroad car shaped like a giant cage just for him.
He had Jumbo's hide stuffed and mounted. He had the skeleton preserved. For years, the "Ghost of Jumbo" toured with the circus as a double-feature attraction. When Jumbo arrived in America, it was the
But what made him a legend wasn't just his size. It was his personality. Jumbo would take children for rides on his back around the zoo. He would drink gallons of ginger beer from a special barrel. He would take baths in the fountain while crowds of 20,000 people gathered just to watch. He had Jumbo's hide stuffed and mounted
Every time we use the word "jumbo" to describe a large coffee or a big pack of hot dogs, we are unknowingly paying tribute to a lonely, gentle giant who was simply too big for the railroad tracks. But what made him a legend wasn't just his size