18 April: International Juggler's Day

It's International Juggler's Day - so here are ten things you might not know about the art of juggling.

1. The word juggling comes from the Middle English word jogelen which means to entertain by performing tricks.
2. Juggling has been around a long time, and was depicted in Egyptian tombs. Many ancient cultures juggled. In some, such as in ancient China, it was a skill perfected by warriors as a way to intimidate their opponents. One, called Xiong Yilao, could juggle nine balls and that was enough to frighten the opposing troops away before the fighting even started. There's also an account of a Chinese warrior juggling seven swords.
3. Anthony Gatto can also juggle nine balls for 55 seconds, which is a Guinness World Record. Higher numbers of objects juggled can be achieved with rings (13) or beanbags (14). Two people juggling and passing the objects between them can manage 22 balls, 14 clubs or 18 rings.
4. In Europe in the Middle Ages, juggling was frowned upon as it was usually done by street performers, who, according to the clerics of the day, had questionable morals and could even be Witches.
5. Juggling has been associated with circuses since 1768, thanks to Philip Astley, who brought in some jugglers to perform in the first modern circuses.
6. In Victorian times, there were “Gentleman Jugglers” who would perform in formal evening attire. The most famous of these was called Kara – he would juggle his hat, a cane and a cigar and then move on to juggling plates, bottles, loaves of Bread and Chairs.
7. The International Jugglers' Association was founded in 1947. Initially, membership was only open to professional jugglers, but now anyone who enjoys juggling as a hobby can join and there are annual events to promote juggling. As well as International Juggler's Day on 18 April there is World Juggling Day which takes place in June.
8. The first person to juggle in space was Don Williams, in 1985 as part of a series of experiments involving toys in space.
9. Juggling is good for your health – not only does it burn 280 calories an hour (the same as playing Badminton) it increases hand-eye co-ordination by up to 10% and uses both sides of the Brain and increases blood flow to your grey matter.
10. Jugglers have a patron saint – St Julian the Hospitaller, who is also the patron saint of carnival workers, Clowns and fiddle players.

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