Thumb was not appearing in New York City when Lavinia was hired, but he met her when he visited the Museum in the autumn of 1862. He told Barnum the same day that he had fallen in love with her. Thumb wanted Barnum on his side in this love affair (rather than on Nutt's side), so he quietly promised Barnum he would marry Lavinia in a public ceremony. Barnum knew at once that such a spectacle would make him a fortune. He told Lavinia to take Thumb's romantic interest seriously. He reminded her that the little man was rich.
Nutt knew that Thumb was in love with Lavinia. He was jealous. He had a fight with Thumb in a dressing room at the Museum. He threw him on the floor, and beat him up. Nutt invited himself along when Lavinia was asked to Barnum's home for a weekend visit. Little did he know that Thumb and his mother would be there, too.
Nutt left New York City on a train late Saturday night. He got to Barnum's house about 11 pm. He found Thumb and Lavinia alone in the downstairs parlor. Thumb had proposed, and Lavinia had accepted. Nutt only learned of their engagement a week later when Lavinia and Barnum told him. Nutt had a hard time forgiving both Thumb and Barnum for (as he termed it) this "dastardly" offense.
Lavinia's younger sister Minnie was much smaller than she was. Barnum thought she would make a good match for Nutt. He asked Nutt to think about marrying Minnie. Nutt told Barnum he had little faith in women. He said that he would not marry "the best woman living".
Barnum wanted Minnie and Nutt to go to the wedding as Lavinia and Thumb's bridesmaid and best man. Nutt refused. Later, Thumb himself asked Nutt to be his best man. Nutt accepted. He told Barnum, "It was not your business to ask me. When the proper person invited me, I consented."
Thumb and Lavinia were married at Grace Episcopal Church, New York City, on Tuesday 10 February 1863. Nutt and Minnie were best man and bridesmaid at the "Fairy Wedding". Police stopped traffic as people gathered in the streets to see the arrival of the wedding party. The wedding was planned to start at noon, but it did not start until the bride got to the church at 12:30 pm. Barnum led the wedding party down the center aisle.
Two thousand people were invited to the wedding. Mrs. John Jacob Aster, Mrs. William H. Vanderbilt, Mrs. Horace Greeley, and General Ambrose Burnside were there. Members of the church complained about the "marriage of mountebanks". They became angry when they were told they could not sit in their own pews. Much of the public curiosity about the marriage was based on an interest in the sexual mechanics of Thumb and Lavinia. Barnum did not encourage or discourage this interest.
The wedding reception was held in the Metropolitan Hotel on Broadway at 3 pm. The four little members of the wedding party stood on top of a grand piano so they could be seen by everyone. Nutt gave Lavinia a diamond ring as a wedding present. Americans loved the wedding. It was welcome relief from the horrors and sorrows of the war.
People around the world took great interest in the wedding. Barnum thought this was a chance to make a lot of money. He sent the members of the wedding party on long, successful tours of America and Europe. The four little persons were sent off again this time on a grand tour of the world as The Tom Thumb Company.
The four little ones left the United States on 21 June 1869. They travelled 60,000 miles around the world, visited 587 cities and towns, and gave 1,471 performances of songs, speeches, and military drills. They returned to America in 1872. Nutt and Barnum argued after the tour. Nutt quit. He joined Harry Deakin's Lilliputian Comic Opera Company. This company toured America in an operetta called "Jack, the Giant Killer".
Nutt and his brother Rodnia put together a variety show. It played in Portland, Oregon. It was not a success. Nutt went to San Francisco, California, and put together another show. He tired of the life within a year and quit. Another show he put together about this time was not successful either. Nutt ran a couple of saloons in Oregon and San Francisco, but these were not successes.
Newspapers reported at least four times that Nutt and Minnie were married. They were close friends, but never husband and wife. Minnie married a song and dance man who performed on roller skates named Edward Newell. She died while having his baby in 1878.
One day long after the wedding of the Thumbs, Barnum asked Nutt why he had not married. "Sir, my fruit is plucked", he said, "I have concluded not to marry until I'm thirty." His bride's height was of no concern, he said, but he did "prefer marrying a good, green country girl to anyone else."
In 1879, Nutt married Miss Lilian Elston of Redwood City, California. He had met her while he was touring the American West. She was a bit shorter than most women, but not a little person.
After his failures on the West Coast, Nutt went back to New York City. He bought a saloon. One day, he was caught selling liquor without a license. The New York City courts closed his saloon. Nutt was in charge of an amusement area called Rockaway Pier for a time. He returned to performing with an act called "Tally-Ho".
Early in 1881, Nutt had an attack of Bright's disease (nephritis). He was sick for more than two months. He died on 25 May 1881 at the Anthony House in New York City. Nutt's wife cried over his coffin at the funeral. She called him her "dear little boy", and said that he was "so good". Nutt was buried in Merrill Cemetery at Manchester, New Hampshire.
Nutt had grown from his original , and weighed a little less than at his death. In 1891, the editors of "Appleton's Cyclopedia" wrote, "Commodore Nutt was distinguished for large-hearted virtues that are often lacking in bigger men; his genial temper was allied to constancy and generosity that entitle his memory to the highest respect." The editors noted that Nutt was "for many years faithful to an early love."
Helicopter parent
Helicopter parents are those who hover over their children, cosseting them
and overseeing their entire lives.
The terminology began appearing around 1969. It was not until late 2002 or 2003, however, that the term became very popular via media and cell phone use. This was at exactly the same time the millennials begin turning 18 and moving into college. The rising of mobile phones is often blamed for the rise of helicopter parent-style teaching over the years. The phone enables the mother to keep in touch at all times, which was almost impossible before. What caused most notice was parents following up children as far as college and early employment. Sports coaches, college teachers and employers have had the experience of parents turning up to complain and argue in support of their children.
Clostridium
Clostridium is a genus of bacteria. "Clostridium" bacteria are obligate anaerobes, which means they do not need oxygen to grow.
"Clostridium" bacteria are shaped like rods. The name ""Clostridium"" comes from the Greek word "kloster" (κλωστήρ), which means "spindle."
"Clostridium" bacteria are gram-positive and can produce endospores.
There are many different species of "Clostridium" bacteria. Some of these species can cause serious illness.
"Clostridium botulinum" bacteria make a toxin called botulinum. When botulinum toxins get into food or wounds, they cause botulism, a dangerous disease. Botulism can paralyze the muscles (stop the muscles from moving or working). People can die from botulism if their breathing muscles get paralyzed. This makes them unable to breathe.
Most cases of botulism happen because people eat meat that was not cooked well enough, or eat canned food that was not canned properly.