Jeff’s going to a flea circus tonight. He and The Boys claim that real fleas are trained to perform circus acts. I don’t buy it for a second.

Chris tried proving it by showing me a video on YouTube. According to this super reliable YouTube video, a flea is apparently strong enough to make a diving board bounce up and down, to kick a ball, to push a cart across a tightrope, to drive a toy car, and to get shot out of a cannon and make a loud whack when coming into contact with a wall.

I had been doubtful before the video, but afterwards I was convinced: it cannot be real.

But The Boys wouldn’t stop harassing me for having “no faith.” I had even seen and still I did not believe! So I went to a source I can trust—Wikipedia. In my mind, YouTube in no way can be considered a reliable source. But Wikipedia? Absolutely.

For maybe the first time ever, Wikipedia failed me. Half the article describes how flea circuses are all an illusion, much like an illusion a magician creates when cutting a woman in half. I thought I had won the argument, but then the article went on to describe how real fleas are “trained” for some circuses: tiny gold wire is harnessed around a flea’s neck and usually kept there for the rest of the flea’s life.

A flea’s neck? Seriously? Do fleas even have necks? If this is true (although it can’t be), that’s some serious animal abuse. “Haven’t you ever heard of a flea collar?” Schuyler asked me. Nice try, buddy.

All jokes aside, The Boys still insist that flea circuses are actually just what they say they are—real fleas performing tricks on their own. But I still don’t believe it.

Update: Check out the photos Jeff took from his iPhone