The Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park, London opens to the public for 2 days a week beginning 4/27/1828. It's prize is the first hippopotamus to be seen in Europe since the ancient Romans showed one at the Colosseum.
"The Wild West Show," discussed in Gershon Legman, "Bawdy
Here, ladies and gentlemen, we have the hippopotamus.
(The hippopotamus? - Fantastic!!)
Yes, the hippopotamus is an amazing animal. When its eyes are
open its arsehole is closed. And when its eyes are closed, its
arsehole is open. Someone threw pepper in its eyes, and Christ,
he's got diarrhoea!
Oh we're off to see the Wild West Show...
Monologues," Southern Folklore Quarterly 40(1976)
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