Brace Yourself, Our Nation Is Facing A Major Clown Shortage

They made you laugh, they made you cry, and sometimes they even made you think.  What once were entertaining audiences for years, especially young audiences who would beg their parents to take them to go see these entertainers, are now nearly extinct?  Brace yourself, because our nation is facing a major shortage that’s no laughing matter, a shortage of …clowns???

According to the head of Clowns of America International, which, until now I didn’t even realize that there was such a thing, new clowns are on the decline, and there’s not enough to replace all of the old clowns who are either retiring, or passing onto that big circus in the sky.  According to this association, the number of working clowns in the nation has dropped from 3,500 to roughly 2,500 today.  Part of the problem is getting younger kids interested in being a clown, and the idea is usually forgotten until these kids are in their 40’s and 50’s.  And given the fact that the average clown only rakes in roughly $38-thousand dollars a year, not counting the countless miles they have to travel to get from one show to the next, the desire of being a clown is just about as desirable as getting a pie in the face. 

I also think part of the decline is because of other entertainment sought out by our youth, video games being on top of that list.  Now on the flip side, some might find this shortage a bit of welcome news, given the fact that some people are absolutely terrified of clowns.  Instead of finding clowns to be adorable and funny, some find them to be horrific and terrifying!  What about you, are you afraid of clowns, or did you ever want to be one?