What the Greatest Showman Got Totally Wrong, The Bittersweet Story of Jumbo the Elephant, Carnival Workers Describe What The Life Is Really Like. This system of carnival-related racketeering and conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement can only be investigated and prosecuted at the federal level. Thomas also requested that I play the games. There was also the infamous Gypsy Camp Murder in Louisiana. Dang, and I bet the smile you give wouldve made me buy more of whatever you were selling. The truth is that some of the illegal games are property of the carnival owner, and not some fictitious ace-in-the-hole independent contractor. Most flat-joints are operated by errant freelancers. WebCarny allowed the carnival workers to hide the truth of their activities from the populace. Step right on up! With 80 yards most marks are usually willing to buy more plays; however, the marble total often adds to 29, the dreaded doubling number. Each time 29 is played, the agent doubles the prize and the mark must double his wager. Carnivals have close ties to not only organized crime but to local law enforcement. So this is a fair one to assume. Gaffed and chance-based games travel to thousands of carnival lots and fairs each year, raking in billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains with virtual impunity. In other words, carnies are not any more shady than other types of work crews that perform similar tasks - its just that people are put off by - to paraphrase Philip Marlowe - having to see the works when the lid is lifted off of life. He said you could make enough money each summer to last the year, and a lot of his old carnie friends travel all over the world when they aren't working fairs. You see these guys when they beak up the show and leave-their trucks are all blowing blue smoke and look like they are ready for the junkyeard. A central question was whether Rodham was paid by the Gregorys to gain White House access and help to obtain pardons or whether Rodham was paid for legitimate business services. So, the grifter swiftly adds up the total with sleight of hand (two hands at a time), and announces a false (fairbank) number, 44, which corresponds to 50 yards on the puzzling conversion chart. In 2012, I was contacted by NBCs Today show producer Sandra Thomas, who wanted to consult with me regarding a story about carnival games. (Regulation rims are 18 inches in diameter). A lot of money came flowing in, said retired FBI Special Agent Keith Bell. It's definitely not the mall parking lot show that most think of when you hear "carnival." As a retired police officer, I continued to expose and help curb what I found to be a free-wheeling crime anomaly, by publishing several investigative accounts, including two books: Carnival Games: The Perfect Crimes (2010) and Carnival Games: $10,000,000,000 Hoodwink Racket (2012). On display are these same games at the same locations overseen by the same police personnel and civic leaders annually. During the 1960s, a group of criminals known as the Dixie Mafia began to creep across cities and towns in the South. The cost of play builds exponentially. Convicted of bank loan schemes in 1986 and never spending a day in prison, the Gregorys befriended Tony Rodham, brother of President Bill Clintons wife, and now presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and were awarded the contracts to operate his carnival, United Shows of America Inc., for President Clintons White House Press Picnic in 1998 and 2000. All players lay a bet down on a color and only one of the players throws a rubbery ball in a bin of 96 colored holes. Bill Colgin/Getty ImagesThe Dixie Mafias territory stretched all over the South, from Georgia to Oklahoma. Yeah, it was a great movie, but I dont get the connection to carnies. Theyre not really shady, theyre just poor and scraping by. Most a are White, with 66.4% of Carnival Workers belonging to this ethnicity. Testimony was that Roach paid Lovett for protection from police while Roach cheated customers through such games as Razzle Dazzle also known as Razzle, which gave players no chance to win. Lovett was also fined $50,000. Rossen Reports: Are carnival games cheating you-and your kids?" If a person cheats customers, it is likely that same person will cheat the government. Cries for a state law started after a convicted sex offender working as a carnival worker raped and drugged a 15-year-old girl at the Illinois State Fair in 2001. Anything you can think of, they were involved in., As one member of the Dixie Mafia put it: What makes them so dangerous is they dont think, they just act. I typed out my detailed fraud/gambling complaint for Richardson and provided him with a copy of the Michigan Carnival Games Manual. Since then, very little has been heard about the Cornbread Cosa Nostra. [3] As words are assimilated into the culture at large, they lose their function and are replaced by more obscure or insular terms. On the night of November 29, 1988, near the impoverished Marlborough neighborhood in south Kansas City, an explosion at a construction site killed six of the citys firefighters. For example, this letter - from someone actually defending carnies and who says theyre much-maligned and decent people, acknowledges obviously rigged games as a given. I thought the carny rep for being shady came from the idea that carnival games were fixed so you couldnt win any good prices. The mark will pay $4 for the next play, than $8, then $16, then $32, and so, every time 29 is tallied. The same carny-cops (police officers patrolling the midway), and the same returning interstate carny-outlaws appear to be working in concert for income at annual extravaganzas. In 2004, four off-duty cops in New Orleans were implicated, with one of them federally indicted, for a charge related to conspiracy to protect and profit from a Razzle business during the carnival season. This is lawful gambling provided that the event is licensed and monitored by the state. Carnival Corp. has been on criminal probation since 2017 as part of a record-setting $40 million fine and plea agreement for illegally dumping oily waste into the Kirksey McCord Nix Jr., one of the notorious leaders of the Dixie Mafia. With the astronomical amounts of cash the Razzle sharks are capable of taking, one never should rule out the possibility of protection by dirty cops, often in the vicinity of a Razzle set-up. WebAnswer (1 of 2): Ahh.. ciazarn. But despite the massive crackdown on former members that followed, many believe that the group is still secretly active today. Carnivals have close ties to not only organized crime but to local law enforcement. Learn all about Carnival Worker educational requirements, degrees, majors, certifications, online courses, and top colleges that will help you advance in Carnival Worker career. So - I dont know how that applies to all carny workers. She cleaned and closed up the pie stand, only to stay up into the wee hours counting money and balancing all of the cash registers' records, snatch a couple hourssleep, and get up early enough to set everything up and restock before the fair opened the next morning. The carny vocabulary is traditionally part of carnival cant, a secret language. A continuing criminal enterprise is an example of organized crime. Also available from Amazon, With the purpose of writing about true crime in an authoritative, fact-based manner, veteran journalists J. J. Maloney and J. Patrick OConnor launched Crime Magazine in November of 1998. Carnival-related bribes and illegal transactions pave the way for the crooked migratory hustlers to trailer into your neighborhood for a weekend each year, never having a need to worry about arrest. The happy mark, already halfway to the prize, then pays only $2 to buy another spill of the marbles. The new law, sponsored by State Senator Chances are, cops wont comprehend (given that the mark didnt), or perhaps surmise that The sucker got what he deserved.. Not one ball went through any of the 12 stingy rims. For example, according to campaign contribution records, Frank Zaitshik, Wade Shows owner, his wife Melissa, and son Garrington, contributed a combined total of $11,500 to the Michigan Democratic Central Committee on September 5, 2002, one month before Democrat Jennifer Granholm was elected governor of Michigan. He begins to search for a sympathetic police officer for help. In 2014, a Razzle victim wrote to me about being fleeced for $7,000 at a festival in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The same carny-cops (police officers patrolling the midway), and the same returning interstate carny-outlaws appear to be working in concert for income at annual extravaganzas.This, combined with the hoodwink nods from corrupt public servants, seems to be the big American secret at fairs and festivals. the truth is, there is little money in it, and the rides seem to be falling apart. Volume rip-offs against vulnerable teens are an almost complaint-free luxury. Its a mix. What level of education is required for Carnival Workers? Some of them love their job;some dislike it and do it to get by. Frank had been granted state fair contracts in Michigan and Florida over the previous 25 years. As reported in the. At three events checked this summer by the attorney general and sheriff's offices, no background problems were discovered. CBS News exposed a carnival company which was cheating soldiers and their families out of money at the 2011 Fourth of July Freedom Fest at Fort Hood, Texas, the largest military base in the country. The carnival marketing target demographic currently ischildren, thereby creating a predictable and dependable source of income, as opposed to the time-tested art of cleaning out the occasional high-dollar Razzle-type mark by which there is always the chance of generating trouble via player beefs. Often described as the Cornbread Cosa Nostra, the Dixie Mafia first emerged in the American South in the 1960s. There was no chance they would win at some of the games, said Keteyian. Not an easy life. Here is the story of Edgar Allen Gregory Jr., who in 1993, was captured on film during a Dateline NBC hidden camera investigation for operating a racket-show while displaying several big-dollar-fraudulent gambling games on his mobile carnival midway at the North Tennessee State Fair. Furthermore, sponsors have no way of knowing the total game profits. Carnival companies, not the state, should absorb the costs of background checks, lawmakers said. That would surely subject them to a false arrest claim and a possible headline about their rip-off (the kids) church festival. This mirror serves the rich and powerful while it shapes a negative and distorted view of the poor minority. A worker with a criminal background sexually assaulted three children at Downers Grove Heritage Fest two years ago, according to DuPage County records. To address the puzzling doggedness of plain-sight crooked carnival games, one has to first take a look at the history, criminalities, winks and nods of police, and the behind-the-scenes components enabling and perpetuating this century-old system of corruption. Law enforcement must first recognize this systemic national illness and how it capitalizes on unprotected Americans. He would work hard when he worked, but then would go on benders. The carnival industrys sleazy image is in dire need of a facelift. Razzle, which combines the magic of sleight of hand with bait and switch, and psychology, is difficult to explain without physically demonstrating it. I pointed Thomas in the direction of a carnival supply company where she could purchase the rim, which she acquired in time for the feature. In Scotland they are simply known as "'''Travellers'''" ( not to be confused with Irish travellers or Gypsies) . (AP) Three carnival workers have been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a couple at a Kansas fair whose bodies were This seedy history and the ongoing corruption of local officials made the city an attractive place for lawbreakers. With no interest to investigate the game in question, the four responding officers allowed the swindlers to continue to rip-off children while backing off on their threats against me. With a greater number of gambling and crooked games, the carnival owner will increase his undivided claim to the unshared game loot. The mark must accumulate 100 yards (or over) to win that X-Box or HD TV. In the Play Football eight-marble version of Razzle, the mark agrees to use a free pass, then spills eight marbles on a board containing 143 numbered holes with values from one through six assigned to each hole. "For this kid's sake, I wish we would have done it long before that.". Everyone has their small group of people they work with on a ride and become close to. They primarily operated in Biloxi, Mississippi, but the groups reach soon stretched from Atlanta, Georgia to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Aside from forming alliances with some members of law enforcement, the Dixie Mafia also worked alongside fellow mobsters. When cheating for money occurs, it is no longer a game, but a crime. They live on the road throughout the summerand fall, setting up and tearing down rides, or hosting games to bilk people out of their money (unless you know the secrets to beating their tricks). Carnival midways are the only venues in the United States where local police departments allow carnival lots to be free crime zones for illegal gambling, larceny, and fraud. Really scary people, actually. Authorities initially speculated that the gang members had killed McDaniel because they were afraid that he was an informant, but others suspected that he was actually taken out by Pusser. Unbeknownst to authorities, Dixie Mafia leader Kirksey McCord Nix Jr. was orchestrating an elaborate extortion scheme from behind bars. Carnival midways are the only venues in the United States where local police departments allow carnival lots to be free crime zones for illegal gambling, larceny, and fraud. To top it all, the presence of uniformed police foot patrols on the midway creates imagined credibility and an erroneous impression of a safe and secure ambiance; a thriving situation and safeguard for migrating grifters (carnival jargon for swindlers). There's always tons of drama between all kinds of people. According to law enforcement sources, the outdoor amusement industry is at least a $10 billion-per-year business in North America, mostly a cash-based trade. I've worked nine years at one of the largest single-unit carnivals in the country. The various suspect games on NAMEs midway, vividly depicted in Biloxi and Indianapolis, are featured in Jeff Rossens and Sandra Thomass 2012 expos. Cops who protect illegal games would be in violation (federally) of the anti-corruption legislation under 18 U.S. Code, Part 1, Chapter 73, section 1511 of RICO Act: Obstruction of State and local law enforcement.. Buford Pusser supposedly took out several members of the Dixie Mafia to avenge his wifes death. Work until your rides set-up, which can take up to ten hours of ass busting dangerous work. At that point, when the agent tossed the demo balls in, the secret deadening ball absorbed the energy of the demo balls. So, I singled out a known scam artist operating one of the basketball games, Kenneth David Argo, a 12-year game agent for Huston. Police officers patrolling midways are evidently being paid in whole or in part with carnival money in the form of contracts from the carnival company or carnival sponsor. As for the OP, I second WhyNot. In running background checks at five events, the Illinois attorney general's office and Cook County sheriff's department found that among 179 carnival employees, Gaffed and chance-based games travel to thousands of carnival lots and fairs each year, raking in billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains with virtual impunity. I watched as all the childs attempts were without the aid of the cagily removed energy-absorbing gaff ball. Rather the way they interact with the public is a large part of what makes them different. Ignoring it, wont make it go away. Instead, the Dixie Mafia was a rag-tag band of crooks who were willing to do just about any crime if there was money involved. Carnys got nothin! What sideshows have you worked in? Well, up until this year the State Fair would hire a lot of day workers from the local homeless population. I read every article, book, and case law I could find relating to these games. As reported in the Savannah Morning News, the government contended Lovett and Randall Roach (Magic Midway carnival owner) schemed from 2004 until September 27, 2013, when Lovett retired. Carny is thought to have become popularized around 1931 in North America, when it was first colloquially used to describe one who works at a carnival. They dont have ties in the community. So while carnival talk did not entice people, it did help the carnies to ensure that the customers never knew about the shady back-end of things, Winter says. The midsummer small spots were nice because the hours were short, but the end of the season and the state fairs are where the big money's at. But years later, it became a terrifying criminal Aww, you almost had it that time! A wheel of fortune in progress on a for-profit carnival midway would be a case of illegal gambling. The police supervisor, having a policy of non-enforcement on carnival midways, refused to dispatch a unit to talk to the victim and witnesses to the larceny by trick. Do a little googling on carnies and carnival workers and youll find thats a common assessment. Party one night. I paid Argo $9 and missed all five shots. In New York City, the Colombo and Genovese crime families were involved with profits from street and church fair carnival games; their specialty being the game of Razzle. Any accurate count of the marbles will correspond to no yards on the chart.). I completed a larceny report for Steve, who told about the carnival patch and offered to lend me the book by John Scarne entitled Scarnes New Complete Guide to Gambling.Scarne writes that the patch is a carnival front man who squares complaints with players and police. The patch, who is sometimes a lawyer (in carnival terms the mender or fixer), collects patch money from crooked game agents who pay him to bribe police or to patch up any problems with wiped out sore losers. The patch may arrive in advance of the carnival to make friends and deals. Once this amiable operative talks the mark into using the free pass, it is already the beginning of the end. Its not a gig where they ask too many questions about your personal or employment history or your plans for the future. The FBI and game enforcement experts are available to present seminars to police departments. But really, what field doesnt? NBC News; NBC News.com Today show 7/13/2012 (and also aired on Dateline 8/19/12). But he apparently believed that if he had enough money, hed be able to get out of prison. Back on topic, I never did carnivals, but I have worked a freak show / side show. WebThe HBO series "Carnivle" centered around a traveling carnival in the American Southwest during the 1930s. It's the exact opposite of what most folks describe. Tubs of Fun, known as a bucket games, consist of plastic tubs which replace the old bushel baskets, where the agent is able to execute an unnoticeable stealthy trick only when demonstrating how easy it is to win.. Another 25 percent are illegal since they are gambling games. It should be standard procedure throughout the U.S. for all police departments to require officers to complete written reports on all midway game complaints, with case numbers issued to complainants and victims. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The average carnival worker salary is $27,198. The term "showie" is used synonymously in Australia, while "showman" is used in the United Kingdom.[1]. That occurred even though state police checked carnival workers' backgrounds. Police have said the carnival mafia does not exist. Gaffed and chance-based games from the same carnival companies travel to thousands of carnival lots and fairs each year. The cruise line giant Carnival Corporation and its Princess subsidiary have agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $20 million for environmental violations such as Many have no address, pay no taxes, and are otherwise isolated from everyday society. He has since risen to the pinnacle of the carnival world with his rigged games, his cash, his protectors, and his friends in high places. Bobby Reynolds? From his prison cell in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, Nix created a lonely hearts scam that targeted innocent gay men. State legislators said carnival companies have exaggerated costs to kill bills. At a recent federal corruption trial, federal investigators testified that Lovett took bribes from a carnival owner during a nine-year period of carnival events from 2004 to 2013 to protect illegal carnival games including a classic old carnival game known as Razzle Dazzle. It is estimated that Lovett, while chief, took bribe installments which amounted to $75,000. It does tend to be full of gossip since everyone works and lives with each other in close quartersRide and customer safety is the number-one priority. Young teens are the now the focus at carnival festivals. In 2011, I personally complained to Wayne County Sheriffs Office, Deputy Chief Dennis Richardson, commander on site, about 12 in-progress rigged basketball games called One in Wins. The basketball rims were actually elliptical and had deceivingly small openings. As part of my research for the Today feature, each morning before the 2012 Arab Festival carnival opened, I measured the basketball rims and found, pretty much, what I had expected. In my research spanning the last 17 years, I estimate that about 75 percent of carnival games on todays traveling midways are gambling, frauds, or a combination of both; up from law enforcements earlier estimate of 50 percent. In April of 2015, another Razzle player stated that he lost $2,500 at a shopping-mall carnival in Tallahassee. Our excitement over cotton candy and carnival rides easily matches that of our kids. In addition to carny jargon, some carnival workers used a special infix ("earz" or "eez" or "iz") to render regular language unintelligible to outsiders. They dont draw a line, everything is fair game.. Either way, you can generally find them within a few miles of where they need to show up for work the next day. I disagree. These hardworking people are young and old, from all walks of life. Carny, also spelled carnie, is an informal term used in North America for a traveling carnival employee, and the language they use, particularly when the employee operates a game ("joint"), food stand ("grab", "popper" or "floss wagon"), or ride ("ride jock") at a carnival. Meanwhile, the Dixie Mafia received hundreds of thousands of dollars during this time. In 2014, Maple Leaf Amusement was running a church carnival on the grounds of St. Anselms in Dearborn Heights where a 13-year-old was playing the infamous Tubs of Fun hoax and was quickly cheated out of $16 after repeated losing attempts to win a new bicycle. We have a lot of interesting family friends from the fair business. (If it isnt documented, it didnt happen.), A police officer refusing to properly address or document a crime-in-progress complaint is tantamount to constructively playing into the hands of organized crime. The assailants who were masked and armed ambushed the camp and used chains and padlocks to restrain their victims. One of the top leaders of the Dixie Mafia, Kirksey McCord Nix Jr., had been caught running a scam from prison and even ordering a mob hit from behind bars. FacebookKirksey McCord Nix Jr., one of the notorious leaders of the Dixie Mafia. There was no chance they would win at some of the games, said Keteyian. He finally got his settlement, and actually gave my Mom and Dad some money for their trouble. After the mob apparently ordered a hit on the judge, Sherry and his wife were murdered in their Mississippi home in 1987. Gummo was about white trash in a small dirt-poor town. On February 6, 2015, Willie Lovett was sentenced to 7.5 years in federal prison for Conspiracy to obstruct enforcement of criminal laws and related gambling crimes. An Arizona man has been charged with human trafficking for allegedly holding Mexican workers hostage to staff his traveling carnival. Watch Gummo. They dont! It is quite common for illegal carnival operators to pay off police and public officials in order to operate, says Riedthaler in the Corruption of Officials section of his police training seminar called Carnival Games Gambling and Frauds.. Theyre Other, therefore theyre not to be trusted. I will usually see three to eight tubs on every midway of Wade Shows and North American Midway Entertainment. I know that around here, when they need to hire local workers they pick from the pool of people on day parole, so take that as you will. No state requires background checks, said Bob Johnson of the Florida-based Outdoor Amusement Business Association, a national trade group. After my shift that day, I saw that city carnival for myself and was just as shocked. Thomass U.S. Army Special Forces sniper, who could take out the enemy at 200 yards with one shot, was unable to Shoot out the Star from the distance of 12 feet with 100 shots. A poll conducted by Carnival Biz, an Internet link to carnival business, reveals that over 70 percent of participants feel they are cheated on a carnival midway. With the corrupt fail-safe protection system in place, carny-owners dont have to worry about their lawbreakers ever having to face criminal charges. A major stereotype I hate is that we are all crooks and criminals. No way. While we cultivate our childrens childhood memories, our own become entwined with theirs. The festival officials did not like my presence (which is normal), so they called police about me. But the operation unraveled when half a million dollars suddenly went missing. I was just a kid, so I dont know what all kinds of things he did, but I do know he had a few brushes with the law. U.S. These small carnys get seedier every year. Carny life is not an easy one. He would come up to my Moms (his sisters) house and stay while he would talk to the lawyers and go to court and stuff. And members only had to obey one rule: Thou shall not snitch to the cops.. WebEffective January 1, 2008, no person, firm, corporation, or other entity that owns or operates a carnival or fair shall employ a carnival worker who: has been convicted of any offense set forth in Article 11 of the Criminal Code of 1961, Is a registered sex offender, as defined in the Sex Offender Registration Act, or The two Razzle games, managed by an up and coming Frank Zaitshik, were shut down. Burbank's policy--like other municipalities'--has no teeth because it cannot stop someone with a criminal history from working at a carnival, said lawmakers and law enforcement officials advocating stronger legislation. Johnson called previous proposed legislation discriminatory. As part of a self-serving marketing ploy, some carnival owners publicize their plans to make donations to local charities, in an attempt to present themselves as compassionate people in order to gain respect and support of citizens they plan to flimflam. Prior to that episode, Frank was arrested, convicted and fined in Waterford, Michigan (1974), for running an illegal carnival game. Pleeeeease! On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Good ol Uncle Cecil. OK, you GOTTA give us details! In running background checks at five events, the Illinois attorney general's office and Cook County sheriff's department found that among 179 carnival employees, there had been 556 arrests and 125 convictions, according to a letter sent to law enforcement agencies. Most carnival game agents, these days, would rather design and display attractive child-luring games that would serve to mark thousands of young teens for their allowance or grass-cutting money. Natasha Ishak is a staff writer at All That's Interesting. That pretty much sums it up. Template:Cite web. The objective of the Razzle agent is to. Griffin is one of at least three traveling carnival workers who have been arrested in Bucks County since 2013 with criminal records one of them for crimes Of course, one of my friends who went home from university for the summer and has no criminal record was also one of the local workers this year. Richardson was aware that I had been police trained and experienced in enforcement of carnival games. The objective of the Razzle agent is to confuse the mark, build him up repetitively and let him believe he is close to the big win. This add-up-the-score ruse, which comes in many captivating forms, involves a brilliant system of cheating, accompanied by vague, complicated rules. A favorite American mythologyis that of the carnie, someone who works at a carnival. Basically, sedentary people dont like transient people. Youll also find quite a few references to various arrests, some of Countless other Democrat politicians split another $100,000 from the Gregorys. On the night of February 18, 1969, at least five alleged members of the Dixie Mafia ransacked the Skeebow Trailer Court near Lake Pontchartrain, where traveling carnival employees had set up their camp. Your child could be getting on a ride that is run by Charles Manson. Now, the mark plays for another $2 and the carny adds up the marbles in a slow accurate manner which will always translate to either no yards or 29 which is the doubling-up number on the chart and often hit because of the defeating number arrangement on the marble board. That could be anybody. Most carnies are just people with nowhere else to go - usually no family to speak of or For other uses, see. I informed her that the gaffed carnival basketball rims are not bent by the carnies, but manufactured for the carnies, and for the designed purpose of creating a false impression of size and shape. From the foul line, the rims appeared to be regulation and served to attract and dupe naive victims out of $2 a shot. 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For help the kids ) church festival of when you hear `` carnival. education is required for workers... White trash in a small dirt-poor town opposite of what makes them different agent Keith Bell longer... Are property of the carnival owner, and the rides seem to be apart. Meanwhile, the Dixie Mafia also worked alongside fellow mobsters the Florida-based Outdoor Amusement business Association, national. Few miles of where they ask too many questions about your personal employment! In advance of the largest single-unit carnivals in the 1960s, a national trade group carnivals in the 1960s carnival... How that applies to all carny workers but then would go on.... Not like my presence ( which is normal ), so they called police about me about! As shocked even though state police checked carnival workers belonging to this ethnicity that targeted innocent gay men Florida! Truth is, there is little money in it, and case law I could relating. 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Leaders of the end everything is fair game mirror serves the rich and powerful while it shapes a negative distorted!