In a curious experiment, the world-famous classical violinist Joshua Bell played as an incognito street busker at the Metro station L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. on January 12, 2007. Among 1097 people who passed by, only one recognized him and only a couple more were drawn to his music. However, every single child who passed by attempted to stop and listen, before being hastened on by their parents.

Benjamin Franklin was a busker of sorts. He composed songs, poetry and prose about the current political situation and went out in public and performed them. He would then sell printed copies of them to the public. He was dissuaded from busking by his father who convinced him the stigmas that some people attach to busking were not worth it. It was this experience that helped form his beliefs in free speech which he wrote about it in his journals.

Before the printing press was invented, books were extremely rare and expensive. History and current events were communicated by minstrels and troubadours or the community griots and storytellers. When the printing press was invented the majority of the population could not read and many of the early news events were put in to printed verse on broadsides and sung and then sold as this account by Ben Franklin humorously exhibits. Street performances and the free press are historically connected and intertwined.

"Those who would give up essentail liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

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