The most bloodthirsty Medieval torture device, the Iron Maiden, was the product of two Victorian minds. 19th century art collector Matthew Peacock pieced together the Iron Maiden from real …
In the 17th and 18th century, Europe experienced a pineapple craze, led by royalty. The pineapple, like royalty, was put on Earth to rule. Take this account from 1702: …
From Medieval times, a butt was a measurement of wine or whiskey. You could officially say you had a butt load of wine if you consumed 475 liters or …
The cakewalk, the most racist dance in the world, was originally performed by slaves on and judged by plantation owners. This dance, originally known as the “chalkline-walk”, the “walk-around” …
The Anglo-Saxons called it the “ear finger”. I’ll leave their meaning up to you! In Middle English, it’s the “little man”. How we use the pinky finger when having …
For one shilling in 1846, Victorian londoners could see the Euphonia, a talking robotic head with ringlets. Sometimes, it even sported a dress. The machine had bellows for lungs, …
Victorian men unable to grow “soup strainers”, “thigh ticklers” and “Piccadilly weepers” resorted to false facial hair, “beard generator” creams or even crime. Everyone from writers such as Dickens …
From eating the dead to feeding the dead to comforting mourners, food has always been a staple of burials. Paleolithic humans ate their dead in an effort to both …
In 17th and 18th century England, you could hire a sin-eater for a nominal fee to eat the sins of the dead. Village in parts of England, Scotland, and …
The world’s first traffic lights were installed in 1868 to allow politicians to safely cross the busy road to enter Parliament. Image Source In the months before its installation, …
Before there were ships in a bottle, there were whimsy bottles depicting crucifixions, saloons, murders and missing men. When hobo Carl Worner arrived in a new place, he would …
Image Source The “unspeakable act” In 1394, a Medieval transgender person spilled forth a steaming broth of Medieval scandal and vice including cross-dressing, sex with clergy (male and female) …
