Where did the bizarre tradition of drinking from women’s shoes come from? The most popular origin story has all the elements we adore: debauchery, sexuality, and royalty. An infamous …
To medieval Europeans, elephants were equally ‘real’ as unicorns, as both existed in texts but were never seen. Vikings sold unicorn “horns” for centuries. The dominant story about unicorns …
How do you like them pineapples? Probably not enough to risk seven years of hard labor for the crime of pineapple theft. People in 17th and 18th century Europe …
In Georgian and Victorian times, armies of bathing machines protected a woman’s modesty before she slipped into the waves. (Image credit: Messy Nessy Chic) People entered the changing room on …
Queen Marie Antoinette’s birthed a brief craze for Caca Dauphin, a shade of brown that resembled the contents of the new prince’s diapers. Carolyn Purnell in The Sensational Past describes …
One reason Charles VI “the beloved,” became Charles “the mad” was his belief that he was made of glass. As part of this glass delusion, Charles would stay motionless …
Chastity belts are a story that’s been told for hundreds of years. Medieval men going off to the crusades (for years at a time) would fasten an metal underwear …
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 …
