When we talk about 10 historical groups, we’re not referring to friendly societies or pleasant clubs. Throughout the ages, people have banded together for reasons that range from the scientifically daring to the downright dangerous. Below is a countdown of some of the most peculiar, uncomfortable, and occasionally terrifying groups ever to exist.
10 The Poison Squad
In the early 1900s, the United States lacked a strong regulatory agency for food and drugs. That changed thanks to chemist Harvey Washington Wiley, the man behind the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and the first commissioner of the FDA. Before his federal work, Wiley took a daring job with the USDA: he was tasked with testing every food additive on the market. To do this, he recruited twelve male volunteers—because Wiley, a self‑confessed misogynist, believed women couldn’t handle the science. He dubbed the experiment the “hygienic table trials,” but the press quickly christened his crew the “Poison Squad.”
Each day the squad ate three meals laced with the chemical of the week—borax, formaldehyde, sulfuric acid, you name it. They underwent pre‑meal check‑ups, weekly physical exams, and handed over urine, hair, sweat, and stool samples for analysis. Unsurprisingly, they fell ill, but their suffering sparked a public outcry that paved the way for modern food safety regulations.
9 The Ejection Tie Club
Founded in 1934 by engineer James Martin and Captain Valentine Baker, the Martin‑Baker Aircraft Company became a world leader in aviation safety equipment. After World War II, the firm pushed for every aircraft to be fitted with an ejection system. Since the first live test in 1946, Martin‑Baker seats have saved over 7,000 lives. To honor those who have survived an emergency ejection, the company created the exclusive Ejection Tie Club.
Membership is granted only to pilots who successfully eject using a Martin‑Baker seat and live to tell the tale. The inaugural inductee was an RAF pilot who ejected over Rhodesia in 1957. Today, the club boasts roughly 5,800 members—though many remain active service members, so details are scarce. Members receive a certificate, card, patch, and a distinctive tie they can wear proudly when not in uniform. Despite the prestige, ejection is a brutal experience: a violent punch to the chest, disorienting free‑fall, and the risk of neck, spinal, or leg injuries.
8 The Shuttlecock Club
Skeleton racing traces its roots to the Cresta Run in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where daring athletes sled head‑first down a frozen track at speeds exceeding 130 km/h. The Cresta Run, built in 1884 under the St. Morbitts Tobogganing Club, introduced the “shuttlecock,” a long, left‑handed bank roughly halfway down the course. The shuttlecock acts as a safety valve, slowing riders, but missing the turn can fling a competitor off the track.
Those who survive a fall at the shuttlecock without injury become automatic members of the Shuttlecock Club. Membership includes a special tie that signals the wearer’s brush with danger, and a coveted invitation to a members‑only annual dinner. The fall‑to‑ride ratio is about 1:12, though beginners face a higher risk.
7 The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage
The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS) was a well‑organised group that fought against the women’s right‑to‑vote movement. What makes the NAOWS especially odd is that it was founded by a woman—Josephine Dodge, a wealthy New York socialite and daughter of a former U.S. postmaster‑general. Dodge rallied other affluent women who feared that suffrage would upset the social order, especially in the South where plantation owners feared it would open the door to broader civil‑rights reforms.
To broaden its appeal, NAOWS framed suffrage as a threat to femininity and motherhood, arguing that politics was a “dirty” male arena that would strip women of their traditional privileges. Similar anti‑suffrage groups existed abroad, such as the Women’s National Anti‑Suffrage League in the United Kingdom, which at its peak had over 100 branches.
6 Home, Washington
In 1895, three anarchists scoured Puget Sound for the perfect spot to build a utopian community. They settled on the Kitsap Peninsula and christened their settlement Home, Washington. The Mutual Home Colony Association governed the commune, promoting anarchist ideals. Within a few years, Home attracted notable personalities like writer Elbert Hubbard and famed anarchist Emma Goldman, turning the settlement into a haven for social outcasts.
Initially ignored by outsiders, Home’s reputation changed after President William McKinley’s assassination by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Local newspapers, especially in Tacoma, sensationalized rumors of licentious behavior in the town. The community also faced vigilante attacks. Ultimately, internal disputes over skinny‑dipping—sparked by Russian Dukhobor members who swam nude—split the residents into “nudes” and “prudes.” The cultural clash proved insurmountable, and the Mutual Home Colony Association dissolved in 1919.
5 The Pollywogs
In maritime tradition, a “pollywog” is a sailor who has never crossed the equator. The rite of passage, known as “Crossing the Line,” dates back centuries and has evolved across cultures. Historically, the ceremony could be brutal: pollywogs might be beaten, whipped, or even tossed overboard, though many navies later turned it into a celebratory event to boost morale.
After crossing the equator, the pollywog is summoned before King Neptune. Senior sailors dress as Neptune and his court, demanding the newcomer entertain them with a talent show. The initiates then endure various “punishments,” such as crawling through slime or donning a mermaid costume. One infamous ritual is “kissing the royal belly,” where a senior officer, sometimes greased up, pretends to be the royal baby for the initiates to kiss. Notable participants include Charles Darwin, who described being scraped with pitch and paint before being dunked in water aboard the Beagle.
4 The Flat Hat Club
Established in 1750 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, the Flat Hat Club (officially the FHC Society—fraternitas, humanitas, et cognito) was among the earliest collegiate societies in America. The name derives from the mortarboard caps that students wore at the time, which later became graduation caps.
The club’s lifespan was brief; it suspended activities in 1781 amid the American Revolution. Its most famous member, Thomas Jefferson, later recalled that the society lacked a clear purpose and that members seldom kept in touch after graduation. In 1776, the club inadvertently spawned its biggest rival by denying admission to law student John Heath, who then founded Phi Beta Kappa—America’s first Greek‑letter fraternity. While Phi Beta Kappa endures, the Flat Hat Club faded into obscurity.
3 The Jumping Frenchmen of Maine
The Jumping Frenchmen of Maine were a 19th‑century group of lumberjacks and relatives who displayed an extreme startle reflex. When startled by sudden noises or contact, they would jump, flail, or perform exaggerated movements. Neurologist George M. Beard first studied them, documenting 50 cases—14 of which were found in four families—primarily in the Moosehead Lake region of northern Maine and parts of Quebec.
In severe instances, the startle response triggered involuntary obedience to commands, even if it meant harming a loved one. Some patients also exhibited echolalia (repeating words) or echopraxia (imitating movements). The condition sparked debate: Beard saw it as a heightened startle reflex, while others, like neurologist George Gilles de la Tourette, suggested it was a form of convulsive tic illness, akin to what we now know as Tourette’s syndrome.
2 The Mad Travelers
Dromomania, or “traveling fugue,” describes an uncontrollable urge to journey, distinct from ordinary wanderlust. The phenomenon gained notoriety in late‑19th‑century France after Philippe Tissie published a paper titled “Les Alienes Voyageurs” (The Mad Travelers) in 1887. He detailed the case of Jean‑Albert Dadas, a gas fitter from Bordeaux who deserted the army in 1881 and embarked on a globe‑spanning odyssey he could barely recall.
Dadas’s travels took him to Prague, Berlin, and Moscow, where he was mistakenly linked to a nihilist plot to assassinate the Tsar and was imprisoned. He was later exiled to Turkey, a destination that suited his compulsive wandering, before moving on to Vienna and eventually returning to France. The surge of dromomania cases that followed sparked debate among neurologists—Jean‑Martin Charcot linked it to latent epilepsy, while others viewed it as hysteria. Interest waned by 1910.
1 The Halfway to Hell Club
During the Great Depression, the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge became a massive employment project. The dangerous nature of building the world’s longest suspension bridge at the time led to numerous accidents, especially as many laborers were inexperienced farmers, cab drivers, and other workers masquerading as ironworkers.
Chief engineer Joseph Strauss prioritized safety, mandating hard hats and strict sobriety rules, and, most notably, installing a $130,000 safety net beneath the bridge. The net saved 19 men who fell, and these survivors were dubbed the “Halfway to Hell Club.” Workers were so grateful for the net that they required threats to prevent them from intentionally jumping into it.
Radu, a history and science enthusiast, shares these bizarre stories. Follow him on Twitter or explore his website for more obscure tales.