We can all agree that our way of life has changed in some pretty astonishing ways over the years. The fact that 10 things common in the past seem utterly alien today shows just how far humanity has traveled. Technological breakthroughs and a deeper grasp of biology have paved the way for a world that would have been pure fantasy for our forebears.
Why 10 Things Common Reveal Our Past
Understanding these once‑everyday practices helps us appreciate the strange, often hazardous, realities our ancestors navigated. Let’s dive into a roster of ten practices that were once as ordinary as brushing your teeth.
10 Legal Drug Use
During the U.S. Civil War, an astonishing 400,000 soldiers were reported to be hooked on opiates. Back then, many believed that injecting drugs straight into a vein would prevent addiction because the substance wouldn’t touch the stomach – a notion that sounds wildly misguided today.
From ancient times onward, mood‑altering substances were readily available, often without a physician’s prescription. Women, labeled the “weaker sex,” were flooded with these remedies for a bewildering array of supposed ailments. Unsurprisingly, women’s addiction rates were three times higher than men’s.
Some of the most outlandish “conditions” treated with drugs included sexual exhaustion, ticklishness, cracked nipples, boredom, homesickness, hysteria, and even vomiting during pregnancy. Cocaine injections were administered to make women “lively and talkative,” and “oxygen parties” featuring nitrous oxide were a fashionable pastime.
9 Being Operated On By Your Barber
Need a shave, a haircut, and perhaps a toe amputation? In the past, the local barber‑surgeon’s shop offered all of those services under one roof. A fresh bowl of blood in the window or a red‑and‑white striped pole outside signaled that you were in the right place – red for blood, white for bandages.
Medical treatments back then could be downright terrifying. Bloodletting was a staple service: barbers would open veins to drain blood or attach leeches. Unfortunately, many “surgeons” couldn’t tell when to stop, leading to dangerous blood loss. Trepanning – drilling a hole in the skull – was also popular for headaches, abscesses, dementia, mental illness, and to release supposed evil spirits. All of this often happened while the patient was fully awake, with no anesthesia. And let’s not forget amputations performed by the same barber‑surgeons.
At that time, the causes of disease were mysterious. People blamed everything from demons and stars to sin, witchcraft, and even foul smells for spreading illness.
8 Capital Punishment As Entertainment
Public executions in medieval times were staged like theatrical events, drawing massive crowds to demonstrate that crime would not be tolerated. Rumor has it that authorities even declared public holidays to boost attendance, turning the grim spectacle into a bizarre form of entertainment.
Hanging was the most common method, so much so that many towns erected permanent gibbets in central squares. After the execution, the corpse might be taken away immediately or left hanging until it turned to dust, serving as a stark reminder of law and order.
Decapitation was another favored punishment, especially for nobles. If the executioner’s axe or sword was dull, the condemned could endure multiple blows – a convicted countess reportedly needed ten strikes before the fatal one. Heads were sometimes impaled on stakes and displayed indefinitely, reinforcing the power of the state.
7 Grave Robbing In The Name Of Science
While funerals were meant to honor the dead, the Renaissance era saw a disturbing twist: the dead were sometimes exhumed for scientific study. As anatomy became essential to medical progress, a shortage of cadavers emerged, prompting a grim market for fresh bodies.
Initially, executed criminals supplied most of the bodies. When demand outpaced supply, professional body snatchers began digging up graves under cover of darkness, often the night after burial, to sell the still‑fresh corpses to anatomists. When even they couldn’t keep up, medical students sometimes stole bodies themselves, and in the most desperate cases, corpses were hijacked from funeral processions.
Even Leonardo da Vinci got involved, dissecting numerous cadavers and producing exquisitely detailed drawings that dramatically advanced medical education.
6 Challenging Someone To A Duel
The gauntlet was thrown, and the challenge was issued: “I duel you.” Acceptance meant picking up the glove, after which the combatants arranged the time, place, and weapon – initially swords, later rapiers, and eventually pistols.
Dueling became a fashionable way for refined gentlemen to defend honor and reputation for centuries. Insults that sparked duels were often trivial – a comment about clothing could be enough. Strict codes of conduct aimed to prevent fatal outcomes, though they weren’t always successful.
In ancient times, judges sometimes ordered “trial by battle,” where two parties fought to let divine will decide the dispute.
5 Extremely Slow, Dangerous Travel
Getting from point A to point B in medieval times was a Herculean task. A traveler on foot could cover roughly 24‑40 km (15‑25 mi) a day; on horseback, 32‑48 km (20‑30 mi). Sailing, when possible, was faster, averaging 120‑200 km (75‑125 mi) per day.
Beyond distance, travelers faced countless hazards: lack of inns forced many to sleep outdoors, food could spoil, accidents or illness could strike, and robbery was a constant threat. Sea voyages were equally perilous, as wooden ships often couldn’t endure violent storms.
4 Brutal Punishment For Committing Adultery
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter dramatizes the plight of a Puritan woman forced to wear a scarlet “A” after an affair. In reality, such punishments were brutally real. Women caught committing adultery were publicly whipped, sometimes twice – first in their own community, then in the town where the crime occurred.
Beyond whipping, adulterous women were forced to wear the letters “AD” on their clothing, driven through town in a cart while being scourged, and in extreme cases even executed. Men, by contrast, faced the lesser charge of fornication, reflecting a gendered double standard that painted women as temptresses.
3 All In The Name Of Beauty
Beauty standards have shifted dramatically over the centuries. In the mid‑1400s, elite women were prized for high, dome‑shaped foreheads and porcelain‑white skin. To achieve the coveted look, they plucked hair from their hairlines, sometimes using rough stones or chemical burns to erase any stray strands.
Eyebrows and eyelashes were also frequently removed. Pale skin was a status symbol, so wealthy women avoided sun exposure and applied cosmetics made from mercury, pearls, silver, or crushed egg shells. Some used white flour, chalk, or lead powder mixed with olive oil, sealing the mixture with a thin coat of egg white to prolong the effect.
2 To Bathe Or Not To Bathe
During the Middle Ages, people bathed more often than they did in the Renaissance. Then, physicians oddly argued that immersing oneself in water made one vulnerable to disease, believing that opening pores released vital forces.
Renaissance society still prized cleanliness, especially among the elite. Hand basins allowed frequent washing of hands and faces, while heavy perfumes masked odors. Scented towels were rubbed over the body, and linen undergarments were changed regularly to maintain a semblance of hygiene.
1 Excessive And Deadly Childbirth
In the Renaissance, a married woman’s primary duty was to bear children, a task that claimed many lives. Childbirth was the leading cause of death for young women, with some mothers experiencing eight to twelve deliveries, and a few enduring twenty or more. The sheer frequency of births dramatically increased the risk of complications and mortality.
Midwives, whose knowledge came solely from previous generations of women, handled everything from routine deliveries to breech births, emergency baptisms for dying infants, and even cesarean sections when the mother perished during labor.