When you think about the weird ways our forebears entertained themselves, the list reads like something out of a gothic novel. From cat‑burning spectacles to competitive walking marathons, the 10 bizarre things they tried will make you wonder how far humanity has come. Our ancestors did some strange things out of boredom that we today would have trouble getting our heads around. Once upon a time, people burned cats for fun and thought competitive walking was the height of entertainment. No matter how hard we try, we may never be as crazy as our grandparents.
10 Bizarre Things: A Quick Overview
10 Cat Burning
In today’s world, the killing of any animal provokes immediate outrage, but back in 17th‑century France, cat burning was treated as a public amusement. Every midsummer, Parisians flocked to the Place de Greve for a bonfire, music, and dancing. To add a macabre twist, they gathered live cats in sacks, hoisted them over the flames from a mast, and watched the helpless creatures perish slowly.
The cats were thought to be linked to the devil and witches, and occasionally a fox was tossed into the fire for extra spectacle. While the poor animals shrieked, the crowd continued to party, singing and reveling in the grim display.
Even French royalty got involved; kings and dignitaries sometimes had the honor of lighting the bonfire. Similar midsummer fire rituals occurred across Europe, and after the flames died down, attendees collected the ashes, believing they brought good luck.
9 Incubated Babies Fairs
Before the 20th century, premature infants faced almost certain death. Dr. Martin Corney’s invention of the incubator promised hope, yet hospitals shunned it and investors balked. To keep his invention alive and win over skeptics, Dr. Couney devised a wildly unconventional solution: he turned his incubators into a sideshow attraction.
His “child hatchery” opened in Berlin in 1896, later moving to Coney Island in the United States. The exhibit resembled a normal hospital ward, complete with doctors and nurses, but one wall was made of glass so curious onlookers could peer inside and watch the tiny patients.
The show proved a massive success. Parents brought their premature babies, receiving free medical care, while visitors paid up to 25 cents to watch. The revenue covered all expenses, and most of the displayed infants survived. By the time the fairs ended after four decades, Couney had convinced the public that incubators were safe and effective.
8 Blackened Teeth
Today we obsess over whitening our smiles, but in 16th‑ and 17th‑century England, a very different dental trend took hold. Sugar was a luxury import, affordable only to the upper‑class Elizabethans, and its overuse rotted teeth spectacularly.
Queen Elizabeth I herself suffered severe dental decay from her sweet tooth, leaving her with only a few blackened, crumbling teeth. Strangely, these darkened chompers became a status symbol among the elite. Those whose teeth weren’t black enough resorted to cosmetic tricks—applying coal or other dark substances to achieve the fashionable shade.
Despite the grim appearance, Victorians were meticulous about bad breath, fearing that foul odors could spread the plague. They used vinegar, anise seeds, and other herbs to mask odors, showing a paradoxical concern for hygiene amid a macabre fashion.
7 Pedestrianism
In the 19th‑century United States, competitive walking—known as pedestrianism—reigned as the hottest spectator sport. After the Civil War, city‑dwelling crowds craved new entertainment, and arenas filled with walkers who paced nonstop from Monday through Saturday, Sundays being off‑limits for public amusements.
Racers tried to cover the greatest distance within a set time, some astonishingly logging up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) in a single 24‑hour stint. Celebrities, including future President Chester Arthur, flocked to the events, and the sport generated fierce rivalries, lucrative prize money, and even scandals involving match‑fixing and performance‑enhancing substances.
Pedestrianism eventually faded when the safety bicycle, invented by John Starley in 1885, captured the public’s imagination, ushering in a new era of competitive cycling.
6 The Alexandra Limp
From the moment she married the Prince of Wales, Princess Alexandra of Denmark captured the British public’s adoration, earning a reputation akin to a 19th‑century Princess Diana. Her charitable spirit and vivacious personality inspired countless imitators.
Following the birth of her third child in 1867, Alexandra contracted rheumatic fever, which left her with a noticeable limp. This sparked a peculiar fashion craze: women in London and Edinburgh began limping deliberately to emulate the princess. To make their gait appear authentic, many purchased mismatched shoes, prompting cobblers to craft deliberately uneven footwear. Walking canes, once reserved for the infirm, surged in popularity among able‑bodied ladies.
The trend drew sharp criticism from leading newspapers, which decried it as mockery of the royal figure. Fortunately, the fad burned out relatively quickly, leaving only a curious footnote in fashion history.
5 Headless Portraits
When photography burst onto the scene, it birthed a slew of odd trends. Beyond the well‑known post‑mortem photos that reflected Victorian fascination with death, Oscar Rejlander introduced an even more unsettling genre in 1853: headless portraits.
Rejlander, often hailed as a pioneer of artistic photography, ingeniously combined negatives to produce images where subjects appeared beside their own decapitated heads. The novelty proved wildly popular, prompting other photographers to adopt the technique.
People of all ages posed with their severed heads—some cradling them, others displaying them on platters, and a few even dangling them from their hands while brandishing a knife. The macabre fashion spread far and wide, with children joining the eerie fun.
4 Fasting Girls
Anorexia nervosa, a modern‑day eating disorder marked by self‑starvation, is often viewed as a contemporary issue. Yet its roots stretch back centuries, most famously to the late 19th‑century phenomenon of the “fasting girls.”
These young women claimed to survive for extended periods without consuming any food, a condition dubbed anorexia mirabilis. Their alleged miracles turned them into celebrities, drawing crowds from around the globe who offered gifts and prayers, hoping to secure divine favor.
Their fame highlighted society’s fascination with extreme self‑denial, and the media of the era amplified their stories, cementing their place in the annals of bizarre historical curiosities.
3 Tear Catching
The origins of tear catching are murky, but the earliest reference appears in the Bible. The practice resurfaced during the Roman era, when mourners collected their own tears in tiny glass bottles—known as lachrymatory bottles—and placed them in tombs as a sign of respect.
In some cases, women were even hired to weep into these vessels during funeral processions, as the volume of tears was thought to reflect the deceased’s worth. The custom experienced a Victorian revival, with mourners using specially‑designed vials equipped with stoppers that allowed evaporation; once the tears vanished, the mourning period was considered complete.
Across the Atlantic, Civil‑War‑era American women filled tear vials while awaiting the return of their husbands, believing that the more tears they collected, the deeper their longing and devotion.
2 Ant Farms
Fast forward to the 1950s, when Milton Levine turned a simple observation at a Fourth of July picnic into a nationwide craze: the ant farm. Captivated by the bustling colonies he saw, Levine imagined a transparent plastic “farm” where people could watch ants at work.
He marketed the product as “Uncle Milton’s Ant Farm,” pricing it at $1.98 and promoting it through newspaper ads. The novelty sparked an immediate frenzy, with orders pouring in from coast to coast.
Ants were harvested by “ant rustlers” who earned a penny per insect. Customers first bought the farm, then ordered the live ants, which arrived in vials the next day, accompanied by a manual, special sand, and a liquid dropper. By the time Levine passed away in 2011 at age 97, he had sold over 20 million ant farms, cementing his legacy as a master of mid‑century novelty toys.
1 Uranium Sitting
In 1953, a Texas dairy farm became the epicenter of a bizarre health fad known as uranium sitting. Owner Jesse Reese claimed his leg had healed after burying it in soil that scientists had recently identified as containing traces of uranium. Believing the radioactive earth possessed curative powers, people with ailments ranging from colds to cancer flocked to his farm.
Reese sold his herd and transformed the property into a “uranium dirt house,” where patrons buried sick body parts in the soil. The craze spread, spawning similar dirt houses across the state that charged up to $20 per session and added amenities like trailer camps and even landing strips to accommodate the influx.
In 1955, entrepreneurs R.E. Hight and Walter Miller opened a facility in Corydon, leasing 1.5 tons of the touted radioactive soil from Reese. They required customers to sign waivers stating no miracles were guaranteed. However, a local newspaper soon exposed that the Corydon sand was virtually non‑radioactive. A hired geological engineer confirmed the soil contained negligible uranium, shattering the illusion of healing power and causing the fad to collapse.