When you think of 10 bizarre fads, modern crazes like planking, twerking, or the Ice Bucket Challenge probably spring to mind. Yet history is littered with even stranger obsessions that would make today’s TikTok stars blush. Let’s dive into the oddball traditions that thankfully belong to a bygone era.
10 Polish Plaits
Plica polonica, literally “Polish plait,” was the result of hair left unwashed and untouched for months on end. The strands grew sticky, knotted beyond untangling, and became a breeding ground for lice. In 14th‑century Poland, peasants embraced the mess, believing the tangled mass acted as a health charm.
Superstition ran deep: folk thought the matted hair could draw illnesses out of the body. Consequently, many never cut their plaits, letting them grow into massive, unmanageable locks. The most celebrated bearer was King Christian IV of Denmark, whose regal pigtail was trimmed only by a bright red ribbon.
9 Dueling Scars
Scientific studies suggest women are momentarily drawn to men sporting facial scars, especially when those marks hint at a daring past. This allure helped fuel the early‑1900s German craze for the renommierschmiss, or “dueling scar.” A visible slash on the cheek signified honor, masculinity, and social standing.
Not everyone wanted to face a real duel. Some aspirants inflicted self‑injuries with razors, then rubbed horsehair into the wounds to deepen the scar. Others paid surgeons to carve portions of their cheeks. The practice spread among doctors, professors, and even Nazi officials, turning disfigurement into a badge of prestige.
8 Head‑Binding
While foot‑binding in China is infamous, another body‑mod trend—head‑binding—targeted the skull. Ancient Egyptians and Maya reshaped infants’ heads, believing elongated craniums signified intelligence or elite status. In other societies, the practice was purely aesthetic.
Because a newborn’s skull is soft, parents wrapped the head in cloth, vines, or placed it between wooden boards to flatten or elongate it. Frequent massages helped achieve the desired shape, creating permanent, unmistakable silhouettes.
7 Mokomokai
Mokomokai were preserved, tattooed heads of deceased Māori relatives in New Zealand. After boiling or steaming for preservation, these heads became treasured family relics.
During the 18th century, British sailors began buying mokomokai as exotic souvenirs. Initially reluctant, Māori tribes eventually sold the heads to fund inter‑tribal wars. European collectors, eager for curiosities, drove demand sky‑high, prompting some traders to purchase living slaves solely for their heads.
The trade amplified warfare: European weapons empowered certain tribes, while the influx of heads flooded Western museums, creating a grim cycle of violence and voyeurism.
6 Eating Arsenic
Arsenic, the classic poison, was synonymous with murder in the Dark Ages. Yet in 1851, peasants from Styria (modern‑day Austria) discovered a curious benefit: tiny doses of arsenic seemed to boost stamina and breathing during mountain labor.
They began with minuscule amounts, gradually building tolerance. Over time, many increased consumption to levels lethal for the average person. While most displayed no overt chronic illness, some suffered appetite loss, anxiety, and spasmodic pain during withdrawal.
5 Crakow Shoes
The crakow—a shoe with an absurdly long toe—swept 15th‑century Europe. Named after Poland’s capital, its extended toe, called a “poulaine,” made walking a challenge.
Wearers reinforced the elongated extremities with whalebone braces or stuffed moss to prevent the toe from dragging. Authorities even attempted to regulate poulaine length by social class: nobles could sport toes twice foot length, merchants one foot, peasants half a foot. The law proved futile; at the 1396 Battle of Nicopolis, crusaders trimmed their shoes to flee the Ottoman onslaught.
4 Neck Extension
The Padaung and Kayan Lahwi women of Burma and Thailand, dubbed “giraffe women,” practiced a striking fashion: brass coil rings that elongated the neck. Starting at age five with a kilogram of coils, they added more weight every few years, eventually wearing dozens of kilograms for life.
Removing the coils would leave the neck muscles too weak to support the head, making eating nearly impossible. The origin remains debated—some claim it deterred slave traders, others suggest protection from tigers—but most agree the tribe prized a long neck as a beauty ideal.
3 Dance Marathons
In the roaring 1920s, dance marathons emerged as endurance spectacles. In 1923, Alma Cummings shattered a British record by dancing nonstop for 27 hours, exhausting six partners along the way. Promoter Mr. McMillan, owner of a Houston dance academy, turned the craze into a cash‑grab, charging spectators and awarding hefty prizes.
Initially, contestants danced without rest, but promoters later introduced 15‑minute breaks, stretching contests to weeks, even months. Side attractions—boxing bouts, guest performances—kept audiences hooked. The longest recorded event lasted over 16 weeks, with dancers permitted five‑minute naps each hour.
By 1930, public outcry over exploitation led many states to ban the grueling marathons, ending the era of relentless dancing.
2 Intentional Train Crashes
Early 19th‑century railroads saw a shocking publicity stunt: deliberately crashing trains. Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad marketer William George Crush convinced executives that a staged collision before 40,000 onlookers would boost ridership. Despite safety warnings, two locomotives smashed, killing three and injuring many. Crush was briefly fired, then rehired when ticket sales skyrocketed.
From 1896 to 1932, over a hundred such orchestrated wrecks unfolded, often organized by “Head‑On Joe” Connolly. Fairs showcased the carnage; the 1913 California State Fair featured a headline‑grabbing crash. The Great Depression curtailed the trend, as crushing trains proved costly.
1 Bathing In Donkey Milk
Greek physician Hippocrates touted donkey milk as a cure‑all, treating poison, liver ailments, fevers, and infections. This endorsement sparked a luxury fad: bathing in donkey milk.
Legend holds that Cleopatra immersed herself daily in donkey milk, requiring an estimated 500 donkeys to supply enough fluid for her rituals. Roman Empress Poppaea Sabina and Napoleon’s sister Pauline also partook, believing the milk preserved youthful skin.
Modern research confirms donkey milk’s nutritional benefits, and it even served as a human infant substitute in the 20th century. Yet an average donkey yields only about a liter per day, rendering daily baths wildly wasteful.
10 Bizarre Fads Overview
From hair that refused to be cut to trains that were set to collide, these ten peculiar practices reveal humanity’s endless capacity for eccentricity. While each fad captivated its era, time has shown that some trends are best left in the history books.