Not every monster gets its just deserts. In this top 10 sick roundup we dive into the darkest corners of the legal system, where loopholes, technicalities, and bizarre standards have let some truly twisted people slip back into everyday life. Buckle up for a wild ride through necrophilia, cannibalism, school shootings, and more – all the while wondering how these monsters managed to walk free.

Why These top 10 sick Cases Matter

10 Carl Tanzler

Carl Tanzler became infatuated with his patient, Elena de Hoyos, just as she was dying. Rather than accept death, he bought her burial plot, pocketed the key, and later exhumed her body, smuggling it straight into his own home.

Using plaster, wire, and wax, Tanzler turned Elena into a macabre, lifelike tableau, propping her up in his bedroom. He spent nights beside the corpse, constantly replacing decaying parts, outfitting her with fresh clothing, and even fashioning a paper tube as a makeshift vagina.

It took seven long years before a neighbor finally caught sight of Tanzler dancing with the corpse at his window. By that time, the statute of limitations had run out, leaving the courts powerless. Tanzler walked away without a single charge for his necrophilic obsession.

He even begged Elena’s family to hand over her remains. When they refused, he crafted a life‑size effigy anyway and spent the rest of his days cohabiting with a mannequin of his dead lover.

9 Rick Gibson

Rick Gibson isn’t a painter; he’s a performance artist who prefers to feast on human tissue in broad daylight.

In 1988 he bought a friend’s tonsils, strutted into a bustling market, and chewed them while holding a sign that proclaimed his cannibalism. A year later he escalated, swallowing fresh human testicles in front of the Lewisham Clock Tower.

Because English law doesn’t specifically outlaw cannibalism, and because Gibson legally purchased the body parts, the only penalty he faced was a modest £500 fine for indecency when he fashioned earrings from fetal remains.

His antics didn’t stop there. In 1989 he attempted to squash a live rat for a painting, but a vigilante crowd intervened, rescuing the animal before he could carry out his grotesque act.

8 Father Mario Cimmarrusti

During the 1960s and 70s, Father Mario Cimmarrusti abused more than 250 teenage boys, most aged 13‑18, and never spent a single night behind bars.

He would summon boys for “medical examinations,” only to spank them, force their faces into his groin, and humiliate them with threats, all while the abuse continued unchecked.

The Catholic hierarchy was aware; witnesses reported priests walking in on Cimmarrusti’s assaults and simply walking away without comment.

When the accusations finally surfaced in 1992, he openly admitted to the abuse during a psychological evaluation. However, the statute of limitations had already expired, allowing him to walk away free. He lived out his remaining years peacefully, passing away at 82 in 2013.

7 James Sligo Jameson

In 1890 the heir to the Jameson Whiskey fortune, James Sligo Jameson, decided to sponsor a grotesque spectacle: he purchased a ten‑year‑old girl as a slave solely to watch her being devoured by cannibals.

Jameson joined an expedition to the Congo under the guise of humanitarian aid, but his true fascination lay with cannibalism. He paid a local tribe six handkerchiefs for the girl, then presented her to a cannibal tribe, declaring, “A gift from a white man who wishes to see her eaten.”

The girl was bound to a tree, her abdomen slit open, and left to bleed out before being dismembered and consumed. Jameson observed the whole ordeal, later sketching the horror in watercolor.

When the story broke, Jameson sent his account to the press, never disputing the facts. He only clarified that his sketches were drawn from memory after the event.

6 Vince Li

In 2008, aboard a Greyhound bus, Vince Li stabbed and beheaded Tim McLean, a complete stranger, then proceeded to cannibalize his flesh while terrified passengers fled.

Because Li was deemed criminally insane, he was sent to a mental institution rather than prison. Canadian law grants such patients a full release once they no longer pose a threat.

By 2016 Li was living independently, initially subject to daily medication checks. By February 2017 those checks ceased entirely, leaving him completely free without supervision.

When Tim McLean’s mother learned of Li’s unrestricted freedom, she could only say, “I have no comment today. I have no words.”

5 Mitchell Johnson And Andrew Golden

In 1998, teenage duo Mitchell Johnson (13) and Andrew Golden (11) stole nine firearms and a crate of ammunition, setting up an ambush outside a middle school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Golden triggered the fire alarm, and as children streamed out, the pair opened fire, killing four kids and an adult.

Johnson’s criminal record already included molesting a two‑year‑old girl a year earlier, a crime he never denied yet faced no jail time. For the school shooting, the two received only seven years, as juvenile law capped their sentences until they turned 21.

The age‑based system, meant to protect youth, paradoxically let both boys walk free far earlier than most adult perpetrators, with Golden actually serving a longer term due to being younger.

Since release, Johnson has cycled in and out of prison, while Golden remains out, making them the only U.S. school shooters who have been allowed to roam free.

4 William Seabrook

Writer William Seabrook was obsessed with the occult, especially voodoo zombies, and his work helped cement the modern zombie mythos.

In the 1920s he traveled to West Africa, begging a tribal chief to let him join a cannibalistic rite. The chief duped him, offering only gorilla meat, but Seabrook refused to settle for anything less than human flesh.

Back home, he enlisted a hospital worker to smuggle out human remains, then hosted a dinner party where guests were invited to watch him consume the flesh. Since eating human tissue wasn’t illegal, he faced no charges and even chronicled the taste in his books.

His private life was equally unsettling: he kept wives and mistresses chained for days, whipping them and forcing them to eat off the floor like animals. Yet, none of these acts broke any law, allowing him to live his entire life unencumbered.

3 Pedro Lopez

Pedro Lopez spent 14 years behind bars for a staggering tally of over 300 murders and rapes, primarily targeting girls aged nine to twelve.

He abducted, raped, strangled, and buried his victims in mass graves. After his 1980 arrest in Ecuador, he confessed to the killings, and authorities uncovered a mass grave confirming his claims. He received a 16‑year sentence but was released early for good behavior.

Following his release, he was transferred to a Colombian mental health facility, only to be discharged after three years when deemed fit to rejoin society.

Almost immediately after gaining freedom, Lopez fled the country, and it is believed he continued killing. He remains a wanted man for a post‑release murder, but his whereabouts are unknown.

2 Karla Homolka

Karla Homolka, alongside Paul Bernardo, became one of Canada’s most infamous serial killers, confessing to the rape and murder of at least three women, though many suspect the body count is higher.

Her gruesome spree began with the drugging of her teenage sister, presenting her as a “wedding gift” to Bernardo. Together they raped and murdered her, filmed the atrocity, and repeated similar crimes with other young girls. Bernardo received a life sentence, while Homolka struck a plea deal, serving just 12 years before her 2005 release.

Since gaining freedom, Homolka married, bore three children, and now lives in a Quebec town. Her kids attend a public school, surrounded by teachers and parents fully aware of their mother’s horrific past, bearing the indirect burden of her crimes.

1 Issei Sagawa

In 1981, after years of suppressing cannibalistic urges, Issei Sagawa lured a classmate to his Paris apartment, shot her in the neck, and proceeded to dismember and eat portions of her flesh before raping the corpse.

Police caught him as he tried to transport the body in suitcases to a lake. He confessed fully, stating, “I killed her to eat her flesh.” French courts deemed him insane and unfit for trial, sending him back to Japan.

When Japanese authorities received him, the French refused to share case documents, leaving Japan without evidence. Consequently, Sagawa was released without charge.

He later turned his notoriety into a career, giving interviews, writing books glorifying the act, and openly declaring his desire to repeat the cannibalism, saying, “There’s no doubt in my mind that I want to eat human flesh again. It’s delicious stuff.”

When you think of the internet’s biggest gatekeeper, Google instantly comes to mind, and for good reason. In this article we reveal the top 10 ways Google subtly curtails free speech, shaping what billions of users see every day.

10 It Forces Websites To Edit Or Delete Their Content

Top 10 Ways Google Impacts Online Publishing

Google’s AdSense program reigns as the world’s biggest ad network, yet it’s also a hotspot for censorship. The company pressures partner sites to reshape their material to fit Google’s preferences, essentially demanding they edit or erase anything the tech giant deems unsuitable.

Site owners are left with a stark choice: comply with Google’s demands or risk being kicked off the lucrative AdSense program.

Google claims it only asks publishers to strip away content that isn’t “family‑friendly,” but many creators argue that the definition of “family‑friendly” is entirely at Google’s whim.

The only communication most publishers receive is a terse email stating that their ads violate Google’s “Terms and Conditions,” leaving them with little transparency and no avenue for further clarification.

9 It Almost Created A Censored Search Engine For China

Google once dominated the Chinese search market, but pulled out in 2010 citing an inability to live with Beijing’s strict censorship rules. Yet a few years later the company seemed to reconsider its stance.

In 2017, The Intercept disclosed that Google was secretly developing a new search engine—code‑named Dragonfly—that would obey Chinese authorities, filtering out results related to democracy, human rights, religion, and protests.

After a wave of public outcry, Google scrapped the Dragonfly project, but insiders say the story may not be over; during a Senate hearing, VP of public policy Karan Bhatia refused to confirm that the company won’t resurrect another China‑focused, censored search engine.

8 It Censors Search Results And YouTube Videos For Politicians And Billionaires

Governments worldwide, even those in so‑called free societies, regularly pressure Google to suppress content across Blogger, Search and YouTube. While some requests are legitimate—defamation, privacy breaches, hate speech, national security, or copyright violations—others serve purely political ends, like swaying elections or silencing dissent.

Authorities can demand removal of any material they find offensive, regardless of legal violations. In practice, a government can simply tell Google, “We don’t like this,” and the tech giant often complies without a court order.

For instance, Argentina forced Google to pull content exposing a government official’s sexual harassment, Brazil compelled the removal of blog posts that criticized judges and uncovered fraud, and Germany asked Google to delete a Maps review involving child‑protective officials accused of abuse—yet the response was a quiet personnel reshuffle rather than legal action.

7 It Ended Its Weekly TGIF Meetings

In 2019, Sundar Pichai announced that the beloved weekly “Thank God It’s Friday” (TGIF) all‑hands would be scaled back to a monthly cadence, with conversations limited strictly to business matters.

TGIF had been a staple since Google’s garage days in 1999, embodying the close‑knit culture of a tiny startup where employees could openly discuss a wide range of topics.

As the company ballooned, the gatherings grew tense, with staff raising concerns about internal censorship, the firm’s cozy ties to the U.S. government, and allegations of sexual harassment.

The strained atmosphere ultimately drove co‑founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to stop attending, and leaked memos from the sessions landed in the press, creating an embarrassing spotlight on Google’s internal turmoil.

6 It Stopped The Swedish Government From Adding A Word To Its Language

Back in 2012, Sweden’s Language Council officially added the term “ogooglebar,” defined as something that can’t be found on any search engine.

Google quickly intervened, requesting that the council replace the generic phrase “a search engine” with its own brand name, arguing the word should specifically refer to content unavailable on Google.

The council pushed back, insisting the term was already widely used to describe anything unfindable online, and ultimately withdrew the word from its official registry, though the expression remains in everyday Swedish conversation.

5 It Removed Hundreds Of Donald Trump Ads For No Reason

In 2019, YouTube abruptly removed more than 300 of Donald Trump’s campaign ads, citing a breach of the platform’s internal policies.

The company declined to reveal which specific policy was violated, insisting the decision wasn’t politically motivated, while CEO Susan Wojcicki labeled the ads as “unapproved” despite them having already run for several days.

4 It Punished Employees For Protesting Against Sexual Harassment

In November 2018, roughly 20,000 Google employees and contractors staged walkouts across 50 cities worldwide, demanding better treatment of workers, stronger action against sexual harassment, and fairer contractor policies.

While the company publicly praised organizers like Claire Stapleton and promised reforms, behind the scenes it launched a covert campaign against the protest leaders.

Stapleton eventually left Google, alleging that she faced retaliation—being sidelined, denied projects, and pressured into medical leave—until legal counsel forced the firm to backtrack.

3 It Blacklisted Inoffensive Instant Search Results

Google’s former Instant Search feature once offered live suggestions as users typed, but many noticed it mysteriously stopped working for certain terms. Investigation revealed Google had silently blacklisted those words.

Although many blocked terms were explicit, a surprising number were innocuous—words like “Latina,” “ecstasy,” “amateur,” “ball kicking,” “Asian babe,” “fantasies,” “fetal,” “girl on,” “incest,” “licked,” “lovers,” “mature,” “submissive,” “teen,” and even the phrase “Google is evil.” Google explained its algorithm flagged a term if it had previously appeared in sexual contexts, unintentionally silencing harmless searches, and said it was working to cleanse the list.

2 It Banned Employees From Discussing Politics At Work

Google once hosted internal mailing lists and forums where staff could freely debate, share news, or discuss any topic of interest. This open dialogue persisted until 2019, when executives imposed a blanket ban on political conversations.

The new policy also barred any remarks that could be deemed “insulting, demeaning, or humiliating” toward colleagues or the company’s business partners—a vague definition that many suspect was used to silence dissent, especially after recent high‑profile firings of conservative engineers.

1 It Blacklisted An Entire Subdomain

Google routinely blocks sites it suspects of spamming its users, but it once took the extreme step of blacklisting an entire top‑level subdomain.

The .co.cc domain hosted more than 11 million individual sites, making it one of the world’s largest free‑hosting networks, owned by a South Korean company that offered users the ability to create sites for as little as $1,000.

Google justified the blanket ban by pointing to the subdomain’s reputation for spam and malware, yet the move also swept up countless legitimate websites, sparking criticism that the search giant overreached.

Many folks cringe at the idea of laboring for free, especially when the employer is a trillion‑dollar behemoth like Google. Yet, in a single sentence, the reality is simple: we’ve all been employed by Google at zero cost, and many of us still are.

top 10 ways you’re already working for Google

10 Book Translators

If you have ever typed those wobbly, distorted letters to prove you’re not a robot, congratulations—you’ve been a silent partner in Google’s massive book‑digitizing effort. Each time you cracked a CAPTCHA, you were actually transcribing a word for the Google Books archive, all without a paycheck.

Every CAPTCHA presented a pair of words: one was a control to confirm you were paying attention, the other was a fresh term Google needed to add to its database. Since the system never told you which was which, you gave equal effort to both, unknowingly feeding the engine that powers their searchable library.

Through this clever crowd‑sourced scheme, Google managed to scan its entire book collection and even every New York Times issue dating back to 1851—accomplishing the feat in just two years and spending not a single cent on labor. Kudos to the invisible army of CAPTCHA solvers!

9 Autonomous Car Trainers

If you thought regular CAPTCHAs were annoying, reCAPTCHA is the turbo‑charged cousin. Those image grids of traffic signs, cars, buses, and streetlights you’re asked to tag? That’s reCAPTCHA, and it’s a training ground for Google’s driverless‑car AI.

I know I sound a bit harsh, but have you ever paused, squinting at a photo trying to decide whether a pole belongs to a traffic light or stands alone? That frustration fuels the very technology that will one day steer cars without human hands.

Why do these puzzles feature only road‑related objects? Because Google is harvesting your selections to teach its autonomous‑vehicle algorithms how to recognize real‑world obstacles, one click at a time.

The company openly admitted on its developer blog when reCAPTCHA launched in 2012 that it was “redirecting the effort” you pour into solving puzzles into machine‑learning training. In other words, your annoyance is their progress.

So the next time you’re stuck on a reCAPTCHA, remember you’re not just proving you’re human—you’re also a volunteer data labeler for future self‑driving cars.

8 Image Labeler

Google’s Image Labeler stands as perhaps the most blatant example of turning play into unpaid labor. Launched over a decade ago, this web‑based game paired two random users, showing them the same picture and challenging them to tag its contents before a countdown expired.

The scoring system rewarded you when any of your tags matched those of your partner, and a live leaderboard let you see who was ahead. In essence, you were gamified crowdsourcing for Google’s image‑search algorithms.

While the original game has faded, the underlying mechanic persists: Google now presents a single image and asks simple yes/no questions like “Does this image contain water?” or “Is this a drawing?” Every click still feeds the massive visual database that powers Google Search.

Thus, even when you think you’re just having a quick time‑wasting session, you’re actually contributing to a massive, free‑labor effort that sharpens Google’s image recognition capabilities.

7 Mobile Traffic Sensors

Ever notice how Google Maps seems to know exactly when a road is snarled? The secret isn’t a hidden fleet of traffic cameras—it’s the billions of Android phones you already carry.

When a cluster of devices remains stationary on a stretch of road, Google interprets that as congestion. Conversely, when phones are spread out, the system assumes traffic is flowing smoothly. Your phone, without you even lifting a finger, becomes a moving sensor in Google’s traffic‑monitoring network.

German artist Simon Weckert demonstrated the vulnerability of this system by loading 99 Android phones onto a cart and pushing it through Berlin. Google Maps instantly flagged every street the cart crossed as “congested,” despite there being no real traffic jam.

Weckert even rolled his contraption past Google’s own headquarters, and the company’s spokesperson praised the creativity, claiming it helped improve the product. In reality, Google simply welcomed the free data feed—another example of unpaid contributions from everyday users.

6 Unaware Cartographers

A cartographer draws maps, and for a time, anyone could become one using Google’s Map Maker, a tool launched in 2008 that let volunteers tag roads, rivers, businesses, and more.

The platform suffered a critical flaw: moderation was limited to brand‑new users. Existing contributors could upload images and information without oversight, opening the door to abuse.

One disgruntled user exploited this gap by posting a photo of Android’s logo urinating on Apple’s logo in place of a legitimate location image from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, accompanied by a scathing note about Google’s review policy.

Google’s response? They shut down Map Maker altogether, ending the volunteer‑driven cartography program and pulling the plug on the free‑labor pipeline it had created.

Top 10 Disturbing Facts About Google

5 Human Seismometers

Seismometers detect earthquakes, but they’re pricey, leaving many quake‑prone regions unable to afford them. Google has taken a novel approach: turning billions of smartphones into a massive, low‑cost seismic network.

The idea is simple—your Android phone already houses an accelerometer, the sensor that tells the device whether it’s in portrait or landscape mode. While a single phone’s accelerometer can’t spot a quake, millions of them working together can register subtle ground movements.

Google’s program, known as ShakeAlert, aggregates this data to create the world’s largest and cheapest earthquake‑detection system. You don’t need to opt‑in; just have your Android device in your pocket, and you become part of the global sensor array.

Just as with traffic monitoring, you’re providing valuable data without any compensation, effectively serving as a human‑powered seismometer for Google’s benefit.

Like Google’s other crowd‑sourced initiatives, this effort hinges on the sheer volume of unpaid contributors—every phone adds a tiny piece to the seismic puzzle.

4 Google Local Guide

Half of Google’s users search for local businesses, yet the company refuses to hire staff to gather that granular information. Instead, it created the Local Guides program, a gamified volunteer network that populates Google Maps with reviews, photos, and details.

Local Guides earn points for every contribution they make. Accumulate enough, and you receive a badge—each badge larger than the last, yet ultimately as ornamental as graffiti on a crumbling wall.

Google dangles modest rewards: a pair of socks, a phone case, or a terabyte of cloud storage. However, the storage perk expires after two years, at which point Google begins charging for the space.

The company also touts “partner” perks, though it never clarifies who these partners are. Some guides report receiving Udemy course discounts, but Udemy already offers universal discounts, making the benefit feel hollow.

If you think these incentives are generous, remember that the biggest perk is merely a badge—an emblem of unpaid labor that fuels Google’s local search ecosystem.

3 Content Moderators

In 2017, thousands of advertisers pulled their ads from YouTube after they appeared alongside controversial or extremist videos that didn’t reflect their brands. While YouTube does employ a sizable team of paid moderators, the sheer volume of uploads makes it impossible for them to review everything.

Google estimates it would need over 50,000 full‑time employees or contractors to manually police every video—a cost running into hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars.

Instead, the platform relies on ordinary users like you and me to flag inappropriate content. Paid moderators only intervene when enough unpaid volunteers have reported a video, meaning the system’s effectiveness is directly tied to the community’s willingness to flag violations.

2 YouTube Translator

In March 2017, around the same time YouTube was under fire for showing ads on contentious videos, the platform rolled out a feature that lets users translate video titles and descriptions into other languages. This crowdsourced translation effort is entirely unpaid, despite the substantial workload involved.

Google marketed the feature as a way for creators to “connect with audiences” who don’t speak the original language. In reality, the move simply expands viewership, driving more ad revenue for YouTube—again, at no direct cost to the translators.

1 360 Photographers

Street View lets you virtually stand on any spot and spin 360 degrees, but the images you see are captured by people Google dubs “trusted photographers.” Despite the critical role they play, Google does not directly pay these contributors.

To become a trusted photographer, you must first submit 50 high‑quality 360° photos, earning a Google Street View badge. Once badge‑earned, you’re upgraded to “Trusted Pro,” gaining free training on how to market your services to businesses eager to appear on Street View.

Google then lists these professionals in a directory, allowing local businesses to hire them directly. The business pays the photographer, while Google remains a neutral facilitator, refusing any involvement in payment disputes.

Google sweetens the arrangement with modest perks: discounts on stickers that encourage customers to view the business via Street View, and a suggestion to purchase a $7.59 Google Cardboard headset for clients.

Seasoned 360° photographers advise newcomers to bypass Google entirely and sell their services straight to businesses, ensuring they get paid for every shot and can even replace Google’s stickers with their own branding.

One photographer invested $2,390 in 360° cameras, internet, and gear to join the program. When he finally hit the 50‑photo milestone, Google’s “reward” was a $0.99 movie rental offer—hardly the compensation one would expect for such an investment.

Top 10 Ways Google Does Evil

Some claim there’s no such thing as a free meal, but anyone familiar with the top 10 crazy ways to score complimentary grub in the UK knows otherwise. From medieval customs to modern quirks, the British Isles have long cultivated traditions that can leave lucky locals with a plateful of free fare.

top 10 crazy Food Freebies Unveiled

10 St Briavels

In most Anglican chapels the best you’ll ever find is a modest cracker and a splash of wine. Yet in the tiny village of St Briavels, the annual ceremony can turn the sanctuary into a literal food‑rain. Locals gather hoping to be smacked in the face with cubes of cheese and loaves of bread.

The ritual begins when a visiting vicar delivers a sermon that only earns his fee if the congregation erupts in cheers at the finale. After the applause, chosen villagers lug baskets brimming with tiny cheese blocks and bread cubes up to the historic Pound Wall. Below, the eager “dole claimers” line the base, eyes fixed on the sky as the goodies cascade down.

Many participants wield upside‑down umbrellas to snatch the falling treats before they hit the ground. Oddly, most don’t munch the morsels on the spot; instead they keep them as talismans. Miners once believed the blessed food could halt cave collapses, and today the cubes are tucked into matchboxes and slipped under pillows to inspire prophetic dreams.

9 Farthing Loaf Day

Charitable bequests have seeded countless British food‑giving traditions, and Farthing Loaf Day is a prime example. In Kidderminster, an unnamed elderly widow once left a sum in her will to keep the spirit of community alive on her street. Though her name has faded, the custom endures.

Every midsummer evening, anyone born on that very street is invited to a communal banquet now known as Farthing Loaf Day. The original endowment ran dry after mismanaged investments, but in 1776 John Brecknell of Church Street stepped in with £150, ensuring a tuppenny plum‑cake for every child and unmarried woman, alongside the staple loaf. He also bequeathed pipes, tobacco, and ale for the local men.

The gathering concludes with a hearty toast: “Peace and Good Neighbourhood!” A reminder that shared bread can turn strangers into friends and keep neighbourhood bonds strong.

8 Tichborne Dole

When Lady Mabella Tichborne lay on her deathbed in the 13th century, she asked her husband for a modest favor: a regular dole of food for the poor. He agreed, but with a twist—he would grant as much corn‑growing land as she could crawl around while clutching a burning torch.

Miraculously, Lady Mabella scuttled across 23 acres, a tract still called “the Crawls.” Those fields now supply the flour for the Tichborne Dole, distributed each Lady Day on 25 March. While earlier generations received whole loaves, today attendees are handed a measured sack of flour to bake their own bread.

Legend says Lady Mabella cursed the dole: should it ever cease, the Tichborne line would perish and the family house would tumble. When the tradition faltered in the 18th century due to rowdy crowds, the estate indeed collapsed, prompting a swift revival. The Tichborne name persists, and the dole lives on.

7 Scrambling Cakes

Back in 1367, residents of Twickenham could earn a modest dole of peas or beans. When that fell away, a more exhilarating custom emerged: two “great cakes” were hurled into the crowd each Easter Sunday. Naturally, the free‑for‑all cake toss sparked chaos.

The pandemonium grew so intense that Parliament intervened in 1645, banning the practice. Law‑makers argued that fighting over cake crumbs was hardly a holy celebration, and urged a switch to ordinary loaves of bread, which proved far more orderly.

Later, a related tradition saw the local vicar climb his church tower and fling loaves to children below. The “scrambling” for bread was deemed proper enough to continue, offering a more decorous version of the earlier cake‑throwing frenzy.

6 Wayfairers’ Charity

Free food is great, but free ale tops the list. In the age of monastic hospitality, travelers could count on churches for a warm meal and a roof. After the dissolution of the monasteries, most of that generosity vanished—except in Winchester.

The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty, founded in the 1130s, still welcomes anyone who walks through its Porter’s Lodge. Here, a simple request can earn you a slice of bread and a mug of locally brewed beer, a tradition brought to England by a French monk who swapped wine for a more British brew.

Beyond casual visitors, the establishment houses 25 “brothers” who enjoy reduced‑rent apartments and a subsidised two‑course lunch. It’s a living relic of medieval charity, proving that a good loaf and a hearty pint can still be shared without a price tag.

5 Butterworth Dole

At St Bartholomew’s Church in Smithfield, London, a modest sixpence was once handed to each of 21 widows every Good Friday. They would gather in the churchyard, watch the coins placed upon a tombstone, and then collect their tiny fortune. Original records vanished in the Great Fire of 1666, leaving the charity’s origins shrouded.

As the number of claimants dwindled, the tradition faded—until the 19th‑century philanthropist G.W. Butterworth revived it, adding both money and food for the poor widows. When the widows again became scarce, the charity pivoted to offering Hot Cross Buns, the classic Easter treat.

Today, any widowed woman may still attend the service and receive the modern equivalent of the sixpence—about 20 pence—along with a fresh bun, keeping the spirit of charitable sustenance alive.

4 Beating the Bounds in Leighton Buzzard

Edward Wilkes erected ten almshouses in 1630 to shelter the needy, honoring his father John. In his will, he stipulated that beer and bread be distributed every Rogation Tide, birthing the “Wilkes Walk.” This annual procession begins at All Saints Church, winds past the almshouses, and culminates in the market square.

During the walk, a clerk reads aloud from Wilkes’s will while a choirboy is hoisted by his ankles for dramatic effect. Originally, buns and beer were handed out, but the ale proved too festive. The tradition shifted to buns and lemonade, yet the sheer volume of buns—thousands consumed in 1896—overwhelmed the parish ladies, leading to a cessation of the public giveaway.

Nowadays, the buns are distributed within the church itself, preserving the historic spirit of communal generosity without the logistical chaos of a market‑square frenzy.

3 Bull Baiting

Sometimes charitable intent can breed cruelty. When George Staverton died in 1661, his will allocated funds for the poor of Wokingham to receive both beef and leather. The catch? The meat came from bulls that were baited—tethered beasts forced to fight savage dogs before being slaughtered.

Each December, two bulls paraded through town, heralding the impending spectacle. The dogs often sustained fatal injuries before the bulls finally succumbed, after which the carcasses were handed out to the hungry townsfolk.

Public outcry led to the practice’s abolition in 1821. While the meat distribution persisted, the bulls were now dispatched quietly by a butcher, ending the brutal dog‑vs‑bull contests while still feeding the needy.

2 Thomasing

Thomasing, celebrated on St Thomas’s Day (23 December), was once a widespread custom. Groups of women would wander from door to door, politely requesting modest food gifts—often a handful of flour, fresh fruit, or vegetables. The most coveted offering, however, was a dram of alcohol.

The practice went by many names—Gooding, Corning, Doleing, Washaeling, Christmasing, Gathering, and even Mumping, derived from the Saxon “Mompen,” meaning to beg. By the 1990s, memories of the tradition lingered, with anecdotes like an old lass who, after being shooed away for “spuds,” warned a farmer that a poor crop might follow—only to see the prediction come true.

Although Thomasing has largely faded, its legacy survives in the folklore of rural England, reminding us that a humble request for sustenance once knit communities together during the winter season.

1 Cheese Rolling

If you ever find yourself at Cooper’s Hill on a crisp spring morning, you’ll witness a chaotic sprint as dozens of participants hurl themselves down a steep 200‑yard slope, all chasing a single wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. The event’s herald shouts, “One to be ready! Two to be steady! Three to prepare! And four to be off!” before the cheese is sent rolling.

The chase is a free‑for‑all: the lucky runner who catches the cheese claims it as a prize, while the rest tumble down the hill, often nursing bruises or broken limbs. The tradition, first recorded in 1826, has sparked health‑and‑safety debates, yet participants willingly accept the risk, declaring “they know the risks.”

During the COVID‑19 lockdowns, the mass gathering was impossible, so organisers rolled a ceremonial cheese for a small, socially‑distanced celebration, keeping the spirit alive.

Top 10 Bizarre And Unexpected Foods From The Real Paleo Diet

The Old West is a place of legend and lore. We’ve all read the tall tales about outlaws, gunslingers, shootouts, and skirmishes from the Great Plains to the Southwest and places farther west. Many of the shocking stories are real. Many others are embellished. For more than two centuries now, the myths of the frontier remain in American culture. But what about how life really was back then? After all, there were far more people in the Great West than just sheriffs and train robbers. How did these regular folks live? What did they do for fun?

Bandits be damned—everyday laborers, ranchers, cowboys, and saloon workers needed an outlet too. And their diversions ranged from the mundane to the fascinating to the disturbing. The relative lack of law enforcement on the frontier allowed more freedom than people in other areas of the country. Many of their leisure activities followed accordingly. Today, you’ll learn about twelve things everyday folks did for fun in the Old West.

12 Drinking

What self-respecting list about life in the Old West would neglect to lead with alcohol? Drinking culture was the center of frontier life. Saloons were community centers and regular hangouts in every tiny town. For the men, that is. Women weren’t allowed in saloons unless they were there as working girls selling sex. And the atmosphere was bawdy, rowdy, and dangerous.

All sorts of men from varying backgrounds descended as often as they could to drink. Soldiers, miners, and farm laborers of all kinds met in the saloon. Outlaws and sheriffs always showed up too. Many bars had music on hand, much like those today. Others offered card games and gambling. Many more served as brothels. The working girls plied their trade upstairs while customers got drunk, then shelled out more money for pleasure.

There was never a shortage of alcohol-selling establishments to visit. At one point, the small frontier settlement of Livingston, Montana, boasted 33 saloons. Considering the ramshackle town had just 3,000 residents, that’s quite a ratio. But customers always came, and barkeeps always seemed to make out well. Whiskey was usually the drink of choice in these places. But it wasn’t like the whiskey we know today.

The stuff back then was brutal. Most commonly, it was raw alcohol fermented with burnt sugar and chewing tobacco. Some saloons served “cactus wine,” which combined tequila and peyote tea. Others offered straight rye liquor and room-temperature beer. And the most adventurous drinkers had the option to swig “rotgut.” That disgusting beverage was 100-proof liquor, usually mixed with some combination of turpentine, ammonia, pepper, and even gunpowder. Cheers? ^[1]

11 Brothels

Brothels were a common sight in frontier towns. Prostitution was technically illegal throughout the Old West in the 19th century, but that didn’t seem to stop anybody. Lawmen were often few and far between. Laborers, miners, and itinerant workers were rough-and-tumble men. They sought a good time after a hard day’s work, and they were willing to pay for it. The “soiled doves” and “sportin’ women” who populated the brothels were happy to comply if it meant taking in big bucks.

As the west was won, brothels became town centers in much the same way as saloons. Migrant laborers, cowboys, and outlaws alike gravitated to them. For a little hard-earned cash, pleasure was easy to find. The women who ran those establishments did big business. In fact, it was one of the only ways frontier women could make money and assert themselves in an otherwise male-dominated society.

By the end of the 19th century, many boomtowns made no show of hiding their red-light districts. In one infamous instance, the 1895 Travelers’ Guide Of Colorado explicitly listed out brothels operating in the state. Traveling men could pick out any establishment from 66 pages of information. It was like Yelp for the old days—with an adult angle.

That’s not to say the sex industry was healthy, of course. Countless women died from childbirth and venereal disease as a result of their work in brothels. Others were at the mercy of careless, violent, and sadistic men. In the best-case scenarios, some madams became extremely wealthy. But that was rare. More often, women were used for men’s pleasure in these not-so-halcyon days on the frontier.^[2]

10 Rodeos

Rodeos may have originated centuries ago south of the border. But while conquistadors and natives in current-day Mexico started the practice, it kicked up a notch in the Old West. In 1852, a group of Texans put on the first public rodeo in America. Immediately, it was a hit. Frontier townspeople showed up in droves. Soon, they never stopped coming. Westerners loved attending rodeos through the rest of the 19th century. Formal shows and informal outings were both popular in boomtowns. Events allowed frontier men to congregate and be merry. Some fought. Most drank. They all took in bullfighting, roping, steer wrestling, and all kinds of other cowboy-inspired attractions.

Of course, the notorious bucking bulls were the main selling point. Even from those humble beginnings in Texas, promoters sold bull riding as the ultimate show. But through the years, other ranch tricks evolved into rodeo competitions. The aforementioned roping and wrestling were central. Lasso tricks, horse racing, bullfighting, and bronco bucking filled the card.

After decades of Old West tours, rodeos began traveling. Refined audiences back east coast grew to love the rugged shows. Frontier legends like Bill Pickett and Buffalo Bill saw this spread as a money-making opportunity. They hit the road to put on rodeo shows all over America. The dollars rolled in. Over the years, rodeo became a favorite show for millions nationwide. Its legacy continues in the rodeos and stock shows of today.^[3]

9 Gambling

Wherever men gather in large numbers, certain vices seem to often follow. As we’ve already seen, drinking and sex were at the top of that list. And in the Old West, one other pastime was there, too: gambling. Saloons were serious about promoting gambling because it kept patrons buying drinks. Some bars even hired employees to keep card tables in order so customers would stay seated all night. Men spent their hard-earned dollars on high-stakes blackjack and a host of other card games.

Depending on the region and time period, all kinds of different games flourished. Some were known by humorous names. “Chuck-A-Luck” was a common card game, along with “Three Card Monte,” “High Dice,” and “Faro.” Through the decades, boomtown saloons embraced gambling. Local sheriffs even looked the other way—until issues got too violent to ignore. As you might expect, gambling often led to deadly disagreements. Arguments over card games were common in the Wild West. Disputes would bubble up over a hand of cards, a cheating accusation, or a misplaced bet. Men were quick on the draw—literally—and many of the worst spats had fatal endings.

Today, historians view gambling as a logical part of life in the West. After all, the men who settled the frontier often left behind relatively calmer lives back east. Whether mining, prospecting, or ranching, they hoped to strike it rich overnight in these boomtowns. So they showed up with a gambler’s mindset. Combine that with the presence of guns, and the atmosphere at card tables was electric. And in countless instances, gambling proved to be a very deadly diversion.^[4]

8 Animal Fighting

The Wild West was a cruel place. As we’ve already learned, countless women in brothels were mistreated. Saloons were places of wanton violence and cruelty. And the barbaric nature of the frontier extended to animals too. One of the most sought-out diversions in the Old West was animal fighting. Dog fights were common, as were cock fights.

In some boomtowns, event promoters made a big show of it. Builders would cobble together wooden grandstands to attract paying customers. The fighting arena was outlined by chicken wire. The aggressive roosters were brought in and left to unload on each other. The fights were usually short, often brutal, and always deadly. But their popularity was never in question. Promoters made a proverbial killing in ticket sales from fans wanting to watch killings inside the ring. Of course, gambling and alcohol were widespread at these events too. Are you sensing a pattern in some of these Wild West pastimes yet?

Out in the Far West, bull and bear fighting were the 19th century’s popular sports. Pioneers across California thought roosters and dogs were too insignificant to bother with. So they put together big bear pits and caught California grizzly bears in the wild. Once the bear was in the pit, promoters would send in a raging bull. The two massive animals battled it out to the death. Bear fights like this weren’t invented out west. In fact, ancient Romans used to stage similar battles—although it’s unlikely American pioneers knew that. Still, California’s bear and bull fights were historically brutal. Pioneers trapped and killed so many bears in the awful sport that the state’s grizzly bear population went extinct because of it.^[5]

7 Minstrel Shows

Across the Old West, American settlers clashed with native populations. American Indians on the Great Plains and Hispanic locals in the Southwest were pushed out of their homelands by expansion. Along the way, American pioneers brought with them some serious racial prejudices. The pastime that best exemplified this was the minstrel show. Modern historians define minstrel shows as “the comic enactment of racial stereotypes.” These circus-like acts were very popular at the time. They weren’t invented out west, but they reigned supreme there. Traveling actors wore blackface makeup and acted out unflattering Black, Hispanic, and Indian stereotypes. Today, the shows are seen as a troubling vestige of a dark period in American history. But at the time, pioneers in boomtowns flocked to see the cheap entertainment.

Minstrel shows first became popular in the 1830s back east. But what started in New York spread like wildfire on the frontier. By the mid-19th century, western shows played to the lawlessness of the land. Unique costumes and makeup promoted particularly harmful stereotypes of Indian and Hispanic cultures. Many of the performances were technically intricate. Most included songs and choreographed dances. Some even boasted burlesque sequences and opera performances. But the racially abusive nature of the content is shocking to consider today. Thankfully, minstrel shows long ago fell out of favor. Still, their cultural reign in the Old West is another reminder of how cruel life was back then.^[6]

6 Medicine Shows

Minstrel shows weren’t the only traveling entertainment out west. Along with those troubling performances, medicine shows also had a unique place on the frontier. At the time, healthcare was hard to come by in the west. So whenever a doctor or quack rode into town promising a miracle cure for common ailments, people were bound to listen. That’s how medicine shows drew attention.

Traveling charlatans and quasi-medical salesmen would pitch a tent and promote a product. People would come out to see what the new drug supposedly did. Quickly, the salesmen’s pitches ratcheted up in intensity. Soon, they became far more entertaining than the product itself. Over the years, frontier settlers attended these shows in droves just to see the spectacle.

As settlers spread further west, the traveling salesmen followed. Over the years, these events became more intricate. Some included things like burlesque shows. Others offered pie-eating contests. Even the proverbial “dog and pony show” became standard fare under the medicine tent. Settlers seeking diversion in their small community flocked to the shows. Entertainment wasn’t the only purpose, though. There were sales going on throughout the era. In fact, one modern historian published research claiming these traveling health revivals pulled in nearly $100 million annually across the west during the 19th century. That’s not chump change!^[7]

5 Circuses

Combine rodeos, minstrel shows, and medicine shows, and what do you get? Circuses! The Old West was one of the earliest supporters of circus acts. What we know today as the “Greatest Show On Earth” swept quickly across the frontier. Different circuses had different attractions, but many became stereotypical of the later industry. Russian cossack horsemen rode around rings under the big tent. Trapeze artists always wowed western crowds. Animal acts were a particular attraction too.

Traditional circus outfits like the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey developed iconic acts for pioneer audiences. Western settlers showed up in droves when one of these companies rode the rails into town. Nearly two centuries later, circus acts like these still conjure up a very particular image in the American psyche.

They weren’t the only shows available to western settlers, though. In the late 18th century, Buffalo Bill took the circus idea and gave it a pioneer spin. The longtime cowboy brought exotic animals, rodeos, and Western culture together under its own big tent. More than most former cowboys of the dying era, Buffalo Bill promoted pioneer values to the rest of the country. He hired Native American performers to re-enact moments in frontier history. Ranch hands showed off horse tricks, bison runs, and more for stunned eastern audiences. Slowly, the frontier was becoming more settled and civilized. But Buffalo Bill leaned into the era’s nostalgia. He traveled around performing Old West reenactments with his troupe well into the 20th century.^[8]

4 Public Hangings

Public executions have been a popular part of civilizations down through history. Rulers have always relished the opportunity to show subjects what happens when one breaks the law. And ancient peoples have forever been attracted to this vigilante justice. The lawless nature of the Old West felt similar to these ancient times. So it makes sense that public hangings were a common pastime on the borderless American frontier.

Sheriffs relied on hangings to boost public morale amid their often-inconsistent enforcement of the law. Nothing was better for a local lawman than catching and killing a violent train robber or hated horse thief. Settlers were often left without law enforcement nearby for long stretches of their lives. So they appreciated this frontier justice from a practical standpoint. Seeing a convicted criminal strung up in the public square made their towns safer. It also gave Westerners a grisly, macabre diversion from their boring daily lives.

In the Wild West, public hangings were elaborate rituals. Processions would follow the condemned man beginning at the jailhouse. Lawmen surrounded the bound convict. Still, local citizens hurled everything from insults to cabbages at the shamed man. By the time the group reached the gallows, the procession was often at a fever pitch. There, the sheriff would read the man his last rights. A specific hangman’s noose was made from the strongest bit of rope available. As the crowd cheered on mercilessly, the convicted man was hanged. And with his death, another measure of justice came to a lawless place.

Public hangings were common across the West during the 19th century. Dozens of legal hangings and dozens more lynchings have been recorded. In the 1850s, one California town even briefly changed its name to “Hangtown” to celebrate all the public executions that took place there. This justice was swift and shocking. But it proved very popular among frontier residents.^[9]

3 Manly Competitions

The Old West was a manly place. As we’ve already learned, women were relegated to the fringes of society. So when it came time for fun, men engaged in stereotypically masculine pursuits. As pioneer culture developed, manly games and competitions surged. These intense affairs took on all sorts of different styles. Some men pursued rock drilling competitions. Others engaged in steamboat racing. The most common sports of the day included ax throwing, rifle and revolver shooting, and log rolling. Wagon racing was a popular daredevil activity too. And when those rickety contraptions didn’t move fast enough, men ditched the wagons and opted for old-fashioned horse racing.

The competitions were fun for the men involved. They were fun for spectators too. Alcohol always flowed at these events, and plenty of cash was laid out to gamble. The manly sporting endeavors also fostered an early sense of community in fledgling frontier towns. Some men were locally famous for their sports stardom. Towns became well-known for developing icons in one sport or another.

Legends were born, and myths were made over many friendly frontier competitions. Amazingly, many of these sports have been passed down through time. In February 2022, hundreds of modern cowboys traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, to compete in a shooting challenge first founded in the mid-19th century. Clearly, the glory of the Old West remains a draw to modern men.^[10]

2 Boxing

Boxing was one of the perfect outlets for fun in the Old West. It needed no equipment and used limited space. No playing fields had to be cleared. The rules were remarkably simple. Two men could always be found willing to duke it out for money. And the era’s wanton violence fostered aggression in frontier men. So it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn boxing was one of the most popular pastimes for pioneers.

Boxing matches were often sold out. Even legends of the Wild West took part. OK Corral participant Wyatt Earp began refereeing boxing matches late in his life. He even grew to be the face of the West Coast boxing circuit. By the end of the 19th century, California towns were routinely selling thousands of tickets to quasi-legal boxing matches.

As you might expect, bouts often turned into raucous affairs. Attendees drank heavily and wagered money. When they got too out of control, crowd skirmishes broke out. Suddenly, boxing was going on in the ring and all around it! At various points in the 19th century, sheriffs tried in vain to rein in boxing promoters.

Various frontier towns moved to make the public fights illegal. But promoters didn’t care, and neither did fans. People still flocked to illegal bouts. And the most creative promoters took the opportunity to work within the law. If boxing was illegal in a town, event organizers would host a play in a theater. As luck would have it, one of the play’s “acts” involved two men duking it out on stage. The loophole worked, and crowds got their fill of (legal) organized violence.^[11]

1 Baseball

It seems hard to believe America’s pastime was a pioneer pursuit, but baseball did (partially) overlap with the age of the Wild West. After Alexander Cartwright invented the game in the mid-19th century, he set his sights on the frontier. Hearing about the discovery of gold in California, Cartwright joined thousands of other men on the journey. Naturally, he brought baseball with him. The sport had already been growing back east, and Cartwright found western settlers loved it just as much as their more refined eastern neighbors.

Frontier towns didn’t offer pro ball as eastern cities did. But in the late 19th century, settlements cobbled together amateur teams. Barnstorming baseballers traveled across the west to compete against teams in other tiny towns. Local pride was on the line—and a good bit of gambling money too. Soon, amateur baseball clubs sprouted up in places from San Francisco to Kansas City. Even gunslingers like Will Bill Hickok grew to love the game.

In 1869, baseball surged in popularity on the Great Plains. That year, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became America’s first professional baseball team. They set out on a nationwide tour to play for money. In towns across the east, fans flocked to see the new sport. Then, the Red Stockings turned west. When they got to St. Louis, they settled in for a series of exhibition games.

Teams from as far as California showed up to play against the Cincinnati nine. The barnstorming series was a smashing success with fans. It also proved critical to the future of baseball. The Red Stockings’ popularity spurred the growth of what later became Major League Baseball. And out west, settlers started spreading the game among each other until it was played practically everywhere.^[12]