In the past, bizarre and quirky animal sideshows were part of everyday life. You could expect to witness dead whales showcased in car parks, have your mind read by learned pigs (supposedly!), and participate in octopus wrestling. Today, we have fun attractions like the Moscow Cat Theater or bee bearding. But can anything today top the weird and fascinating attractions of bygone days?

10 Lion Drome

In the 1930s, motordromes turned into extremely interesting (and often dangerous) places. Some motorbike stunt riders trained their pet lions to sit in specially built sidecars and then raced madly with the animals by their side. This racing was done at 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph) around the almost perpendicular wall of the motordrome track known as the “Wall of Death!”

Believe it or not, sometimes this mad activity was not exciting enough for the participants and spectators. In those cases, an additional element of thrill, known as the “Race For Life,” was introduced. Trained lions were deliberately released and would charge after the zooming motorcycles trying to swat them with their huge paws.

The last lion drome closed in 1964 when a drunken carnival worker placed his hand inside a lion cage and had it bitten off by a male lion named King.

9 Learned Pigs

In the 18th and 19th centuries, “learned pigs” were a popular type of entertainment and attracted huge numbers of curious spectators in both England and the US.

The owners taught their “learned pigs” a number of impressive tricks, such as spelling and counting with cards, telling the time of day, distinguishing the sexes, and supposedly even reading the thoughts of members of the audience. Through fees and wagers, the owners made quite an income. But it was well deserved since training a pig could take up to two years.

Many published works concerning the training of pigs have exposed the tricks used by the pig trainers. For example, the pig was encouraged to move in a specific direction by stick-prodding and was taught to retrieve cards that were scented with food.

8 Flea Circus

The “flea circus,” otherwise known as the “smallest circus in the world,” was a popular Victorian sideshow attraction. The fleas were dressed in miniature costumes and could be seen performing various circus stunts such as tightrope walking, racing, juggling, and pulling miniature carts.

Flea circuses took place in a ring that was the size of a dinner plate. It was surrounded by small boxes that served as the houses of the performers and the stables for their carriages. The audience consisted of one person with a magnifying glass and the proprietor who stood nearby, armed with a pair of pincers in case any of his fleas misbehaved.

It was thought that circus fleas were of remarkable intelligence, but training them was no easy feat. However, recent reports suggest that these fleas were most likely “mole fleas,” a less energetic variety of the insect. Mole fleas were harnessed with a thin piece of gold wire and stimulated into movement with a heat lamp.

7 Geek Show

In the early 20th century, “geeks” were circus “freaks” whose specialty was biting off the heads of animals (usually those of chickens or snakes) and drinking their blood. Geek shows often inspired the fear that normal people in the audience could also become freaks because geeks were ordinary people otherwise. Geeks were mostly men, although the few women geeks were especially prized because it was uncommon for women to be part of such a violent act.

Geeks frequently suffered from broken teeth and jaws, and the constant interaction with animals in close proximity meant that geeks often suffered from animal-related sicknesses. Geeks were also paid the lowest wages because they could be replaced easily.

6 Bear Wrestling

In the early 1900s, bear wrestling was a popular sport that attracted large crowds of people, particularly throughout the southern United States. Often, the bear wrestled with a specific wrestler, usually his owner and trainer. Together, they perfected a choreographed match that they took on the road for everyone to see.

Other times, the bear was trained to wrestle with a different person who would play the coward and lose the match to the bear. Still other times, audience members were invited to wrestle the magnificent beast. If the audience member succeeded, he received a cash prize. Of course, most wrestling bears were declawed and detoothed.

5 Diving Horse

A “diving horse,” a popular attraction in the mid-1880s, consisted of a horse diving into a pool of water, sometimes from as high as 20 meters (60 ft). William “Doc” Carver came up with this idea when he crossed a bridge which partially collapsed and his horse fell into the water below.

Following World War II, the popularity of the diving horse act declined due to criticism from animal welfare activists. Sometimes, the horses were forced to dive four times a day, seven times a week. The owners of the shows were also accused of using electrical jolts and trapdoors to force the unwilling horses to dive.

4 Octopus Wrestling

Octopus wrestling was a curious sport that was popular in the Puget Sound in Washington in the 1950s and 1960s. The World Octopus Wrestling Championship took place there in 1963 with 111 divers taking part in the match.

The sport involved divers wrangling octopuses to the surface of the water and receiving points on the final weight of the octopuses wrestled and the amount of equipment used (snorkels versus breathing tanks). Octopus wrestling was not really “wrestling,” however. Divers simply stuck their hands into the ocean caverns and groped for the heads of the octopuses.

Then the diver would pull on the octopus until the suction created by its tentacles was released, allowing the diver to bring the octopus to the surface. Giant Pacific octopuses are timid creatures, so most cases of provocation ended with the octopus giving in or fleeing.

3 Ferret-Legging

“Ferret-legging” was a game that consisted of participants shoving live ferrets down their pants. The pants had to be tied at the ankle so that the ferret could not escape. They also had to be spacious enough to allow the ferret to move about freely, and no underwear was allowed. The ferret had to have all of its teeth and claws intact, and neither the ferret nor the participant could be drugged. The winner of the game was the person who could stand the pain from the ferret’s teeth and claws the longest.

In the past, hunters sent muzzled ferrets into the burrows of rabbits and moles to scare them out. However, ferreting became illegal during the Middle Ages, and hunters began hiding ferrets in their pants to get past game wardens. Eventually, ferret-legging became a sport practiced widely in the United Kingdom, especially among Yorkshire miners in the 1970s.

2 Dead Whales

Throughout the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, tours showcasing dead whales were a popular attraction that lured thousands of people in the United Kingdom and the United States. The three main preserved whales in the UK were named Goliath, Jonah, and Hercules and were displayed in car parks and large grassy areas such as racecourses.

For an entrance fee, the curious spectators could view the whale and various instruments of death such as the harpoon and other whaling tools. The whales were originally caught off the coast of Norway and driven around Europe to promote the whaling industry after World War II. They were eventually sold to showmen who realized their financial potential. The whales were then preserved and scooped out, and their insides were decorated with lanterns.

1 Goat Throwing

On the fourth Sunday in January, goat throwing used to take place in the Spanish village of Manganeses de la Polvorosa in honor of Saint Vincent, the town’s patron saint. The tradition was to carry a live goat to the top of a 15-meter (50 ft) church tower and throw it to the crowd below, who would then catch the goat with a canvas sheet.

According to local legend, a priest once had a special goat that could feed all the poor in the village with its milk. One day, the goat accidentally climbed atop the church tower and was so frightened by the church bells ringing for Sunday mass that it fell onto the street below.

Amazingly, the goat was caught in a blanket and survived. Thus, the tradition of goat throwing was meant to represent the miraculous survival. Nowadays, the tradition is no longer practiced due to complaints from animal rights activists. As one can imagine, the villagers complained extensively. Supposedly, the mayor of the town also said that having a fiesta without goat throwing is like having Christmas without a Christmas tree.

Laura is a student from Ireland in love with books, writing, coffee, and cats.

Christmas is a time of traditions, from decorating trees and hanging stockings to sipping eggnog by the fire. While these customs feel timeless, many of them have unexpected origins that stretch back centuries. Ancient pagan rituals, clever marketing campaigns, and practical adaptations have all played a role in shaping the holiday traditions we know today.

Over the years, these practices have evolved, blending influences from various cultures and eras. From the generosity of Saint Nicholas inspiring Christmas stockings to the Yule log’s transformation from a pagan fire ritual to a dessert, the history of these traditions is as diverse as it is fascinating. Here are 10 surprising origins behind some of Christmas’s most beloved customs.

Related: 10 Surprising Traditions Protected by UNESCO

10 Mistletoe: A Pagan Symbol of Fertility and Peace

Mistletoe has long been associated with love and romance during Christmas, but its origins trace back to ancient pagan practices. The Druids revered mistletoe as a sacred plant, believing it had magical properties to ward off evil spirits and bring fertility. During winter solstice ceremonies, they would cut mistletoe from oak trees with golden sickles and use it in rituals meant to ensure a bountiful harvest and protection for the coming year.

The tradition of kissing under mistletoe likely stems from Norse mythology. According to legend, the goddess Frigg declared mistletoe a symbol of love after it was used to resurrect her son, Balder. This association with peace and affection carried over into Christmas celebrations centuries later. The Victorians popularized the custom of kissing under the mistletoe, turning an ancient fertility rite into a romantic holiday tradition.^[1]

9 Christmas Stockings: A Charitable Legend of Saint Nicholas

The tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace originates from a 4th-century legend about Saint Nicholas. According to the story, a poor widower with three daughters could not afford dowries for his girls, leaving them destined for a life of servitude. One night, Saint Nicholas secretly dropped bags of gold coins down the chimney, which landed in the girls’ stockings that were hung by the fire to dry.

This act of generosity became intertwined with Christmas gift-giving, and the tradition of stockings spread through Europe. In the United States, stockings became a Christmas staple in the 19th century, thanks in part to Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” which describes Santa filling stockings with toys. Over time, stockings evolved from practical socks to decorative, oversized versions made specifically for holiday gifts.^[2]

8 Christmas Trees: A Fusion of Pagan and Christian Traditions

The Christmas tree as we know it today has roots in pagan rituals that celebrated evergreen plants during the winter solstice. Ancient Romans used evergreen branches in their Saturnalia festivities, and Germans in the Middle Ages decorated fir trees in honor of the solstice as a symbol of hope and eternal life.

The Christian adaptation of the Christmas tree is often credited to 16th-century Germany. Legend has it that Protestant reformer Martin Luther was inspired by the sight of stars shining through the branches of a fir tree and brought one indoors, decorating it with candles. The tradition spread across Europe and was popularized in England by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the 19th century. When German immigrants brought the practice to America, it became an enduring symbol of the holiday season.^[3]

7 Eggnog: A Colonial Adaptation of a Medieval Drink

Eggnog’s origins date back to medieval Britain, where a drink called “posset” was made by curdling hot milk with ale or wine and adding spices. Wealthy families often included eggs and cream in their recipes, making posset a luxurious treat for special occasions. As the drink crossed the Atlantic with European settlers, it evolved into the eggnog we know today.

In colonial America, rum became the alcohol of choice for eggnog, as it was cheaper and more readily available than imported wine or brandy. The drink became especially popular during Christmas gatherings, where its richness symbolized abundance and celebration. Over time, eggnog became synonymous with holiday festivities, and its enduring popularity has even led to unique regional variations, such as Puerto Rico’s rum-and-coconut version, coquito.^[4]

6 Candy Canes: Religious Symbol or Sweet Marketing Ploy?

Candy canes are often said to represent religious symbolism, with the shape resembling a shepherd’s crook and the red and white stripes symbolizing Christ’s blood and purity. However, this interpretation is largely a modern invention. The earliest candy canes, created in 17th-century Germany, were plain white sticks of sugar candy given to children during nativity plays to keep them quiet.

The iconic red stripes and peppermint flavor were introduced in the 19th century, likely as a way to make the candy more visually appealing and marketable. By the early 20th century, candy canes became a staple of Christmas decorations and treats. Their enduring popularity owes as much to clever marketing as to their supposed religious connections.^[5]

5 Santa’s Sleigh: Borrowed from Norse Mythology

The image of Santa Claus flying through the night sky in a sleigh pulled by reindeer owes its origins to Norse mythology. In the pagan Yule tradition, Odin, the chief Norse god, was said to ride across the sky on an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir during the midwinter season. Children would leave offerings of food in their shoes for Sleipnir, and in return, Odin would reward them with gifts. This myth provided a foundation for the idea of a magical figure delivering presents, especially in regions where Norse traditions mingled with early Christian celebrations.

When Christianity spread across Northern Europe, Odin’s image merged with that of St. Nicholas, evolving into the figure of Santa Claus we know today. The sleigh and reindeer were later popularized in American culture through Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” which introduced the concept of Santa’s eight reindeer. Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, entered the story much later in 1939 as part of a marketing campaign by Montgomery Ward. This fusion of ancient mythology and modern commercial storytelling created one of the most enduring and magical symbols of Christmas.^[6]

4 Gift Wrapping: A Japanese Tradition Turned Western Staple

Gift wrapping, often viewed as a quintessentially Western holiday custom, has its origins in ancient Asia. In Japan, wrapping gifts in furoshiki cloths dates back to the 8th century, when the practice was both practical and symbolic, protecting the gift while adding a personal touch. Similarly, in China, silk cloths were often used to wrap gifts during significant occasions, with elaborate designs symbolizing good fortune and respect. These traditions reflected the importance of presentation in gift-giving long before the advent of paper wrapping.

In the West, modern gift wrap owes its popularity to a happy accident in 1917. Joyce and Rollie Hall, founders of Hallmark, ran out of traditional tissue paper during the Christmas season. They improvised by selling sheets of decorative French envelope lining paper, which quickly sold out. Recognizing the potential, the Halls began producing their own colorful, sturdy wrapping paper.

By the mid-20th century, gift wrap had become a staple of holiday celebrations, with vibrant designs, ribbons, and bows turning the act of giving into a visual spectacle. Today, wrapping paper is a multi-billion-dollar industry, though eco-conscious alternatives like reusable cloths are reviving the ancient traditions it originally replaced.^[7]

3 Advent Calendars: From Religious Devotion to Chocolate Treats

Advent calendars began in 19th-century Germany as a way for families to count down the days until Christmas. Early versions were homemade, featuring candles, chalk marks, or devotional images to mark each passing day. By 1908, Gerhard Lang, a German printer, introduced the first commercially produced advent calendar, complete with small doors that opened to reveal Bible verses or festive illustrations. These early calendars emphasized religious reflection and anticipation during the Advent season.

The modern chocolate-filled advent calendar emerged in the mid-20th century as manufacturers sought to appeal to children. British and American companies like Cadbury began mass-producing calendars with tiny chocolates behind each door, making the tradition more about indulgence than spiritual preparation. Today, advent calendars have expanded beyond chocolate, offering everything from miniature toys to luxury beauty products. This evolution reflects how the tradition has shifted from its religious roots to a fun, highly commercialized part of the holiday season.^[8]

2 Christmas Cards: A Victorian Innovation

The Christmas card tradition began in 1843, thanks to Sir Henry Cole, a British civil servant who wanted an easier way to send holiday greetings. Cole commissioned the first commercial Christmas card, which featured a festive family scene and the message “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” These cards quickly caught on among the Victorian upper class as a fashionable way to convey holiday wishes without the need for lengthy handwritten letters.

The invention of affordable postage stamps, like the Penny Post in England, made sending cards accessible to a wider audience, and the trend soon spread across Europe and the United States. By the early 20th century, companies like Hallmark were mass-producing colorful and decorative Christmas cards, making them a staple of the holiday season. While email and social media have reduced the prevalence of traditional cards, they remain a cherished tradition for many, with millions still sent annually, often showcasing personal photographs or handmade designs.^[9]

1 The Yule Log: From Pagan Fire Ritual to Dessert

The Yule log tradition has roots in ancient Scandinavia, where it was a central feature of pagan midwinter celebrations. Families would select a massive log, decorate it with carvings or ribbons, and burn it in the hearth during the winter solstice to honor the Norse gods. The fire symbolized warmth, protection, and the return of the sun during the darkest days of the year. The ashes from the Yule log were often kept as charms to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits for the coming year.

When Christianity spread, the Yule log was incorporated into Christmas traditions, particularly in Northern Europe, as a symbol of light overcoming darkness. In the 19th century, French pastry chefs transformed the tradition into the bûche de Noël, a sponge cake rolled to resemble a log and decorated with frosting to mimic bark. This edible version of the Yule log became a popular Christmas dessert, blending ancient customs with modern holiday celebrations. Today, the Yule log exists both as a decorative symbol and a tasty treat, keeping its rich history alive in an entirely new form.^[10]

It’s no secret that we humans love to eat good food and consume refreshing drinks. Not surprisingly, we have made several finds at historical sites that show it’s always been this way. As we continue to uncover our past, we have found the exact treats that people enjoyed throughout time.

10 Royal Tea

Tea is one of the oldest beverages consumed by humans. But for many years, its earliest reference came from a Chinese text dating to 59 BC that vaguely referenced a drink that might have used tea. It wasn’t until January 2016 that the first definitive evidence of tea as an ancient beverage was found.

When archaeologists examined the Han Yangling Mausoleum in Xi’an, which is the tomb of Chinese Jing Emperor Liu Qi who died in 141 BC, they found a leafy substance resembling tea. When tested, the leaves showed two definitive substances in tea: caffeine and theanine.

Even by today’s standards, the tea was of high quality and may have been mostly for royalty like the emperor. Interestingly, the tomb is located far away from where tea is actually grown, meaning that it was prized enough to be both imported and buried in the tombs of important men.

9 Wine Older Than Christ

In 2013, archaeologists uncovered strange findings in the ruins of a 3,700-year-old Canaanite palace in Israel. Forty pots were discovered which appeared to contain complex wines much different from what most people had at the time.

This wine wasn’t an everyday beverage; it was for important, special occasions. Its complexity and diversity of tastes mean that it was reserved for the upper class for their banquets. The wine had long ago dissipated, but some of its residue allowed researchers to test its contents.

They discovered a variety of different flavors inside the wine—from honey and mint to cedar and tree resins. This showed that ancient wine was made with the same sophistication as today.

8 Ritual Cannabis

In 2008, Chinese archaeologists were looking through a 2,700-year-old tomb that contained some Gushi people, ancient Caucasian nomads from the Gobi Desert. Inside the tomb was a Gushi shaman who was obviously treated with much respect due to the items stored beside him—archery equipment, a rare harp, and, most interestingly, 1 kilogram (2 lb) of cannabis.

At the time, most cannabis grown was hemp, which was a useful, common crop at the time. However, this cannabis was grown to be consumed because of a high THC content similar to modern strains. Because of the absence of a pipe, the drug was most likely eaten or put into a burning fire and the fumes inhaled. It may have been used for spiritual purposes or as a medicine.

7 Bog Butter

During the Iron Age in Ireland, our ancestors must have loved butter because it’s constantly being discovered in ancient peat bogs. Over the years, turf cutters (workers who harvest peat from the bogs) have found several preserved bodies and artifacts from the distant past. Bog butter is usually found with them.

Peat bogs have unique preservative properties. Before salt was widely used as a preservative in Ireland, butter would be put into tubs and crates and then stored in the bogs for extended periods of time. This also caused it to taste better. There were even different varieties of butter, including nondairy made from animal fat.

In 2009, turf cutters discovered around 35 kilograms (77 lb) of 3,000-year-old bog butter which was exceptionally preserved, although it had long ago gained a waxy consistency. According to an article on bog butter from 1892, it tasted somewhat like cheese.

6 Mayan Chocolate

Historians now know that the use of cocoa originated thousands of years ago in Central America with the Olmec civilization and later passed to the Maya. We used to believe that the earliest use occurred at a Mayan site in modern Guatemala that dates back to AD 460, but that changed in 2002 when a Mayan “teapot” was reexamined.

Called “teapots” because of their resemblance to modern teapots, these vessels were used for distinctive rituals during elite funerals. Residue on the pots tested positive for theobromine—the chemical marker of cocoa.

According to Mayan texts, they had consumed the drink for much of their existence, but there was no proof of this until the discovery in 2002. As the pots dated to around 500 BC, it proved that the Maya had been using cocoa nearly 1,000 years longer than previously thought and that they most likely inherited this tradition from the Olmec, who died out around this time.

5 2,400-Year-Old Salad Dressing

When the wreckage of an ancient Roman vessel was found off the coast of the Greek island Chios in 2005, no one expected that two amphorae (two-handled ceramic jars) with starfish living on them contained flavoring ingredients that are still used today. Inside the jars were the remnants of olive oil flavored with oregano.

Chios was well-known for exporting wine at the time, but this showed that they may have been exporting this substance, too. Even today, older generations on the island are known to mix oregano and other spices with olive oil to serve along with foods or to use as a preservative—meaning the tradition from thousands of years ago is still alive today.

4 Peruvian Popcorn

Popcorn is a common snack around the world, but it wasn’t until 2012 that its origins were uncovered. Since corn originated from the Americas, it can be reasoned that the history of popcorn also came from there. In fact, this was proved when corn samples were discovered in several Peruvian excavation sites.

Found in different forms like corncobs, husks, and stalks, the corn (aka maize) dates from 6,700 to 3,000 years ago and was likely brought from Mexico where corn was first grown. The areas in Peru where the corn was found were the perfect place for preservation—arid and dry—so it gave archaeologists a perfect picture of how corn was consumed.

The popcorn was likely cooked by wrapping the cob and then resting it over coals, heating it over a fire, or putting it inside an oven. Other than its preparation as popcorn, corn was turned into flour. However, due to the scarcity of the corn discovered, it was not likely to be a staple of ancient Peruvian diets. It was probably a snack or delicacy that was not eaten frequently.

3 Pompeian Delicacies

The ancient Roman city of Pompeii—perfectly preserved after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79—continues to provide archaeologists with insights into the daily lives of the Romans. Even the foods of the Romans have remained, including the diet of the elite.

The difference between the classes of Pompeii can be found in the drains. In the central properties of Pompeii, the remains of some strange cuisines can be found, including fish, sea urchins, and a giraffe leg bone.

This was the only giraffe bone found in an excavation of ancient Rome, showing just how far-flung Roman trading was at the time. There were even exotic spices from the distant portions of Asia, some from as far away as Indonesia.

2 Shipwrecked Cheese

The Swedish royal warship Kronan sank in 1676, but it was rediscovered in 1980. Since then, the ship has yielded several thousand artifacts that have been preserved by the water and time.

In 2016, one of the most interesting finds came from a container pressed into clay near the wreckage. When it was brought to the surface, the divers immediately noticed a pungent smell.

Inside the container, they discovered 340-year-old cheese that had been somewhat preserved. Although it was nothing more than bacteria by then, they could examine the contents, which they described as “a mixture of yeast and Roquefort, a sort of really ripe, unpasteurized cheese.”

1 The World’s Oldest Noodles

In China, noodles have been a standard food for thousands of years. Until 2005, the earliest mention of noodles came from a nearly 2,000-year-old text from the early Han dynasty.

But when archaeologists went to Lajia, a small community in northwestern China destroyed by an earthquake 4,000 years ago, they discovered an overturned clay bowl 3 meters (10 ft) below ground. The bowl contained a pile of well-preserved noodles, making them the oldest noodles in the world.

The noodles were thin, yellow, and around 50 centimeters (20 in) long. They looked like the traditional noodle, lamian, and were created from millet, which was a standard part of the Chinese diet at the time.

Gordon Gora is a struggling author who is desperately trying to make it. He is working on several projects, but until he finishes one, he will write for for his bread and butter. You can write him at [email protected].

It’s easy to forget that during the 1930s, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party—though seen as radical by many—were not necessarily considered a threat to world peace. It’s even easier to forget that Hitler had more than a few sympathizers, even outright supporters, in the United States. Here are some pieces of history that are seldom discussed, but should serve as a reminder as to how extremist ideals can take hold anywhere, anytime.

10The Bund

A great portion of Nazi ideology revolved around the purity of the German “race,” and Hitler shrewdly realized early on that this could be exploited in the German migrant populations of his potential foes. A mere four months after his rise to power in 1933, an American organization known as “Friends of the New Germany” was assembled from several smaller organizations around the US. Originally made up of both German nationals and US citizens of German descent, it was restructured in 1936 into the German American Bund (“Bund” meaning “Alliance”), which admitted only German-Americans.

Since a quarter of the US population at the time had some German ancestry, membership was higher than one might imagine. The Bund’s leader, Fritz Kuhn, was even dubbed the American Fuhrer. While taking care to ensure its perception as an American organization remained solid (expressions of American patriotism were plentiful in Bund gatherings, which often took place on American holidays or on presidents’ birthdays) the fact remains that American citizens gave the Nazi salute, shouted “Heil Hitler,” and otherwise behaved much as an attendee at any German Nazi Party gathering would have. Fritz Kuhn was exposed by undercover journalists in 1937 and jailed for embezzlement two years later.

9Nazi Summer Camps

After its 1936 restructuring, the Bund began making a concerted effort to advance Nazi ideology in the hopes that the US could be made sympathetic to, or even a stronghold for, Hitler and his armies. Among its most alarming projects: summer camps for American youths. While not supported by or directly related to the infamous Hitler Youth program, the similarities were nevertheless glaring. Parents and children alike saluted the Fuhrer and wore the same armbands their German counterparts did. By the time they were shut down shortly after the start of the war, 16 of these camps existed all across the country, from New York to Los Angeles.

Anti-Semitic sentiment was at an all-time high in the US at this time, and programs like these were intended to indoctrinate America to racist, fascistic ideologies. Children from eight to 18 were taught to speak German and participated in military-style drills. Nazi ideology and German heritage were essentially presented as part of the same package, and many German-Americans were receptive to the message.

8The New York Nazi Community

The most prominent of these camps was Camp Siegfried in upstate New York, outside the small town of Yaphank. The town’s small houses were originally built as bungalows for the summer campers. Anyone seeking to purchase land in the town had to be primarily of “German extraction.” Many of its main streets were named after Hitler, Goebbels, and other prominent Nazi Party leaders.

Even after the beginning of the war, pro-Nazi sentiment would, shall we say, not get one kicked out of the town of Yaphank. Nazi-themed parades were held on its streets, Nazi and SS flags were flown side by side with American flags, and residents carved a giant hedge into the shape of a swastika.

Though the land was eventually seized by the FBI after the war, the town still stands, retaining the original tract homes built for pro-Nazi summer campers. Unfortunately, though many of its residents are unaware, its racist bylaws are still in effect. Even today, virtually all of its resident are white and of German ancestry.

7The Madison Square Garden Rallies

Friends of the New Germany, and later the Bund, were headquartered in New York, making the state a primary hub of American pro-Nazi activity. As early as 1934, the predecessor organization was holding rallies at Madison Square Garden. Participants gave the Nazi salute, chanted slogans, and bore banners with sentiments such as “Stop Jewish Domination of Christian Americans.”

The most infamous of these gatherings took place on February 20, 1939, when the Bund was at the height of its power. A Bund gathering wrapped in the title of a “Pro-America” rally at the Garden was attended by over 20,000 people that day. Four times that number protested outside the venue, attempting to storm it and shut it down. They were unsuccessful, but this was among the last such events. The Bund was dissolved after the US declared war on Germany in late 1941.

6The Bush Connection

Conspiracy theories have long examined a possible collusion between the US government and the Nazi regime. Circumstantial evidence abounds, from the similarities between the CIA’s reviled MKUltra program and similar programs developed by the Nazis, to the role of some of Hitler’s top rocket scientists in the development of NASA.

Among the many outlandish claims, a truth was revealed near the turn of this century that is somehow even more outlandish: Prescott Bush—a US senator and father of future president George H.W. Bush—had mutually beneficial business relationships with German companies that were directly involved with Hitler’s rise to power.

While the secretive nature of these dealings helped them avoid scrutiny for decades, the eventual reveal prompted speculation as to whether Bush should have been tried for war crimes. The assets of his company were seized in 1942 under the Trading With The Enemy Act. Not only may this relationship have played a substantial role in helping fund the Nazi war effort, it may have also laid the foundation for the Bush family fortune.

5Nazi Radio

As previously suggested, fascism was not as dirty of a word in the 1930s as it is today. Still, the vast majority of Americans were wary of fascist regimes and their tactics; after German paramilitary forces and citizens took to the streets on November 9, 1938—the infamous Kristallnacht—an American poll revealed that 94 percent of Americans disapproved, despite the pervading anti-Semitic sentiment of the time.

Yet throughout it all, one loud voice could be relied upon to defend and explain Hitler’s actions: Father Charles Coughlin, a Catholic priest and radio personality with an audience of millions. Coughlin had built his audience attacking “bankers” during the Great Depression, and he extended this criticism specifically to Jews in a broadcast that took place a mere 11 days after Kristallnacht. He railed against German Jews for appropriating Christian property and attempting to spread Communism.

Although his show was canceled shortly thereafter, the damage was done. Coughlin became the hero of Berlin . . . and America. The station owner reported that that, in response to the cancellation, “several thousand people encircled the block where our studios are located, denounced . . . WMCA as un-American, and shouted its slogan of ‘Don’t buy from Jews,’ ‘Down with Jews,’ etc.”

4American Roots Of Eugenics

Eugenics was a crucial component in Nazi ideology. The concept is largely thought to have originated with the Nazis or at least in Europe, but in reality, eugenics originated in America with some of the most prominent scientific and business leaders of the era.

Financed by such venerable entities as the Carnegie Institute and Rockefeller Foundation, many of America’s most respected scientists were busy working up theories of “race science” at the behest of their corporate financiers. Data was tweaked and faked to serve the premise that non-white races are genetically inferior and must be bred out of existence.

This “science” became prominent in the early part of the 1900s and became a vital part of Hitler’s ideology. The United States at this time actually had laws pertaining to eugenics on the books. Hitler was familiar with these, enabling him to frame his anti-Semitism in (completely invalid) medical and scientific terms. He once confided to a subordinate, “I have studied with great interest the laws of several American states concerning prevention of reproduction by people whose progeny would, in all probability, be of no value or be injurious to the racial stock.”

3Failure Of The American Press

After Hitler’s initial rise to power in 1933, much of the American press seemed to be confused—and even at odds with each other—over what the ramifications were and how it should be reported. The Nazis had risen from small fringe party to majority political party in just a couple years. Many newspapers seemed to think that he would calm down with his expansionist rhetoric once in office. Some reporters even thought he’d bring peace and prosperity to Germany after all.

The Christian Science Monitor, in a 1933 piece, praised the “quietness, order, and civility” observed by a visiting reporter; there seemed to be “not the slightest sign of anything unusual afoot.” Later in the decade, the New York Times reported “a new moderation” in the German political atmosphere since Hitler’s rise, with the New York Herald declaring stories of atrocities against Jews to be “exaggerated and often unfounded.”

While much of this can be explained by the Nazi regime’s deft handling of foreign press, much of it can also be explained by a deep misunderstanding on the part of Americans as to the nature of Hitler’s problem with Jews. Many US newspaper editors framed the conflict as one between ideologies of differing political views, rather than one between a race of people and those who wished them exterminated.

2Celebrity Supporters

Aviator Charles Lindbergh was an American hero of the 1930s. He performed the first solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 and had endured the very public ordeal of the kidnapping and murder of his infant son in 1935. He was unfortunately also a proponent of eugenics, having become close with French scientist Alexis Carrel, who was a firm believer. In a 1935 interview, Lindbergh asserted, “There is no escaping the fact that men were definitely not created equal,” and discussed Dr. Carrel’s eugenics-based ideas on race. A 1939 radio address was the final blow to his weakened public image. In it, he opined that “our civilization depends on a Western wall of race and arms which can hold back . . . the infiltration of inferior blood.”

Auto manufacturer Henry Ford was also an unrepentant anti-Semite and Nazi sympathizer, allowing recruiters for the Bund to work in his factories and employing Gestapo-like thugs to crack down on those employees who might have tried to unionize. Konrad Heiden, a biographer for Hitler, stated that Ford supplied Hitler with direct financial support totaling at least $340,000. Ford even paid for the reprinting and distribution of the racist hoax pamphlet “Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion” to libraries in the United States.

1Continued Influence

In politics and culture, “Nazis” and “Hitler” have become catch-all comparisons for those who would brutalize or subjugate others. Nevertheless, the legacy of America’s brief flirtation with this poisonous ideology is all around us.

White supremacist movements and neo-Nazi groups have long flourished in the US, but Hitler’s failed attempt at world domination gave many of them a new focus and a defined ideology. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, neo-Nazi organizations still exist in every single state as of 2016.

The CIA isn’t spotless, either. Documents uncovered in 2014 indicated that as many as 1,000 former Nazis were employed by the agency as spies during the Cold War, with some still living in the United States under government protection as late as the 1990s.

Most people who go missing turn up safe and well, within a few hours or days. Some, unfortunately, are found dead. When people do leave, the reason is often obvious, too—because they are running away from something (debt or the police, for example) or to something (a new partner or a fresh start).

It is very rare for people to disappear entirely completely and forever, but occasionally, even prominent figures seem to vanish without a trace for no reason at all. Here, we look at some very cold cases indeed.

10 John Lansing Jr.

In 1829, John Lansing Jr., former chief justice of the New York State Supreme Court, popped out to mail a letter and was never seen again. Lansing had had a glittering legal career. He was a member of the Congress of the Confederation in 1785 and was part of the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Lansing was said to have suffered from a stammer, which hindered his political career, but he still managed to become the chancellor of New York in 1801. In 1800, Lansing presided over People v. Weeks, the first formally documented murder trial in American history.

On the night of his disappearance, December 12, 1829, John Lansing left his hotel in Manhattan to mail a letter via boat. It was the last anyone saw of him. A number of theories were proposed at the time of the disappearance: that he had tripped and fallen off the dock, that he was mugged and killed, and his body was hidden somewhere, or that he was murdered by political enemies. The last theory gained some weight when the grandson of the publisher Thurlow Weed maintained that his grandfather had evidence that Lansing was murdered by powerful political enemies, though he refused to name them.^[1]

It is unlikely that we will ever know the truth, and Lansing’s body has never been found. If it were to be found, there is an empty tomb in his hometown of Albany, New York, with Lansing’s name on it, just waiting for him to come home.

9 Solomon Northup

Solomon Northup, the author of the famous book Twelve Years a Slave, disappeared without trace in 1857. His book, made into an Oscar winning-film in 2013, recounts the true story of his kidnapping and subsequent sale into slavery. His treatment under the brutal Edwin Epps makes especially difficult reading. Northup’s book was an immediate success, selling 30,000 copies in the first two years.

After his escape, Northup was said to have worked on the Underground Railroad, aiding other slaves to escape, and spent much time unsuccessfully trying to bring a suit against his kidnappers. In Washington, DC, Northup was not allowed to testify in the case because he was black. He was later allowed to file the suit in New York, but after a number of delays, the case was dropped.

He embarked upon a speaking tour in Canada in 1857 and never returned home. He was never heard from again, though a letter written in 1863 claimed he was alive. A number of theories have been proposed as to what happened to him: that he became a spy for the Union Army and was captured and killed, that he was kidnapped and made a slave again, or that he had just wandered away and died where no one knew him and is buried in an unmarked grave somewhere.^[2]

Whatever happened to Solomon Northup, he made a contribution to the abolition of slavery and the conscience of the United States and the rest of the world that lived long after him.

8 James William Boyd

In 1865, Captain James William Boyd, an officer of the Confederacy, was released after having been captured by the Union. He was due to meet his son and travel to Mexico when he vanished without trace. Boyd’s disappearance is the subject of a conspiracy theory that he was killed after being mistaken for John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln.^[3] Boyd was said to somewhat resemble Booth and shared the same initials, none of which seems to be hard evidence, and the theory has been proposed, discounted, ridiculed, and fictionalized by a whole host of historians and writers, most of whom relegate Captain Boyd to a subplot in someone else’s drama.

What is known is that Boyd was held as a prisoner of war by the Union until February 1865, when he was released so that he could return home to take care of his seven children, his wife having died while he was incarcerated. His son is said to have received a letter telling him to meet Boyd in Brownsville, Texas, but Boyd never showed up for the rendezvous, and no further word was ever received from him.

7 Charley Ross

Charley Ross was only four years old in 1874, when he and his older brother Walter were enticed into a horse-drawn carriage while they were playing in their garden in Philadelphia. Five-year-old Walter was able to get out further down the street, but Charley was driven away and was never seen again.

The kidnapping of Charley Ross is notable for two reasons. It was the first well-documented instance of a ransom note being sent in American history, and it also led to a change in the law. Until that time, kidnapping had been a misdemeanor offense. In 1875, in Pennsylvania, this was changed to a felony.

In all, 23 ransom letters were sent to the Ross family, demanding $20,000. The authorities were inexperienced at dealing with kidnapping, and the mayor’s office foolishly offered a reward of, coincidentally, $20,000 for his return. This unleashed an unending wave of sightings, tip-offs, and outright fabrications from people desperate to collect the reward and made the job of finding the boy that much harder. People claiming to be Charley turned up regularly at the Ross family home even years later.

When two men were shot by police officers in the process of committing a robbery, one of them, Joseph Douglas, confessed to the kidnapping. Both men died at the scene before they could say anything more. One of their associates was also tried and convicted of complicity in the kidnapping, but he never revealed the whereabouts of Charley or his remains.

In 2012, 22 of the ransom letters were found. The next year, they were auctioned, ironically, for $20,000.^[4]

6 William Cantelo

William Cantelo (possibly pictured above) was the inventor of an early form of machine gun. Cantelo kept a laboratory in the basement of the pub he ran in Southampton, England, and neighbors would often hear sounds like rapid gunfire coming from below. Sometime in the 1880s, Cantelo told his sons he was going on a business trip to try to sell his new invention and was never seen again.

It was first assumed that Cantelo had met with an accident on his travels, until his sons saw a newspaper photograph of another inventor named Hiram Maxim. Maxim is credited with creating the Maxim Gun, a type of machine gun. And he bore an uncanny resemblance to William Cantelo.

Cantelo’s sons certainly believed that Maxim was their father and hired a private investigator to establish the truth, without success. There is also some evidence that Maxim visited Southampton and may have met Cantelo, if, indeed, he wasn’t Cantelo. Whatever the truth, Hiram Maxim died an extremely rich man, while William Cantelo’s sons inherited a pub with bullet holes all over the basement.^[5]

5 Louis Le Prince

Louis Le Prince was a pioneer of the motion picture industry, along with the Lumiere Brothers and, of course, Thomas Edison. As a young man, Le Prince had frequented the studio of Jacques Daguerre (of Daguerreotype picture fame) and became fascinated with first images and then moving pictures, receiving a patent for his Le Prince Single-lens Cine Camera in 1888, ahead of Edison.^[6]

However, before Le Prince could get the recognition that he deserved, he disappeared suddenly and mysteriously in 1890 after boarding a train at Dijon, bound for Paris. There are a number of theories about what happened to Le Prince after he boarded the train, some of them mundane, others slightly more outlandish. It has been suggested that he killed himself because he was on the verge of bankruptcy or disappeared deliberately to avoid being exposed as homosexual. It has also been suggested that his brother murdered him in a row over his mother’s will. Le Prince’s widow even maintained that Thomas Edison ordered a hit on him in order to get him out of the way and prevent him from taking the credit for his invention.

Whatever you may choose to believe about his fate, what is certain is that Le Prince’s Cine Camera recorded the world’s first moving images with the Roundhay Garden Scene in 1888.

4 Flannan Isles Lighthouse Keepers

All three of the keepers of the Flannan Isles Lighthouse, located in Scotland’s Flannan Isles, were found to be missing on December 26, 1900, and were never seen again. It was against the regulations for all three keepers to leave their posts at any one time, particularly during a storm, when the lighthouse would have been a godsend to any ships caught in the rough seas. So why did they all leave their posts?

What is known is that when the relief keeper landed on the island, he found the lighthouse deserted. Further investigations showed that the men had certainly been working up until December 15, as their logs showed, and a vessel reported passing the lighthouse that night and noticing that the lamp was not lit, a fact not known at the time.

On inspection, the light was found to be in good working order.

We’ll probably never know what happened to them, although a number of theories have been put forward. One was that, after having previously been fined for not tying down equipment, the three keepers went together to ensure that everything was made safe ahead of the storm and were either swept off the rocks by a large wave or blown off the side of the cliff in a gale. Another theory suggested that two keepers had gone out to check ropes, and when they didn’t return, the third went out to find them, only to perish himself.^[7] In 1912, the English poet Wilfred Wilson Gibson published a poem, “Flannan Isle,” which suggested a much more mysterious end, dwelling on overturned chairs and untouched meals and supernatural misgivings, for which there was never any basis in fact.

3 Belle Gunness

Belle Gunness was a Norwegian-American serial killer who vanished from her farm in Indiana on April 28, 1908, after having killed as many as 40 people. By means which would today be called catfishing, Belle struck up pen-pal relationships with men who responded to her personal advertisements for investors looking for possible relationships. She corresponded with her victims for a number of months before convincing them to visit, bringing with them their life savings in cash while telling no one where they were going.

The ruse worked surprisingly well, and a number of men, most of them homesick for their native Norway, would turn up at her door with a $1,000 or more wrapped in paper parcels, after which they would never be seen in one piece again.^[8]

Belle was believed at one time to have died in a fire at her home, where the remains of three charred bodies, thought to be her children, and an equally burned female torso were found. Belle’s sometime boyfriend, Ray Lamphere, was arrested and questioned and charged with arson. However, when police began to excavate the farmhouse, they found a number of bodies, and body parts, that clearly had nothing to do with him.

It was later believed that the headless torso was not that of Gunness at all but rather her housekeeper, who had mysteriously disappeared. It is certainly true that Gunness had withdrawn large amounts of money from the bank immediately prior to the fire. Lamphere is said to have confessed before his death that he helped Gunness to set the fire and drove her to the train station to make good her escape. Despite numerous sightings in the years following, her whereabouts have never been determined.

2 Bobby Dunbar

Bobby Dunbar was only four years old in 1912, when he disappeared while on a family holiday in Louisiana.

Hundreds of volunteers joined in the search for Bobby, combing the riverbanks, slicing open the bellies of alligators, and even dynamiting the lake, thinking that the blast might dislodge the child’s corpse. Bobby appeared to have vanished into thin air until, eight months later, he was found alive and well in the care of William Cantwell Walters from Mississippi.

Walters was found guilty of kidnapping, despite his vehement protests that the child was, in fact, his nephew. The child was taken home to his mother, who is said to have exclaimed, “Thank God, it is my boy,” before fainting.

William Walters was convicted of child abduction and sentenced to life in prison, though he only served two years. However, in 2004, DNA tests proved that the boy (pictured above) who was “rescued” from Walters was not Bobby Dunbar and was in all probability the nephew that Walters had claimed.^[9] What happened to Bobby is unclear, but the most likely explanation is that he drowned in the river on the same day he disappeared.

1 Ambrose Small

Canadian millionaire and theater impresario Ambrose Small disappeared from his office at the Grand Opera House in Toronto, Ontario, on December 2, 1919, the same day that the sale of his theaters was due to go through. Small was certainly in a hurry for the transaction to be completed and was instrumental in moving the signing date up by two weeks.

However, although the sale netted Small over $1 million, he never withdrew a penny of the money, all of which was still in the bank when his disappearance was discovered. Nor was he reported missing by his wife, who assumed him to be “in the arms of a designing woman,” and it was only on January 3, a month later, that his disappearance was reported in the press.^[10]

A number of theories abounded at the time, including that he had been killed by his wife and burned in the furnace at the Grand Theatre or that the police had helped Small disappear.

Ward Hazell is a writer who travels, and an occasional travel writer.

History will never forget Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the Moon or the Wright Brothers’ first moments of flying through the sky. However, some historical firsts—mundane things—never quite stood the test of time.

Fortunately, historians and archaeologists have taken the time to track these things down. Thanks to their tireless work, history will never forget those moments so vital to human development—like the one when the first fart joke was cracked.

10 First Drinking Straw Was Made Of Gold
3000 BC

Drinking straws aren’t one of those things you imagine coming hand in hand with the dawn of civilization. But the cheap plastic bending tubes you use to keep your clumsy kid from spilling have been around since the world’s first empire—although back then, they were a lot fancier.

The oldest drinking straw was found in a 5,000-year-old tomb and was made out of gold encrusted with precious blue stones. The owner was so proud of his straw that he even put a seal in his tomb that showed him using it to drink out of a jar, lest anyone forget that he liked to sip drinks with his sippy straw.

There’s a reason. Sumerians used straws to drink beer, which was as thick as porridge in those days. That might sound disgusting, but Sumerians considered beer to be a gift from the gods. So using a gold straw was just giving beer the respect it deserved.

9 First Recorded Gay Couple Were Manicurists
2400 BC

As it turns out, gay marriage is about as traditional as it can be. According to Professor Greg Reeder, the first recorded gay couple in history was Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, two manicurists working for an Egyptian pharaoh.

The pair was buried together as a married couple, facing nose to nose as if getting ready to kiss. There are also puns around their tomb about their being united together for life, suggesting that these two men were more than just close friends.

Reeder’s theory of the pair as a gay couple is controversial. Some who disagree have pointed out the picture of Niankhkhnum’s wife in the tomb. Reeder responds that somebody purposefully tried to scratch the picture off the wall—meaning that, unfortunately for his wife, Niankhkhnum may not have realized some things about himself until late in life.

8 First Fart Joke Was Etched In Stone
1900 BC

The first fart joke in recorded history also happens to be the first joke of all time. Etched into a stone tablet in Babylon, archaeologists found a message that someone preserved for all time:

Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.

Likely, there had been earlier fart jokes. But this was the first time a man was so inspired by his own wit that he chiseled his joke into the side of a stone so that people thousands of years in the future would be able to enjoy it.

In another 300 years, the first non-fart joke emerged when an Egyptian wrote on a piece of papyrus:

How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish.

7 First Pregnancy Test Grew Crops With Urine
1350 BC

History’s first pregnancy test was etched onto a papyrus sheet more than 3,000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians had a weird way to find out if a woman was carrying a child and to determine if it was a boy or a girl.

First, the woman would pee on a bowl of barley and wheat seeds. She would let them stew for a few days and then plant them in the fields. If the barley grew first, she was carrying a girl. If it was wheat, she was carrying a boy. If nothing grew, she wasn’t pregnant.

Surprisingly, it actually worked. Although it probably couldn’t determine gender, researchers found that the test could detect pregnancies with an impressive 70 percent accuracy rate.

6 First 20-Sided Die Made In Ancient Egypt
300 BC

Anyone who has ever played Dungeons & Dragons has used a 20-sided die. It’s a key component of the game, essential in almost every situation that involves sitting in the basement imagining you’re a wizard.

As it turns out, though, the 20-sided die wasn’t invented for tabletop gaming. It was created a good 2,000 years earlier.

A 20-sided die carved from a rock was found in Egypt and looks shockingly familiar. In fact, other than the Greek symbols carved onto each side, it’s almost identical to the ones we use today to roll for initiative.

It’s not clear what the Egyptians used it for, but the symbols appear to represent either letters or numbers—meaning that even the symbols on the side might be the same as those on a modern die.

5 First Vending Machine Dispensed Holy Water
100 BC

Today, it’s almost impossible to imagine a vending machine being used for anything other than hawking cheap products. When the first one was created, though, it was used to dispense holy water.

The vending machine was invented by Hero of Alexandria, an engineer credited with countless innovations of his time. Hero’s vending machine used the weight of the coin to push a platform down. Then a valve opened and a little trickle of holy water would come out.

He set up vending machines in temples all across the country, finally giving people a way to get holy water on the go without all the bother of talking to a priest.

4 First Marketing Pun Was Found In Pompeii
AD 79

Companies with puns for names seem like a staple of business, but they had to get their start somewhere. From locally grown businesses like Hair Force One and Pho Shizzle to bars like Tequila Mockingbird, naming a business with a cheesy play on words is a time-honored way to pull in a few stray eyes.

It all started in Pompeii. While excavating the ruins of the buried Roman city, archaeologists stumbled upon the oldest marketing pun ever found. A brand of wine called Vesuvinum was still there—a portmanteau that combined the name of a nearby mountain with the Latin word vinum (“wine”).

3 First Selfie Was Also The First Portrait
AD 1839

When Robert Cornelius, an amateur chemist fascinated with the new photography craze, set up a camera in the back of his family’s store, he knew he was about to make history. He just didn’t know how.

Cornelius didn’t have the funds to hire a model or the ambition to find a proper subject in nature. So he figured he would just photograph himself. He was, after all, only trying to test his new equipment.

He turned on the camera, ran into the frame, and stood as still as he could for the minute it took for the camera to do its work. Then he rushed back to the other side and closed the lens. When the photograph came out, he proudly wrote on the back that it was “the first light picture ever.”

History, though, would remember it as something else: the first selfie.

2 First Child To Imitate An Airplane Was The First To See One
AD 1904

Pretending to be an airplane seems to be an almost instinctive act for children—so much so that even the first child who ever saw one did it. When the Wright Brothers tested their flying machine, they weren’t in complete seclusion. There was a family who caught the sight—and with them, a young boy.

When a reporter asked the young boy to describe the flight, he instinctively threw his arms out and ran around making engine noises. So children have literally been pretending to be airplanes ever since the first child saw one.

1 First Message Over The Internet Was ‘LOL’
AD 1969

On October 29, 1969, a group of scientists conducted the first test of ARPANET—a moment that’s sometimes considered to be the first time the modern Internet went online. In the process, purely by chance, they typed a message that would dominate the Internet for years to come.

A programming student named Charley Kline sat down to type the first message that would be sent to a computer 645 kilometers (400 mi) away: “LOGIN.” When he started typing, though, he had a problem. He entered the letters “L” and “O.” But before he could finish, the computer crashed.

Kline rebooted the system and tried again. This time, he got his full message out without any problems. By pure prophetic chance, though, the first three letters ever typed on the Internet became “LOL.”

Biological and chemical weapons have gone out of use due to the inability to control them and the inhuman effects they have on their targets. But as Machiavelli wrote, “When it is absolutely a question of the safety of one’s country, there must be no consideration of just or unjust, of merciful or cruel, of praiseworthy or disgraceful; instead, setting aside every scruple, one must follow to the utmost any plan that will save her life and keep her liberty.”

SEE ALSO: 10 Social And Biological Experiments With Freaky Results

10Siege Of Kirrha
590 BC

During the First Sacred War (Cirraean War) between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the city of Kirrha in Greece, chemical weaponry was employed to devastating effect. The war broke out as a result of Kirrha’s constant assault on the pilgrims passing through their lands to Delphi. The Amphictyonic League began their assault of the city by first poisoning its water supply with the toxic plant hellebore.

The plant’s high toxicity can cause vertigo, swelling of the tongue and throat, a feeling of suffocation, severe gastrointestinal problems, and cardiac arrest resulting in death. The plant did its job well, and the majority of the city was struck with severe bouts of diarrhea. The besiegers were able to walk into the city without facing any resistance.

9Dura-Europos
256 BC

When the Roman Army is at the gates, a defender will use just about any method or means to keep them at bay. Sasanian soldiers at Dura-Europos in modern Syria used bitumen ignited with sulfur within a tunnel the Romans were using to attempt entry into the city. The gas was so effective, it killed 19 Roman soldiers in under two minutes. The city was soon abandoned following the siege and remained uninhabited to this day, making it an important archaeological site due to the preservation of buildings and artifacts.

Due to the site’s preservation, archaeologists found chemical residue of sulfur crystals as well as the remains of the Roman soldiers plus one Sasanian, likely the individual who deployed the sulfur-bitumen concoction.

8Third Mithridatic War
73–63 BC

Mithridates (“the Poisoner King”) poisoned his mother and took various poisons himself to acquire an immunity over time. During his ongoing conflict with Rome, he often employed the use of poisoned arrows to thwart his enemies. During the third Mithridatic War, he used special arrows dipped in snake venom that would break off when they struck, leaving the metal tip coated with venom in the wound. The toxin would be fatal but would take days of agony to kill a man.

While retreating into modern Georgia, Mithridates left poisoned honey for the Romans to find. When consumed, the men would hallucinate and could even die from the consumption. There were not many casualties resulting from the honey, but such a large number of soldiers were high and hallucinating from the poison that they were useless for nearly a week.

7Siege Of Hatra
198

When Septimus Severus of the Imperial Roman legion attacked Hatra in 198, his soldiers scaled the walls to a very innovative weapon: terracotta pots filled with deadly scorpions. The men scaling the walls had the pots break open on and around them, releasing the scorpions as well as other stinging insects such as wasps and bees.

Some of the men died from the stings, while others became ill and perished due to the combination of the hot sun and the bites and stings. Scorpion bombs proved incredibly effective, and Septimus retreated, what remained of his army defeated.

6Battle Of Tortona
1155

The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, known as Barbarossa, assaulted Tortona during his Italian Campaign. Barbarossa personally undertook the attack of the city so that he could instigate their Milanese allies following their submission to his dominance of the peninsula.

He poisoned wells, bringing about numerous problems for the inhabitants of the city, the worst of which was a famine that crippled the population. This coincided with an ongoing drought, which made the unpotable well water an even greater problem. Barbarossa allowed the citizens to leave Tortona, and then he burned it to the ground. Modern residents of the city reenact the siege during a yearly celebration of the history of the town, which draws tourists from all over to enjoy the festivities.

5Battle Of Sandwich
1217

To repel an invading French fleet, the English navy under the command of Baron William D’Albiney used quicklime (calcium oxide), which he stocked aboard his vessels. He purposefully moved his ships upwind of the French and then let loose with the noxious compound into the wind so that the French were almost immediately blinded by the large cloud encompassing their ships.

Unable to defend themselves, they became an easy target for the English navy. The English sailors quickly stormed the French ships and slaughtered all but the knights due to the ransom they could receive. D’Albiney had long maintained a stock of calcium oxide on his vessels for just such an attack, but the Battle of Sandwich may have been the first time he was able to deploy it.

4Siege Of Kaffa
1346

During the siege of Kaffa in 1346, the invading Tatar army (part of the Mongolian Army of Genghis Khan) suffered an outbreak of the Bubonic plague. Never wanting to let an opportunity to devastate their enemy pass them by, the Tatars flung the corpses of their fallen plague-stricken brethren over the city walls to purposely infect their enemy. The plan worked, and the inhabitants of Kaffa were forced to surrender their city to the Mongol invaders.

It is believed that some of the survivors of the initial attack left Kaffa for Constantinople and other ports in the Mediterranean, which contributed to the pandemic known as the Black Death.

3Naples, Italy
1495

Spanish soldiers engaged in fighting throughout southern Italy used a method of biological warfare against their enemies that worked somewhat well. They added the blood of people afflicted with leprosy to bottles of wine they sold to the Italians. This was particularly dastardly due to the common perception that leprosy was a curse and punishment from God due to the disfiguring effects of the disease.

This method of biological warfare played the long game due to the manner in which leprosy spreads. The infection is long-term and can remain asymptomatic in a person’s body for between five and 20 years. This was not a very effective method of debilitating enemy soldiers and was likely done more for the stigma associated with leprosy than anything else.

2Siege Of Groningen
1672

During the Franco-Dutch War, Christoph Bernhard van Galen, the Bishop of Munster, used belladonna alkaloids contained within various forms of explosives and incendiary devices against his enemy. Atropa belladonna is more commonly known as deadly nightshade and is extremely toxic. Ingesting the alkaloids from the berries and leaves can cause severe delirium and hallucinations.

Van Galen’s use of deadly nightshade in warfare led to the first international agreement between nations, called the Strasbourg Agreement, to ban the use of “perfidious and odius” toxic devices. The Strasbourg Agreement came into being primarily due to the use of poisoned bullets employed by van Galen three years prior. The Strasbourg Agreement would remain the only such document until the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which included the banning of biological weapons.

1Siege Of Fort Pitt
1763

An outbreak of smallpox in the Ohio Valley was the result of an attack on the local natives in 1763 by the British Colonists besieged within Fort Pitt. Native American emissaries to the Fort received gifts, which came out of a smallpox infirmary with the hopes of spreading the disease to their populations. The emissaries pleaded with the colonists to vacate the fort due to overwhelming odds against them, but their attempts met with refusal and ultimately their deaths.

General Amherst said on July 8, “Could it not be contrived to Send the Small Pox among those Disaffected Tribes of Indians? We must, on this occasion, Use Every Stratagem in our power to Reduce them.” The British plan was very successful in deterring Native aggression due to the overwhelming infection spreading through their communities as a result of the attack.

The spread of infection didn’t stop at Fort Pitt. The Shawnee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw tribes carried the disease throughout the southeast. Thousands were infected as a result of the siege at Fort Pitt.

+Further Reading

If this list hasn’t depressed and horrified you enough, check out these fascinating articles from the archives:

10 Biochemical Attacks That Were Stopped Just In Time
10 Dark Facts About The Worst Chemical Terror Attack In History
10 Poisons And Their Horrifying Effects
Top 10 Obsolete Weapons That Were Shockingly Deadly

When someone dies, the legacy writers begin their work. Biopics and reams of books appear, all extolling the virtues of the heroes of our past. However, we sometimes forget that our heroes were also flawed people, and history often neglects the more unpleasant parts of famous legacies.

10Abraham Lincoln Allowed Seances And Suspended Constitutional Rights

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous leaders in world history, known for presiding over the United States during the Civil War. He is also credited with playing a part in bringing down the institution of slavery. However, what many people don’t realize is that during the extremely tense days leading up to the Civil War, Lincoln became convinced that keeping the Union together was more important than anything. He suspended many constitutional rights, taking a very dark path, believing that anything and everything that could be done must be done.

He was also extremely depressed, suffered from horrible dreams about death and suicide, and along with his wife went half insane from the death of their son. He even went so far as to allow her to conduct seances in the White House in the hopes of speaking with him.

9John. F. Kennedy Cheated On His Wife And Didn’t Care About How It Affected Her

JFK was the closest thing to a rock star president that the United States ever had. He was known for his looks, his charm, and a certain ability to get almost any lady he wanted. Many people know that JFK was quite a hound, but some people don’t know the extent of his philandering. Some stories claim he tried to have sex with a different woman every day if he could and would claim this desire was partly the fault of the medications he took for Addison’s disease.

Many people assume that this was one of those open relationships and his wife was okay with it, but many people believe she was truly hurt by his behavior. Rumors suggest she not only threatened divorce but was once bought out by his father to the tune of $1 million, so she wouldn’t put the family through an embarrassing divorce.

8Benjamin Franklin Constantly Tried To Ruin Other People For Petty Reasons

Benjamin Franklin is known for being one of the fathers of the American revolution. He acted mainly as a diplomat, forging connections across the pond to help the fledgling colonies in their revolt. He was also an inventor, coming up with the lightning rod, bifocals and several other seemingly unrelated ideas.

However, while he is often celebrated for his genius, he was not a very nice guy. He had a very harsh upbringing and would use his newspapers in an attempt to ruin the lives of rivals. He once went so far as to convince everyone his biggest rival was dead—despite the man’s insistence otherwise.

7Margaret Sanger Was A Huge Fan Of Eugenics

Margaret Sanger was an avowed feminist in the early 1900s and at one point faced prosecution for her rather controversial writings and speeches. She opened the first birth control clinic in the United States of America, which went on to become what Planned Parenthood is today. While people with a certain viewpoint may not appreciate birth control in any form, there was a more insidious issue lurking behind her interest in birth control.

Sanger was a big supporter of eugenics, the idea that only the healthy and fit should continue to reproduce or live, and the others should be weeded out. Some people have even suggested that the first birth control clinics were set up near black neighborhoods, proving her racist intentions as a eugenicist. Her actual intentions on this particular matter are hard to prove.

6Lemmy Kilmister Was A Huge Fan Of Nazi Memorabilia

Lemmy Kilmister was the leader of the metal band Motorhead and lived quite a long life for someone who abused substances as much as he did. He was known for loving his drink to an absolutely insane degree—he reportedly drank at least a fifth of whiskey every day for years. He was also known for having a very poor diet in general, but for the most part, he was a likeable guy.

However, many people don’t know that Kilmister was a huge fan of collecting Nazi memorabilia. While he claimed that he had no interest in actual Nazi ideas, many people found it extremely insensitive and felt the way he plastered it on his walls went beyond collecting history.

5Patrick Stewart Is Alleged To Be Incredibly Overbearing And Arrogant In Person

Patrick Stewart is famous for starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation and playing Professor Charles Xavier of the X-Men. In recent years he has been the subject of many memes and has become a beloved pop culture icon. However, memes make people out to be somewhat larger than life, but in the end, we are all human.

On stage during a presentation recently at an award ceremony, he started criticizing and insulting the presenter, James Corden. Corden would later state that he felt weird arguing back against such a respected voice, but he was taken aback by the criticism and felt the need to defend himself.

4Peter Sellers Was Infamous For Being Almost Impossible To Work With

Peter Sellers is famous for movies like the Pink Panther series and for playing multiple parts in the Stanley Kubrick classic Dr. Strangelove. He was able to perform a variety of accents and dialects flawlessly, and his attention to detail as an actor was second to none.

This was also his greatest flaw, as he drove everyone he worked with crazy. His family told of him being a very depressed man who was never happy with any of his work. Some producers, despite his star power, wanted nothing to do with him after working with him just once. The man’s perfectionism sometimes blinded him so much that he didn’t realize no one could stand being around him.

3Steve Jobs Cheated His Best Friend Wozniak With No Remorse

Steve Jobs left a legacy behind as the founder of Apple and the promoter of various doodads like the iPhone and the iPod. Many people remember Steve Jobs as a genius at marketing—the man could build hype like nothing else. Biopics were made about the man almost as soon as he died, and many people still extol his virtues.

However, Jobs was not a very nice guy. He had a standing policy that Apple will never donate to charity, to make as much money as possible. He consistently had his engineers do all the work and then personally took credit, and he once cheated his friend Steve Wozniak out of money back when they were first working together. It wasn’t even that much money, but Jobs did it out of petty greed. Wozniak was hurt later when he found out, never understanding why his once friend would be so awful to others.

2Henry Ford Was A Nazi Sympathizer And A Loony Vegan

Henry Ford is known for being the namesake of the Ford automobile company—still the first and longest running major automobile manufacturer in the country. Even more importantly, Ford revolutionized assembly line technology, in a way that changed production the world over forever.

Unfortunately, Ford was also a huge Nazi sympathizer. He was one of those on the side of Hitler before we got involved, and he remained a supporter of the ideals after the war was over. While some businesses would not work with Germany during those years, Ford was all too happy to help. He also believed that he could subsist eating random weeds—a theory he designed based on the idea that humans were like cars and just needed basic fuel of any kind at all.

1Carnegie The Philanthropist Was A Cruel Despot

Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Mellon, the Carnegie Institute—his name can also be seen on libraries and random concert halls all over the United States of America. Many people think of Andrew Carnegie as a great philanthropist, but his real history shows a much different picture.

Carnegie made his fortune on massive worker exploitation, to a point that even the most fervent anti-union person today would have thought his employees needed a good union. He would even call in the army and just force people to work for a pittance if he had to. Carnegie ran work camps, with whole families and generations controlled by his evil, helping him earn more fortune to enjoy.

In his later life, Carnegie felt guilty about what a horrible person he had been, and started massively donating money to charitable causes—all while many people toiled away in his camps, making him enjoy a rich life, still slaves.

+ Further Reading

History favors the victor and sometimes it conveniently forgets the darker side. Here are a few more lists than prove this:

10 Shameful Ways People Cheapened Important Legacies
10 Successful People Trapped In Their Parents’ Shadow
10 People Who Were Erased From History
Top 10 Legacies of the Middle Ages

North American history is riddled with strange animal and so-called monster encounters. The mysterious woods, plains, swamps, and mountains hid mysteries that preyed on people’s minds and fueled the legends and stories told around family hearths.

Monster sightings were as popular in the 1800 and early 1900s as they are today. However, instead of posting their sightings to social media accounts, the people of the past went to the newspapers, where their stories were published and immortalized. And, of course, that means they can still be read today.

10 Half-Man And Half-Frog

The idea of aquatic or amphibian men is nothing new. Since antiquity, people have been spotting these strange creatures across the world. However, a more recent sighting from 1902 happened in North America.

According to one newspaper report, a half-man, half-frog creature came out of Colonial Lake, a tidal pond in South Carolina. It was late at night, and witnesses said the curious creature crawled onto the bank and began making strange sounds. They may have been distress cries, according to some accounts, but after about 30 minutes, the creature returned to the water.

The event was witnessed by a truck driver, a carpenter, and numerous other people who were out late that night. According to a statement made by the carpenter:

It was too horrible looking to describe. The head resembled that of a huge frog, the wide, protruding eyes burning with a lurid light. It had arms and shoulders like a man, but the body tapered down like a serpent’s. It was covered with large, greenish scales, and I should say it was at least eight feet long from head to tail. Its mouth was filled with crooked fangs, which it snapped together with a vicious click.^[1]

9 Disappeared In Green Smoke

Wildcat sightings, as well as black panther sightings, have always been a popular topic in newspapers, but this particular sighting in Slick, Oklahoma, was a bit different from those other wildcat stories.

It was during the summer of 1921 when people began seeing an unusual wildcat. According to one report, “The monster was seen [ . . . ] by a woman and two children who were picking dewberries in a swamp at the top of a hill on the outskirts of the city. It spat fire, snarled fiercely and gave a weird howl when it beheld the trio, disappearing in a sudden burst of speed and green smoke.”^[2]

A local reporter and scientist headed to the swamp to find the spitfire cat. The scientist made impressions of the cat’s large, unfamiliar footprints and muttered, “Wildcat, but not still.” The reporter wanted to follow the tracks to find the cat, but the scientist was quite unwilling to go any further.

8 Georgia’s Hairy Man-Monster

Long before the creatures were called “Bigfoot,” there were strange sightings in the mountains of Georgia. An early account from the summer of 1812 tells how a party of hunters came across a 2.4-meter-tall (8 ft) man-creature. It was covered in bluish hair and had large ears, similar to the ears of a donkey.^[3]

Two years later, a group of adventurers from Virginia decided to try and find the mysterious man-monster. As they traveled across the undeveloped land, they spoke to numerous locals who either believed that the hairy man existed or had seen the creature themselves. Fortunately for the monster, the party of men were unable to locate its dwelling.

To this day, hikers and Bigfoot researchers claim to have seen or heard the mysterious monsters that live in Georgia.

7 Duchesne River Monster

A post trader visited the Ute people in Eastern Utah back in 1889 and began talking to them about their culture, raising children, and the local industries. Soon, the conversation moved onto local superstitions, and the trader, who was accompanied by a local newspaper reporter, was told about the Duchesne River monster.

According to the Ute, there is a spot near the head of the Duchesne that was inhabited by “a horrible monster, half man and half beast, with all the powers of an evil spirit.”^[4] The monster lived in the valley, and the locals all avoided venturing into the area, believing that the creature would kill them if it caught wind of them.

Of course, instead of believing the Ute, the reporter felt that perhaps the people were confusing the half-man monster with the Gila monsters of Arizona. However, this makes very little sense because Gila monsters were recognized as animals, not actual monsters, among Native American tribes.

6 The Red-Whiskered Devil

New York state had its own unique monster problems in 1891. Residents near Gravesend Beach claimed they saw a devil of sorts and described it as a “monster all covered with hair, with flailing red whiskers and a Satanic howl.”^[5] People were frightened out of their wits, and it was reported that women and men were staying indoors instead of venturing out at night.

Unionville was also being terrorized by the Red-Whiskered Devil. One night, a train dispatcher saw the strange creature, and, he said, it “gave a roar like thunder, grinned in a most ghastly manner and then started off.” The train dispatcher said that since he did not believe in ghosts, he decided to chase after it. Holding a monkey wrench, the man followed the creature for 3.2 kilometers (2 mi). Then it disappeared right in front of him so suddenly that the man gasped in fear.

Afterward, numerous people came forward to say they had seen the creature. While the witnesses were described as intelligent, one newspaper report ventured to say that the creature was more than likely a man dressed in a bear suit, scaring residents for his own personal thrill.

5 Half-Man And Half-Dog

There was something rather alarming running around Virginia. In 1882, it was reported that a large number of people had spotted a half-man, half-beast creature in the Petersburg area. People were so frightened that they were requesting police escorts whenever they had to travel the neighborhood at night.

Three years later and over 160 kilometers (100 mi) away, the people of Lynchburg, Virginia, had similar sightings. In this case, the monster was described as being half-man and half-dog. It was spotted chasing after children, who believed that the monster was out to eat them.^[6]

In both of these cases, newspaper reports touted that the stories of the dog-man were told by superstitious, uneducated people. No other theories were given as to what the creature or creatures could have been. However, dog-man sightings continue today in the state of Virginia.

4 Idaho’s Hair-Covered Man

It was a cold winter in Chesterfield, Idaho, in 1902. The young adults, eager to socialize and spend time outdoors, went to the local river and put on their skates.

As they skated across the river ice and gossiped, a strange figure appeared. It was 2.4 meters (8 ft) tall, covered in hair, and carrying a club. The man-like creature let out strange yells, and the young people made a mad scramble to their wagons. They escaped, unharmed.

After reaching their little town, they told their parents and neighbors what they had seen. It wasn’t long before the older adults returned to the scene. There, they discovered footprints that measured 56 centimeters (22 in) long and 18 centimeters (7 in) wide. The creature had only four toes on each foot.^[7]

As people began to talk among each other, they found out that similar prints had been discovered in the past, albeit further down the river.

Idaho Bigfoot sightings remain common to this very day.

3 It Turned Itself Inside Out

Something rather odd was plaguing the cattlemen of Bloody Basin, Arizona, back in 1913, and there were reports of men selling out, packing up, and leaving the area just to avoid whatever it was.

According to one witness, he and two other cowmen were crossing the hills when they saw a strange-looking creature ahead of them. The men were so frightened by it that they emptied their guns into the thing.

It was no use. According to the account, the beast was unharmed:

Quick as a flash it wriggled and one side actually went through the other. In other words, it turned wrong side out, reversed, revamped itself, reorganized, changed its general plan and specifications, so that the long legs moved over to the side just occupied by the short ones. Then, with a roar and a swish of the tail it fled back around the hill.^[8]

Arizona continues to offer up strange creature sightings, as well as UFO sightings and Bigfoot.

2 Pennsylvania Devil

A strange creature was seen in Springvale, Pennsylvania, back in 1910. Locals called it a devil, and it was likened to the Jersey Devil, which had been acting up in the Pine Barrens again.

William Smuck, a local of Springvale, saw the creature firsthand and said it sort of looked like a large dog, but it had hind legs shaped like those on a kangaroo. Other people who saw it likened its fur to porcupine quills, but no one was brave enough to stick around for a closer look whenever it showed itself.

After the creature had been accused of tearing apart a local dog, people were afraid to go out at night. When they had to venture out, they would do so in groups, and many people began carrying shotguns and rifles with them.

According to the locals, the devil creature was ferocious. It moved like a panther, was fast, and hunted among the local farms.^[9]

1 Dismal Swamp Monster

While people in other parts of the US dismissed Virginians as superstitious, the Virginians themselves were having a terrible beast problem back in 1902. This is not surprising, since 20 years prior to this latest incident, Virginians were having problems with a dog-man.

According to old newspaper reports, something came out of the Dismal Swamp area and began eating people’s dogs and livestock. The creature, said to have had eyes that glowed in the dark like phosphorous, was hunted down and supposedly killed.

Shortly afterward, however, another Dismal Swamp monster came out of the area to terrorize the neighborhood. A farmer witnessed the strange creature kill seven of his dogs, but when he went after it with a pistol, the creature attacked him and tore his clothing to shreds.^[10]

Another neighbor saw the creature. He described it as an animal that was larger than a wolf, “with shaggy, yellow hair, long head, and sunken eyes.” About two weeks later, it was reported that the creature had been killed again, but this time, it was described as being similar to a wolf but far larger.

Today, the Dismal Swamp area is often visited by thrill-seekers who want to catch sight of the ever-elusive Bigfoot that has been spotted in the area by numerous eyewitnesses.

Elizabeth is a full-time freelance writer and enjoys researching early American history. When she is not busy digging through newspaper archives, she is usually traveling to historical sites throughout the US.

Some of the festivals we celebrate today can seem quite extraordinary. Just think about the Spanish festival La Tomatina, which is the biggest tomato fight in the world, or the Mexican Night of the Radishes, which is a night for carving oversized radishes into cool shapes. But even they pale in comparison to some of the bizarre festivals that were celebrated by our ancestors.

10Feast Of Fools

The Feast of Fools was a medieval New Year’s Day celebration that usually started on the first day of the year. It originated from the Roman festival Saturnalia and was popular right until the 16th century.

During this mad New Year’s party, people would elect a Lord of Misrule or a king of Fools. This comic king went by many names, depending on the location of those celebrating. For example, in England he was known as the king of the bean and in Scotland as the Abbott of Unreason. During the feast, people, cross-dressed, sang bawdy songs, drank to excess, and gambled on the church altar.

9Feast Of The Ass

During the middle ages, a church festival known as the Feast of the Ass was celebrated. It was most popular in France, where it was known as “La Fete de l’ane.” The bizarre feast was celebrated on the 14th of January and was a way of honoring the donkey that carried Mary from Egypt.

During the feast, a village girl with a baby in her arms was seated upon a bejeweled donkey and then paraded through town and into a church, where a mock mass was to take place. At the end of the mock mass, the priest would turn to the congregation and bray three times. The congregation would then answer with three hee-haws. In France, the congregation often sang a psalm that praised the donkey as “Sir Ass,” who is beautiful and very brave.

8Festival Of Drunkenness

The Festival of Drunkenness was celebrated during the first month of the Egyptian year. The festival was a way of honoring the Eye of Ra and the myth of the slaughter of mankind as well as a way to supposedly appease Egyptian goddesses such as Sekhmet.

The festival, which was a holy event, involved the participants drinking obscene amounts of alcohol. In fact, most of the time the participants would get so drunk that they would fall asleep in the temple forecourt.

The sleeping celebrants would later be awoken by the sound of drums and music, which supposedly helped them to commune with and worship the goddess. In addition to drinking, the participants danced, lit torches, and engaged in intimate encounters with other celebrants.

7Bals Des Victimes

As the Reign of Terror came to an end, the city of Paris was engulfed in frenzied parties and mad events. The citizens of Paris had survived a period of repression and bloodshed, and they were intent on celebrating that they were still alive.

One of the maddest parties hosted during this time had to be Bals des Victimes, supposedly organized by the surviving aristocrats. Only those who had narrowly escaped the guillotine, or the immediate family members of guillotine victims, were granted access to these balls.

Alcohol flowed freely—the insane indulgences were a way of blotting out the painful memories. Most women wore blood-red ribbons around their necks, and those who had barely escaped guillotine themselves sported short hair cropped in prison. This ragged hairstyle became extremely fashionable and was dubbed la coiffure a la guillotine.

While bals des victimes were certainly the most fascinating, other similar balls that commemorated the reign of terror existed. One of them was bal de la veillee, which was memorable for its meowing concert—a harpsichord was rigged up so that the keys moved metal blades which then struck the tails of several cats. Another one was bals des Zephirs which took place inside a cemetery and involved couples dancing on tombstones.

6Fete Des Pinnes

Fete des Pinnes was a Palm Sunday festival celebrated in the town of Saintes in France. On the day of the festival, small cakes were baked in the shape of phalluses and were attached at the end of palm branches. These palm branches were then carried by women and children in a celebratory procession. Later on in the day, the phallus-shaped cakes were blessed by the priest and were then preserved by the women as sacred amulets.

This celebration was not confined to the town of Saintes, however, but took place all over France. In other parts of the Mediterranean these cakes took on the form of the vagina.

5Festival Of The Boy Bishop

The Festival of the Boy Bishop was a curious festival popular during the middle ages throughout Western Europe. It began on December 6, St. Nicholas Day, when the Boy Bishop or Nicholas Bishop was elected by his fellow choristers.

The Boy Bishop not only dressed as a bishop and sat in the bishop’s actual throne but also assumed a lot of the authority of an actual bishop such as blessing people, preaching sermons, and making visitations to all the parishes in the diocese. The Boy Bishop also had the power to declare holidays and distribute sweets and gifts.

4Beltane

Beltane, the second-most-sacred Celtic festival, celebrated the first day of summer and its life-giving and nurturing fertility. Great bonfires were lit, and cattle were driven between them as a way of blessing and purifying them.

Beltane was also a celebration of the sexual union of the God and the Goddess as well as the creative energies born from their lovemaking. It was believed that these creative energies blessed the land, animals, and people, bestowing upon them health and fertility. Thus, in emulation of the gods, people of the Celtic tribes spent the night making love. And it didn’t matter if the man and the woman knew each other—during the night of Beltane, every woman was a goddess and every man a god.

Occasionally, a May Queen and May King were chosen to take part in erotic roles in an especially sacred way or, to reenact the wedding of the God and the Goddess in a non-sexual pageant before the whole village.

And while today a version of Beltane is still celebrated in some parts of the world, most of its rituals, especially those that concern sexual matters, have been heavily subdued.

3Kronia

Kronia was a Greek festival held after the summer harvest that represented the transition into winter. The festival was named after Titan Cronos, who ruled the universe during the Golden Age of mankind when there was no hunger, death, sickness, social distinctions, or oppression.

Kronia was a reflection of Cronos’s reign in that during the festival, the usual order of society was suspended. Slaves dined and played games with their masters, engaged in noisy street riots, and were served and waited on.

The festival usually ended by bringing out a criminal who was previously condemned to death (and thus represented chaos and disorder), giving him wine, and then slaying him.

2The Cerealia

The Cerealia was an ancient Roman festival dedicated to the celebration of Ceres, the goddess of grain and of agricultural and human fertility. It was celebrated over the course of seven days in April.

According to the Roman poet Ovid, the festival involved releasing live foxes into the Circus Maximus with burning torches tied to their tails. The foxes would publicly struggle to shake off the torches and would suffer a terrible end of being burned to death.

Other festival traditions included girls dressing up in white and carrying torches. This reenacted the search for Proserpine, Cere’s abducted daughter, who was carried off by Hades to the underworld where she was raped and imprisoned.

1Bacchanalia

The Bacchanalia was a Babylonian celebration honoring the birth of Tammuz, the son of Ishtar, the queen of heaven. Bacchus was the god of wine and fertility and was also associated with love, sacred prostitution, and the fertility cycle of nature.

The Bacchus festival was also known as the drunken festival and was widely associated with alcohol, dancing, and sacred sexual orgies for the purification of sin. Indulging in sexual orgies with worshipers was supposed to earn admiration from the gods.

It was expected that every young woman would lose her virginity during this festival in dedication to the great mother goddess. The festival lasted five days, during which time the slaves were emancipated and received total freedom for the duration of the festival.

Laura is a student from Ireland in love with books, writing, coffee, and cats.