The Victorians: Fascinatingly Weird Facts About The Most Eccentric People In Modern History

The period lasted from 1820 to 1914, marked by the reign of Queen Victoria. It was a booming period for the English Empire, the most powerful country in the world at the time. But it wasn’t all power and glory for everyone. There was a distinct class—almost three-fourths of the population was working class. Join us as we dissect the weirdest facts and customs that the Victorians held in high regard. 

Face masks were commonly used to treat rosacea, dry skin, and acne—similar to the masks we use today, except they didn’t use sheets. Instead, they used raw beef and veal! Another technique they used was strapping a rubber facemask on their face overnight to induce sweat; this supposedly helped women attain a soft complexion. The latter was discontinued because some unguents used were poisonous. 

“Snap Dragon” was a typical parlor game meant to be played on Christmas eve or during other winter festivities. Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary describes the game as “a parlor game in which people have to catch raisins out of burning brandy and extinguish them by eating them.” If this doesn’t sound very safe, imagine doing this with all lights dimmed and alcohol on the premises! 

The Victorians would gasp at our houses in disgust—they believed digestion could be best attained when sitting in the dark. The idea of barely lit rooms eventually faded, but since people wouldn’t simply remodel their homes with the trends, the servants were the ones who inherited the dark basement dining rooms.  

Other uses for arsenic in the Victorian era were: a treatment for syphilis, a treatment for “bad blood,” an antibiotic, and a proto-viagra tablet (before Pfizer developed their famous blue pill). Now it is common knowledge that arsenic is a highly poisonous and dangerous carcinogen. People exposed to arsenic experience terrible side effects, including cancer, heart disease, and death. 

The Victorians used the novelty of photographs to immortalize themselves and their deceased. Nowadays, we would find this an eerie tradition, but let’s remember that paintings were costly, so this was a great solution to keep a loved family member’s image alive. Plus, there were no moral or written rules regarding what was or was not meant to be photographed.

By adding extra fluff to areas surrounding the bust and hips, women gave themselves tiny waists to impress gentlemen at any given ball. With the many layers of clothes that would go over the chemise and underwear, women could add flair through ruffles and patterns that enhanced the illusion. So, no, Victorian women didn’t have breathing problems due to corsets—that’s just a movie trope. 

Thieves could resell the jewels and garments the deceased were buried in could be resold for a nice amount of money. But the real prize was the corpse itself. Medical students would buy fresh corpses from the black market to study them. That’s why many graves from the time had metal fencing around them; protection from thieves was important.  

With taxidermy trending in those days, the Victorians didn’t only show off their exotic animals in the form of statues or using their feathers. Many used the whole animal as decorations for their attire, specifically hats. Unfortunately, this custom caused many birds to become extinct since the demand was so high, and there was little regard for animal conservation.

It became common practice for many Egyptians to bring mummies from far-away areas to famous sites to sell them to the English. Getting a mummy home meant organizing an “unwrapping party” where gentlemen gathered around a table and unwrapped the mummy from their bandages. The morbid display was often played with and photographed.

People of the highest strata seemed to spend their money in odd ways. Some people would hire someone to live in a garden hut in a remote corner of the land, wear a full beard, long hair, glasses, and of course, a robe, to be a full-time hermit. They weren’t permitted to speak to anyone while on duty. Harsh!

Sometimes these insects weren’t even dead! Some beetles were encrusted with gold or other jewels and a chain so that the bug wouldn’t escape. Then the chain would be worn as a lapel pin. Weird, right?

The medical tools used to certify the death were archaic, and the press sensationalized stories of being buried alive. Some people were buried with outfitted bells, so if the wrongly-interred person wasn’t dead, they could ring the bell and be saved. The bells did occasionally ring, but they were set off by the swelling of the corpse.

Those without the means of a divorce, people opted for a rather unconventional method of getting rid of a spouse—they sold their wife to the highest bidder. Usually, the buyer was her original family, but it could also be her lover in some dramatic cases—which feels like the premise of a romantic novel. 

Allegedly, something about the iron beasts’ noise and motion could trigger madness, violence, and even death. Of course, that sounds very far-fetched to people nowadays, but there were many news stories and reports on events like this from the time.

Black and dark colors were very trendy, not because they were more flattering but because of their functionality. The problem with white is that it got dirty incredibly fast, and washing clothes wasn’t easy. People had to walk through coal-riddled streets and dirt roads, so it seemed reasonable to leave white for undergarments and inside clothes only. 

And even then, if anyone dared show up out of the blue, there were protocols to be followed. For instance, the visit had to be held between three and six in the afternoon. Very close friends and relatives could stay until later, but not as much as to be intrusive during dinner time—unless invited to stay. Harsh! 

Secondly came the corset, which was secured through lacing, and was custom-made for the intended wearer. Then came the petticoats, a layer that would give shape to the gown. Most of the time, there were two, three, and even four petticoats, depending on the occasion. These contained huge pockets to carry objects without using the need for hands. Smart!

After that layer came the fun part—the camisole, the over-petticoat, and the bonnet and accessories. These elements were the exposed layers that dyed fabric, feathers, bows, ruffles, and lace would enhance. The industrialization of the clothing industry made this time the fastest-evolving fashion history. Hence, rapid changes occurred within a few years. 

She asked her cooks to prepare curry daily. Queen Victoria hated curry, and couldn’t stand the smell of the dish, so it seemed odd she would make such a request. But just in case a “visiting oriental” passed by, she would have a freshly prepared meal ready made.

In most cases, it was common for people to use a mixture of charcoal and sugar or honey. People didn’t notice the connection between their toothpaste and their rotten teeth. Whenever someone had a toothache, they would have to attend to a blacksmith who would remove the afflicted tooth with pliers. Ouch! 

They opted for a somewhat humorous design—a favorite theme being a group of dancing frogs, mice riding lobsters, birds riding bicycles, and other anthropomorphic figures enjoying themselves. However, when they wanted to be less silly, they would send cards with images of dead birds. Why? There are many theories, but we’ll never know for sure.

For example, If someone lost a daughter or son, it was imperative to wear mourning clothes made out of bombazine fabric covered with crepe for six months. In the case of a husband’s death, women had to wear a black widow’s cap and no jewelry for a year. Men were to mourn for a shorter time than women.

According to some research, the Victorians wore tattoos not only as a means to mark their life story, as previous generations in England had done—but as a means of expression. It is strange to imagine that people with such stiff rules would be so eager to get inked. 

From gout to muscle problems and even congenital disabilities, this appliance was used by the local “electrotherapist” to eliminate any bodily issues. Electrotherapy probably served more as a psychosomatic fix than a real medical cure. There’s no doubt that it left some people with severe scarring. 

Prince lured rich, unmarried women to join the group and asked them to “donate” the money to the cause. Prince took many “spiritual” brides, which led to a few illegitimate children, and a lot of turmoil around the religious sect. After facing much scrutiny, the group dissolved in 1956 when the last member died. 

In many circles, it was common to perform “corpse medicine.”. Allegedly, some conditions could be treated by eating certain parts of the human body. The recipe advised a “fresh corpse,” so many people would go straight to the source—the executioner.

Lead was virtually everywhere, and strychnine was used as an additive for beer. Because of flour’s high price, bakers would use clay, sawdust, and Parisian plaster to beef up their produce. Mercury was commonly used in candy and medicine to treat melancholy, constipation, influenza, and syphilis. 

Chewing coca leaves and taking strychnine “tonics” was the norm. Even while their bodies failed, they would be able to cross that finish line. One of the first people to do this was “long-distance walker” Edward Weston, who broke many records in pedestrian racing and endurance tasks. He promoted the use of these special “tonics.”

In the drastically puritan waters of England, bright summer days on the coast would call for the hiring of a bathing machine. A wagon was carried into the sea by a horse to ensure the utmost privacy for the swimmer.

The odds are that they were coffins—and they were used, at that. At only four pennies a night, it was one of the first homeless shelters in England. They would also provide food and a tarp as a blanket. It proved very successful then, especially during the harsh British winters. 

With the river Thames full of raw sewage, the streets and back alleys used as public bathrooms, and the air full of coal, it was a nest of infection and disease—not the romantic city Hollywood would have us believe it to have been. After a heatwave in 1858, the government was finally forced to do something about it. 

This piece of furniture was placed to shield legs, ankles, and feet from intrusive eyes. Coming from the same people that considered modesty one of the most desirable characteristics a person could have, it seems like a given that they would build furniture to cover themselves.

The electric corset was aimed at ladies with ailments such as hysteria and nervous dyspepsia. The magnetic brush was powered by magnets and targeted those who feared going bald. Other inventions worth mentioning are bicycles that ran on rails, spectacles for short-sighted horses, and the grenade fire extinguisher. But our favorite is the organ that threw flames out of its windpipes instead of wind.

Some of these people would have an extra limb, small height, skin conditions, intersex variations, and conditions like microcephaly. However, other shows were more performative, such as acrobats with hyper flexibility, incredibly strong folks, fire and sword swallowers, and heavily tattooed people. Unfortunately, human exploitation wasn’t deemed wrong at the time.

Magical thinking overlapped with the advent of technology, and magicians and mediums of the time profited from this. Both public and private events would often hire fortune tellers or do seances to communicate with the dead or predict the future.

Prince Albert died of typhoid fever on December 14th, 1861. Following the event, Victoria was rarely seen in social gatherings and was nicknamed “The widow of Windsor.” In addition, her depression led her to eat compulsively, and her weight gain made her self-conscious of her image, furthering her seclusion.

The motto was “consume birds and beasts unknown to the human palate,” They did their fair share until the club was dissolved following an incident with a brown owl carcass. During Darwin’s famous travels, he ate a puma, a 20-pound rodent known as an agouti, a lesser rhea (which hadn’t been classified), and a giant Galapago tortoise, amongst many other exotic animals.

Eating cheese before bed was considered a call for death. Whenever two family members died, a third one was expected to do so too. Dreaming of black cats, white rabbits, black dogs, grey horses, owls, and oneself were considered terrible omens of evil. Many of our omens are remnants of the Victorians—like breaking a mirror and walking under a ladder.

They weren’t just able to go to the bathroom and pull their robes up. Open drawers, as the word suggests, weren’t completely closed. They were tied from both sides of their legs but left most of the rear uncovered. The lady would have a place to tinkle from under the crinoline. Clever!