Humans have always been a little bit strange; we’ve believed and done some strange things over the years and still do (ahem, flat earthers, ahem). But some beliefs and practices really make you go WTF, and here is just a small collection of them.
1 – The ancient Romans believed that the blood and sweat of the gladiators contained medicinal properties. The Roman author Pliny wrote, ‘Epileptics even drink the blood of gladiators, from living cups, as it were. Those who have epilepsy think it the most effective cure for their disease, to absorb a person’s warm blood while he is still breathing.’ Gladiator sweat was also considered an aphrodisiac. An improvement on Lynx Africa, I guess.
2 – During the Middle Ages, it was believed that cotton, imported from India, actually came from a vegetable that had lambs attached to it. These tiny lambs were attached to the vegetable via an umbilical cord/stalk thing and would eat the vegetation around them. Once the vegetation was all eaten up, they would die, and the lambs would be collected. Ewe heard it here first (sorry).
3—Changelings were a popular belief during the Middle Ages (and later). It was believed that fairies would sometimes steal human babies away and leave a fairy child in their place. One way to test if your baby was actually a baby was to put a shoe into a bowl of soup. If the child laughed, it meant it was a changeling. It's obvious when you think about it.
Read more about changelings here.
4 – When locomotives were first invented, there was a fear that they would melt human bodies if they went too fast. Even more worrying, they believed that a woman, being a delicate creature, wouldn’t cope with speeds of 50 miles per hour (the top speed at the time), and their uterus would come flying out of their body. That’s going to be messy.
You can read more about changelings here.
5 – Medieval Germany didn’t appear to believe in married couples simply arguing like married couples. To settle disputes, they would fight, BUT, as in literal combat. The husband would stand in a hole with one hand behind his back (but he was allowed a club), and his wife would run around with a sack full of rocks. It appears they would knock the shit out of each other. I feel divorce may have been a more straightforward solution.
6 – Animals used to be put on trial. Often, pigs were put on trial for attacking humans and, if found guilty, were hanged or burned. In 1474, a rooster was found guilty of laying an egg, an ‘unnatural crime’, and in 1596, the people of Marseilles put dolphins on trial. A donkey who had been, er, ‘interfered with’ by a person was found innocent of any misdoing after the court was told she was well-behaved and virtuous.
7 – The Victorians, especially the richer ones, were known for their social gatherings, fine wines, fine food and…Egyptian mummies. Known as Egyptomania, real-life mummies were brought back from Egypt as souvenirs, and unwrapping parties would be held. Just buy a shit fridge magnet like everyone else.
8 – OK, I quite like this idea. Greek philosopher Plato believed that human eyes had invisible beams that sent back information when they touched something, and that is why we can see things. If two people saw each other, their eye beams would wrap around each other.
9 – Throw away those expensive anti-ageing creams! Forget your Botox! Have you tried…arsenic? The Victorians believed that the very cheap and easily accessible element would cure all your skin woes and be an ideal ingredient for toys and medicines. Even weirder, the Victorians KNEW it was a poison and that it was used in many murders.
10 – And last, but certainly not least, the female orgasm! Even up to the early 20th century (and some people even now), it was believed that women did not have libidos and that the female orgasm was something to worry about. Even Sigmund Freud proposed that clitoral stimulation would lead to psychosis and that those who couldn’t have a vaginal orgasm were mentally ill lesbians. Bring on the psychosis!
Those are just a few of my favourites. If you want to read more, please check out 10 Bizarre Beliefs. As always, thanks for reading; let me know what you think in the comments. Take care, and I will see you next time!
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