40 Etiquette Rules That Have Been Left In The Past Where They Belong

You finish dinner and let out a tiny, digestive burp. Perhaps you decide to lean back in a chair. Or you may just be standing around with your arms at your sides. Well, in the past, any one of these faux pas could have gotten you cast out from polite society. We’re not talking about prim and proper Victorian times, either, but as recently as the 1950s. So, do you want to know how you would’ve caused yourself and your family social ruin? These are 40 of the weirdest ways to have done it – and some of them are borderline gross.

40. Heavy-handed cologne application could spell trouble

In the Victorian era, etiquette rules covered every tiny behavior – right down to the amount of cologne that men used. Basically, guys were advised to put on as little of their scent of choice as possible. And while we have to agree that there is such thing as too much aftershave, at least you won’t be shunned socially for overdoing it nowadays.

39. Dinner party conversation? That’ll be to your right

The Victorians loved dinner parties, but conversation didn’t always cross the table. Yes, as dinner guests awaited the serving staff with their food, men could only talk to the women sitting to their right. How stifling!

38. Bridesmaids had to be wrinkle-free – and we’re not talking about the dress

Nowadays, anyone can be part of a bridal party, but the Victorians? They had much more stringent rules. An etiquette handbook from the era apparently said that a young woman getting married had to have bridesmaids to match. That meant they had to be of a similar age. Someone with wrinkles couldn’t possibly stand next to a smooth-faced woman, after all!

37. Don’t smile on the street

Here’s a turn-of-the-20th-century piece of etiquette that seems particularly shocking today. While ladies were permitted to go for strolls outdoors, laughing with their friends and having fun definitely wasn’t advised. Instead, women were expected to keep things subdued and modest until they were back behind closed doors. Enjoying yourself in public? Perish the thought!

36. No reclining for weary women

In 1922’s Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home, Emily Post explained all of the ways that a woman shouldn’t sit down. And the author apparently believed that too much back support was a bad thing. Post wrote, “Everyone, of course, leans against a chair back… but a lady should never throw herself almost at full length in a reclining chair or on a wide sofa when she is out in public.”

35. There’s a limit to karaoke, you know

The singing at a Victorian party would be very different to people bursting into song at a modern-day soiree. And yes, it’s no surprise to learn that there were rules about just how many classical tunes a woman could belt out at a gathering. She was supposed to step out of the spotlight after just “one or two songs,” according to A Hand-Book of Etiquette for Ladies.

34. Talk about anything but yourself

A Hand-Book of Etiquette for Ladies also advised women to watch how much they talked about themselves. So, how often could you toot your own horn? Um, never. The guide recommended, “Never introduce your own affairs for the amusement of the company. Such discussions cannot be interesting to others, and the probability is that the most patient listener is laying the foundation for some tale to make you appear ridiculous.” Ouch.

33. Cough into the left hand only

Let’s jump about 100 years into the future and cover this strange 1960s etiquette rule. Back then, behavior experts advised people to think of their right hand as their social one. The left, meanwhile, was for personal use – so this was the hand you had to cough into. It’s hygienic, sure, but it’s also a weird thing to think about so deeply.

32. A third wheel could come on your honeymoon

Honeymoon romance? The Victorians were having none of that. Instead, they thought it was okay for a woman to invite a friend along on her first trip with her new husband. We just hope the BFF got a separate bedroom...

31. Attract a man by buying yourself flowers

A late 1930s magazine called Mademoiselle told its college-bound female readership how they could make themselves desirable to their male classmates. Firstly, they could have their moms send them flowers anonymously so that the guys would think other fellows were interested. The same piece also suggested that women turn off their lights at night or on weekends – even if they were home – to give the impression that they were booked and busy.

30. Arriving on time? That’s rude

Nowadays, if you get a party invitation, you at least try to show up at the time shown on the card. In the Victorian era, though, everyone was a little tardy. Yep, guests knew to arrive 15 minutes late to every single soiree, and they’d relax in the drawing room until dinner was ready.

29. No such thing as an Irish goodbye

If you’ve ever left a party without bidding adieu, well, you’ve performed an Irish goodbye. And while you may get away with this nowadays, you would have been socially shunned for such an act in Victorian times. Back then, guests had to show their gratitude to the person throwing the party – no matter how badly they wanted to go home.

28. Eat everything one bite at a time

Nowadays, if we want to eat fast, nothing’s really stopping us – apart from the risk of choking, that is. But in the 1950s and ’60s, scarfing down a meal was not the appropriate means to an end. Instead, diners had to chew one forkful at a time, as etiquette experts said that chomping on extra-large mouthfuls was improper behavior.

27. Are you ready to order, sir?

Imagine going out to a restaurant, perusing the menu, choosing what you wanted to eat... and then having someone else order your meal for you. That was the reality for women in the 1950s, when it was customary for male diners to tell the waiter what food to bring. How infuriating!

26. Don’t touch me… unless I’m about to walk into a puddle

Unsurprisingly, there were lots of rules for daters in the Victorian era. One of the strangest? Courting couples had to walk with distance between them. That meant a man could only extend his arm to a high-society woman if she was about to fall foul of an unseen puddle. We imagine plenty of folks headed for waterlogged pathways just so they could share a little moment.

25. Male visitors had to make it clear they were leaving

Just dropping in to see a loved one? Well, Victorian men had to make it clear that they planned to do just that. They would come to visit friends with their hats and riding whips in hand to show that they’d be on their way fast. Today’s man would need to hold onto his coat, house keys, smartphone, wallet, sunglasses...

24. Any old handshake won’t do

Simply reaching out a hand to greet someone wasn’t enough in the 1960s. Instead, you had to make sure you met your handshaking partner in the middle of the space between you and at elbow height. Beyond that, etiquette rules advised people to keep the move quick and firm. Basically, get it out of the way and get onto business.

23. Don’t dance with a man unless you have been formally introduced

Today we have clubs full of people where strangers boogie until the wee hours of the morning. A Victorian-era party, on the other hand? That would have never gone down that way. An interested man would have to have had a formal introduction to a woman – and earned the approval of her family – before the pair could dance together at a soiree.

22. Only a party’s host could serve the meal

It may seem polite to help the host at a dinner party, but in the 1950s such an action would not fly. Specifically, only the person in charge of the occasion could carve and serve the meat. And while they could sit down and relax if they had a maid to handle the job, absolutely no guests were permitted to reach for the knife.

21. Ladies first – except when walking into a dark room

This etiquette rule may come from a more modern era, but it seems pretty quaint to us today! In essence, men in the 1960s were expected to be brave for the ladies in their charge. So, if a couple walked into a dark room, the guy had to go first – presumably to protect his female companion from whatever might be lurking inside.

20. Women, walk on the left – I need my sword arm free

This etiquette rule has existed since medieval times, when men more habitually carried blades. Back then, you see, a dude needed his sword arm – the one on the right – free in case he had to fight. If he ever had to escort a woman, he would do so on his left-hand side. And this rule still exists today, although it’s not as commonly observed as it was in the 1950s.

19. Pregnant women shouldn’t travel, like, anywhere

Today’s moms-to-be can hop on planes and trek to far-flung destinations well into their pregnancies. Almost a century ago, though, expecting women didn’t have the luxury of going anywhere – seriously, anywhere. People saw it as improper for ladies to even travel by car while they were with child.

18. A lady’s hair had to be up at almost all times

Victorian-era women had to look their best around the clock, as their husbands expected non-stop finesse. So, they kept their tresses in polished updos that they wore in public as well as in the house. The only place they could literally let their hair down? In their bedrooms, and that was it. That had to be exhausting.

17. Bling is not an appropriate gift

If you love jewelry – and receiving it as a gift in particular – then you should be happy to live in the 21st century. You see, a Victorian woman couldn’t accept baubles as presents unless they came from a family member or husband. And while a single girl being courted could take flowers, sheet music, sweets or books as gifts, none of those really compare to diamonds.

16. Never ask how someone’s doing

Asking after someone may be seen as polite small talk today, but the Victorians frowned on such direct questions. No, there would be no inquiries about a person’s feelings back then. Instead, a Victorian man or woman would say something to the tune of “I hope you are well.”

15. If you break something at someone else’s house, completely ignore it

Some Victorian-era etiquette rules make absolutely no sense considering how prim and proper they seemed to be. And this one is a prime example. Apparently, if you were visiting someone and broke something in their house, it would be wrong to acknowledge what you did. Your host would be equally out of line to point out your mistake, too. They were meant to act like it was no big deal. Sounds like a license to smash to us...

14. Boyfriend get you a gift? Time to handmake something in return

We’ve already touched on the gifts that women couldn’t accept. Now, let’s talk about the presents they couldn’t give in return. Interestingly, a lady would be expected to reciprocate with something handmade, budget-friendly or both. And she couldn’t be the one to start a gift exchange, either. The guy had to be the one to buy first.

13. Holding your liquor wouldn’t be an asset

Vogue’s 1948 Book of Etiquette had a lot to say about women who could drink – and none of it was nice. The guide read, “‘She can certainly hold her liquor’ is not a compliment.” Would it be better to wobble around after a single drink, then? We think not.

12. Never speak to a smoking man

A Victorian-era gentleman would never light up in front of a woman. But it would also be rude if a lady tried to strike up a conversation with a man who had already started puffing on his cigar of choice. That’s because he’d then have to put out the stogie, and no guy would be happy about such wastage.

11. You’d be rude if you didn’t have a cigarette

Sixty-ish years ago, so many people smoked cigarettes that you were simply expected to have them on you – even if you didn’t actually smoke. Men tended to carry lighters with them, too, as they’d be seen as rude for not lighting a lady’s cig for her.

10. Shiny hair starts with excessive brushing

Before the days of dry shampoo, leave-in conditioner and long-lasting blowouts, there was hair-brushing. Yes, in the 1940s, women needed to comb their tresses at least 100 times each night to maintain their shiny locks. In fact, they were advised to do so until the skin underneath started to prickle, which almost sounds like a bad thing to us...

9. Don’t shovel your salad

Etiquette expert Bernice Morgan Bryant wrote in her 1944 guidebook Future Perfect that you couldn’t just heave lettuce leaves straight into your mouth. Instead, she recommended, “Try first to cut your salad with your fork. If you find it difficult, calmly pick up your knife and use it.”

8. Pretending not to see someone on the street was the ultimate social offense

Cassell’s Household Guide hit bookstores in 1869, and it outlined the ins and outs of Victorian life – including, of course, all of the social dos and don’ts. And the book described the so-called act of “cutting” – not acknowledging someone you know if you see them on the street – as “the most ill-mannered act possible to commit in society.” Let’s face it: we’ve definitely all done this in the 21st century with no repercussions.

7. Pass the salt… and the pepper, I guess

Diners in the 1940s took their salt-and-pepper sets very seriously. They felt the two shakers should never be separated on the table. So, if someone asked for the salt, then you’d have to pass them both that and the pepper. Seems like a pain for the person who just needed one seasoning.

6. Burping in public could be the end of your social life

In Taiwan and China, a post-meal belch is a huge compliment to the chef. Victorian-era diners would be mortified to know this information, as they scoffed at even the quietest of burps or the most discreet passing of gas. According to Reader’s Digest, one such slip “could mean social ruin.” It was that serious.

5. Smile – even when no one can see you

We’ll try and give 1940s etiquette expert Bryant a bit of a break, seeing as telephones were relatively new technology back then. That said, it seems a bit silly to think that she advised people to smile while they spoke on the phone. If only she could see us grumpily staring at our cells today...

4. Slice your asparagus, then eat it

Ever wondered if you’re eating your asparagus the wrong way? Us neither, but there were once rules to cover that, too. In the 1975 update of Post’s 1922 book Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, she said that slicing the veggie meant you’d avoid “the ungraceful appearance of a bent stalk of asparagus falling limply into someone’s mouth.” Oh, and there was also “the fact that moisture is... likely to drip from the end.” And we can’t have that now, can we?

3. The horror of holding your dress improperly

After reading that heading, you’re probably envisioning some kind of horrible wardrobe malfunction – maybe a dress getting tangled up and exposing a lady’s legs. But you’d be wrong! We’re talking about a 19th-century rule that dictated how women could hold their gowns to make it easier to walk. And they absolutely couldn’t do the job with two hands. Instead, they had to lift the skirt with their right hand only – a method that exposed just the right amount of ankle.

2. Don’t do the dead fish

Imagine having to worry about how your hands dangle when you stand still. This was the plight of 1950s women, who had a slew of instructional materials telling them how to do everything – including how to hold her arms. The “dead fish hands” pose was the one to skip, and it’s one we all do every day when our limbs are parallel to the sides of our bodies. Back then, though, people thought it did little to accentuate a woman’s shapely curves.

1. Only one glass of champagne allowed

In Victorian times, a woman was permitted to accept one glass of champagne – and that was it. Yes, she couldn’t have more than a single flute of fizz, or else her peers would see her as improper. We think we’ll stick to our 21st-century rule on this one, which is to drink as much bubbly as your heart desires. Cheers!

But while the Victorians may have been a straight-laced lot, they had some habits that will astonish and even appall you. Yep, they engaged in some truly bizarre behavior – from snacking on sheep’s trotters and limping in the name of fashion to sending gratuitously insulting Valentine cards. Read on to find out about some of the weirder things your ancestors were doing...

20. Why were they limping?

Possibly the majority of us have had a temporary limp resulting from a minor accident; of course, some always limp because of a long-term condition. But limping in pursuit of fashion? That’s just crazy! Except Victorian women in Britain did just that. The bizarre fad even had a name, the “Alexandra limp.” And it was all about mimicking royalty.

In 1863 Princess Alexandra of Denmark married Queen Victoria’s son and heir Albert Edward, later King Edward VII. The unfortunate princess suffered a bout of rheumatic fever resulting in a limping walk. Some of the fashion-conscious citizens began to copy her gait. Women even wore mismatching shoes to achieve the desired effect. Pretty soon, shoemakers started to make ill-matched footwear specially designed to cause limping. Extraordinary.

19. Toxic food additives

In a time before the strict regulations governing food additives that we now take for granted, it seems to have been a total free-for-all in Victorian times. According to Britain’s Royal Society of Chemists chalk, alum and sawdust were all sometimes included in bread. What you actually took home after a visit to the bakery seems to have been a matter of pot luck.

When it came to beer, things were even worse. Incredibly, some brewers added strychnine to their ale. The Royal Society of Chemists said they did this “…to ‘improve’ the taste of the beer and save on the cost of hops.” Cost-saving sounds likely enough as a motive. But enhancing the flavor? We very much doubt it. Other horror stories include selling used tea leaves mixed with a cocktail of chemicals and sheep dung and candy spiked with metallic compounds including poisonous elements such copper, mercury and lead.

18. Vinegar Valentine cards

When you send a Valentine card, it’s to declare your love for someone, right? It turns out that this was most definitely not always the case when the Victorians mailed a message to mark St. Valentine’s Day. In fact, there was a whole genre of insulting cards. Some of these cards, known as Vinegar Valentines, were downright offensive.

In a 2017 article about these Vinegar Valentines, the Smithsonian magazine gave a few choice examples. One card shows a woman dousing a man with a bucket of water. The caption goes, “It says as plain as it can say, Old fellow you’d best stop away.” Hardly Shakespeare, but the message is clear enough. Astonishingly, according to author Ruth Webb Lee, by the middle of the 1800s nearly half of all Valentine cards were of the vinegar variety.

17. Rat poison runners

Nowadays, we’re all too familiar with headlines exposing top athletes as users of performance-enhancing drugs. But it’s nothing new. The difference in the Victorian era was that nobody made any effort to hide their abuse of substances designed to improve sporting results. And the range of chemicals and intoxicants used is staggering. The most startling of those treatments must surely be injections of strychnine, more familiar as rat poison.

One example came in 1904 – just three years after Queen Victoria’s death. In that year’s Olympics American runner Thomas Hicks won the marathon after two strychnine injections – one administered during the race. It’s worth pointing out that Hicks only took gold because the man who crossed the winning line ahead of him, Fred Lorz, was disqualified. He’d negotiated part of the course by automobile. So strychnine was okay: cars were not.

16. Locked up for laziness

In Victorian times there were a variety of frankly bizarre reasons that might lead to a stay in a lunatic asylum. West Virginia Hospital for the Insane’s records from the Victorian era list an outlandish list of symptoms leading to committal to the institution’s tender mercies. These include some reasonable propositions such as “kicked in the head by a horse” and “opium habit.”

But one of the symptoms cited is simply “laziness.” Well fair enough, laziness can be seen as an undesirable quality. But grounds for being locked up in an asylum? If that was generally accepted, how many American teenagers would be enjoying their freedom? Actually, laziness may not even be the most astonishing of the symptoms listed. Novel-reading, bad company and greediness also appear.

15. Arsenic for beauty

White women might prize a healthy, tanned complexion today, but in Victorian times it was a case of the paler, the better. And women were prepared to go to extraordinary, even lethally dangerous lengths to achieve that alabaster look. In her 1874 work The Ugly Girl Papers Mrs. S.D. Powers recommended a nightly layer of opium on the face and a morning scrub with ammonia. Terrifying.

But even scarier was a beauty preparation from Sears & Roebuck, Dr. Rose’s Arsenic Complexion Wafers. Yes, that’s right, arsenic cookies. Unsurprisingly, they could help to achieve that desirable deathly pallor. According to the Business Insider website, these treats were promoted as “perfectly harmless.” So that’s alright then. But as a public service to our readers we would like to categorically state that it’s never alright to chow down on arsenic.

14. Wives for sale

Because of the legal costs associated with it, divorce was only really for the aristocracy during Victoria’s reign. But, for men at least, there was another way to split from an unwanted spouse. A wife sale. Unbelievably, this was something that actually did happen. Here’s one true incidence of the phenomenon.

The year was 1847 and the place Barton, in the English county of Lancashire; the dissatisfied husband was one George Wray. He led his wife to the village marketplace and there sold her to William Harwood by auction. It appears that she was actually quite happy with the sale, which seems to have actually been pre-arranged. Whatever the truth of that particular transaction, the practice ended after divorce laws were reformed in 1857.

13. Crass Christmas cards

The traditional Christmas cards we tend to send in modern times usually portray a winter wonderland scene, or a religious theme referencing the birth of Jesus. But the Victorians had a very different idea of what a Christmas greeting should look like. They reveled in cards with a distinctly perverse humor or a macabre twist.

One card described by the History website included the greeting “May yours be a joyful Christmas.” But the anodyne message is rather contradicted by the image accompanying it. A dead robin. Another card shows a jolly-looking Santa Claus. Only trouble is, he’s trying to stuff a clearly terrified child into a sack. Other cards were just plain weird. How about a mouse riding a lobster or a frog dancing with a beetle?

12. Self-electrification

The Victorians had a strange predilection for electrocuting themselves. There was a firm belief, it seems, that the practice could cure a wide range of ailments. That archetypal Victorian Charles Dickens was one of those fascinated by self-electrification, according to the BBC. He bought a gadget for the purpose, one that had been revealed in 1851 at the Great Exhibition in London.

This was the hydro-electric belt invented by one Isaac Pulvermacher. Basically, it was a belt mounted with multiple batteries which could be fired up to deliver an electric shock. Indeed the last letter Dickens ever wrote was to Pulvermacher & Co. thanking them for the device. But did he use it? In truth, we don’t know – since he bought the belt on June 3, 1870, and died six days later. We have no evidence that the belt was to blame.

11. Dentures from hippo teeth

Modern dentures are mostly made of acrylic resin, a plastic composite well-suited to the purpose. But it hadn’t been invented in the 19th century. So the hunt was on for a suitable material. In a gruesome twist, the teeth of the deceased had been used early in the century. Sometimes living people even donated their molars.

But that decidedly morbid practice didn’t suit everyone. In any case, the supply was limited. So one alternative was the teeth of mammals other than humans. The hippopotamus might not immediately spring to mind as the most obvious source of false teeth. But their molars were carved into human shape and used. According to a 2017 article on England’s Bristol Live website, a local dentist advertised dentures using hippo teeth in the early 19th century.

10. Asphyxiating corsets

Victorian women had many crosses to bear, including their underwear. Specifically, we’re talking about corsets. The fashion for tiny waists was widespread and one way to achieve the look was to use ludicrously tight corsets. These were laced so tight that you needed a helping hand to get them properly fitted.

Just to make sure that the corset stayed properly tight, they were often reinforced with rigid strengtheners, often made from whalebone. In fact, Victorian corsetry was sometimes so tight as to permanently alter the skeleton. In 2015 Forbes magazine cited a study by Rebecca Gibson, an anthropologist at the American University. She examined ten female skeletons from the 18th and 19th centuries. All of them had warped and damaged ribs and spines. Disturbing.

9. Exploding lighting

Nowadays, when you flick the switch, you expect nothing more than a flood of light. But when you turned on the illumination in a Victorian home, there was always the chance that you’d trigger an explosion. That’s because early domestic lighting, like its street cousin, was powered not by electricity but by gas. And in safety terms, it was far from ideal.

Of course, the new-fangled gas lighting was a huge improvement on what came before – basically candles. But it had some unavoidable downsides. Coal gas came with the risk of asphyxiation from the carbon monoxide it discharged when burning. Worse, in the early days of the technology, there was an unfortunate rash of fires and explosions. So count your lucky stars that electricity replaced gas for lighting in the 20th century.

8. Bashful bathing

The notoriously prim Victorians had a real problem when it came to a swim in the sea. The trouble arose because of what we would regard as their obsessive prudishness, especially for women. While men were allowed to take a quick dip in simple bathing drawers, women were compelled to wear voluminous bathing suits. These were not far removed from normal everyday wear.

And excessive modesty resulted in the invention of an entirely new class of vehicle: the bathing machine. A kind of hut on wheels that could be rolled right up to the sea’s edge, it allowed women to get changed in complete privacy. They could then enter the water hidden as far as possible from the prying eyes of curious men. Aren’t you glad that now you can just strip down to your swimwear and simply dive into the water?

7. Feel the bumps

It was called phrenology, and it’s got to be one of the most crackpot “scientific” theories you’ll ever come across. It involved examining the lumps on a person’s head. And from that, phrenologists claimed to be able to pin down someone’s character. A German doctor, Franz Joseph Gall, came up with the theory, and it was immensely popular during the Victorian era. It even spilled into the 20th century before it was comprehensively debunked.

The whole thing would be entirely laughable were it not for the fact that people genuinely were classified according to the contours of their skull. Some Victorian men even turned to phrenology to help them choose a wife. And the so-called science seeped into the penal system, amid claims that the bumps on the heads of felons were a precise indication of their criminality.

6. Fashion wipes out wildlife

The hats that Victorian ladies wore were often a colorful explosion of bird feathers. In a somewhat morbid turn, sometimes they even featured entire stuffed birds. But whatever your opinion on the look of those feathered hats they did have a sinister consequence. We’re talking about the wholesale slaughter of wildlife, almost to extinction in the case of some bird species.

Feathers for the headgear were not just those that living birds had shed. Hunters stalked, trapped and killed birds around the world specifically to feed the appetites of fashionable Victorian women. The HistoryExtra website cited an estimate that globally as many as 200 million birds were being slaughtered each year for the fashion industry. It had to stop, and thankfully it did. By 1921 campaigners had succeeded in banning the British trade.

5. Sleep (very) tight in a coffin

Homelessness remains a problem in many places today, but in Victorian times it was a positive epidemic. And just as now, some people puzzled over how to try and help those who had nowhere to call home. But one solution the Victorians came up with would certainly shock our modern sensibilities.

It was the Salvation Army in London that introduced what came to be called the four-penny coffin. For that modest sum, you could rent a bed for the night. These were wooden boxes, very similar to coffins without a lid. They were packed together as tightly as possible in huge rooms. It’s easy to sneer now at the Salvation Army’s attempt to alleviate homelessness. But it seems that vagrants themselves were glad to at least have a roof over their heads.

4. Open-sewer River Thames

Before the Victorian era, London’s sewage was dealt with by night soil collectors. They transported the noxious material out to the countryside where it was used as fertilizer. An unpleasant thought perhaps, but at least it was an effective way to deal with human waste. But the city had grown so much by Victorian times that this system was no longer practical. Much of the British capital’s sewage simply discharged straight into the River Thames.

Matters came to a head in 1858. That was the year of the “Great Stink” when the ordure in the Thames was beyond bearable. Conditions were especially noxious in the Houses of Parliament, which stands on the river’s bank. This prompted a huge construction program of underground sewers which diverted waste away from the Thames as it flowed through London. Unfortunately, it still went into the river, but mercifully for Londoners far downstream.

3. Fire-hazard frocks

Victorian women, even humble housemaids, wore billowing dresses that used yards of fabric. Unfortunately, this put them at great risk from fire. Homes in those days had open coal fires and a few sparks escaping from the hearth could result in tragic consequences. Then of course there were candles everywhere and they too could easily set a voluminous frock alight.

The peril was made all the worse by the fashion for crinolines, the hooped structures under a dress that pushed it outward. These undergarments basically made a woman into a larger target for wayward sparks. The History Extra website cites one estimate that as many as 3,000 women died in fires associated with their extended dresses in the period 1855-1870.

2. Who’s for hot sheep’s trotters?

The Victorians loved street food. Sellers offered everything from hot eels to pea soup and fried fish. But perhaps the strangest delicacy of all was a serving of hot sheep’s trotter. Many of us enjoy a tender lamb chop, especially when it’s garnished with some fresh mint sauce. But sheep’s feet? Not so much.

By all accounts, sheep’s trotters were a popular delicacy, especially in Victorian London. The feet were boiled to make them edible, or as edible as they could be. As part of his monumental 1851 work London Labour and the London Poor, Henry Mayhew made a detailed study of the sheep’s trotter trade. By his estimate, up to 1 million sheep’s feet were bought and eaten every year.

1. Horrid hair preparations

Victorian women went through some painful-sounding treatments in the name of beauty, but the men did not escape entirely scot-free. Their unpleasant grooming experiences came in the shape of hair preparations. How about beef marrow and bear’s grease? These were widely used not just for the hair on your head but also to shape your luxuriant mustaches.

Lard and suet were also common ingredients for strange concoctions that men rubbed on to their heads. Whether the oil of bergamot and rose water in the mixture made such preparations smell sweet is surely debatable. Hiding grey hair was another perilous pursuit. Favorite remedies included white lead, slaked lime and nitric acid. It’s a wonder any Victorian gentlemen had a single hair left on their heads.