Hobbies From The Victorian Era That Seem Bizarre Today

Hobbies are important, especially after a long work week filled with bothersome bosses and tedious tasks. Some time to unwind and enjoy life's simpler things is paramount to inner peace, whether your personal pastime of choice comprises picking up a good book, tossing around the old pigskin, or simply getting together with the gang to enjoy a drink over some engaging conversation.

While taking part in popular hobbies can be perfectly pleasurable, some of us like to dabble in stranger leisures — a practice that wasn't lost on previous generations. You know the old adage: Work hard, play hard — and, arguably, nobody played harder than those wacky Victorians. So clear off that taxidermy table and start prepping the séance spread, because we're diving deep into hobbies from the Victorian era that seem bizarre today.

#Hobbies #Victorianera #Bizarre

Anthropomorphic taxidermy | 0:00
Cemetery picnics | 1:12
Jewelry-making… with human hair | 2:14
Crystal gazing | 3:16
Sending secret messages with flowers | 4:30
Séances | 5:41
Seaweed scrapbooks | 7:04
Scientific studies | 7:59
Postmortem photography | 9:06
Wardian cases | 10:30
Exploiting human oddities | 11:34

[GrungeHQ]

Which of these hobbies seems the strangest to you?

[jeffreygrasso]

Very interesting content, well explained. And delivered by this host flawlessly. I love this channel, but look in particular for videos done with this man as the host. Fantastic!

[DB-thats-me]

…no artist of anthropomorphic taxidermy better personified the possibilities inherent in the craft…. brilliant!

[MsWillowbayOrelse]

There is still "stuffed animal art" out there. There was a tv show where people competed to see who did it best a few years ago. People still watch movies in cemetaries. People still press flowers in books so don't see that as much different then seaweed, so some of these are still done. We still exploit human oddities too. Hoarders and 1000lb life are two examples.

[TBONESIDEOFLIFE]

Nah, not weird at all. Unless you own a hotel, answer to mother, and go by the last name of "Bates".

[alicewilloughby]

2:30 - When I was a kid, we had a memorial wreathe made of human hair from many ancestors after they had died. It had been in my mother's family for at least 100 years. She and her siblings had always called it "the rare old hairloom". I remember sometime in my late teens showing it to a couple of friends. Their reaction was, "Eww, that's so gross! How can you stand to have that?!" I'd grown up with it, so it had never occurred to me to think of it as gross.

[risalangdon]

There's a very old historical cemetery in Louisiana. It was damaged by a tornado a few years ago and was under repair. It has beautifully crafted headstones, mausoleums and statues. Along with gorgeous old trees etc.
Back in its history, people used to use it as a park. The area is working to bring that tradition back. Holding various events with live music and many other things. Looked pretty awesome even with the storm damage. That's how I initially heard about it. They were raising funds for the repairs.

[m.f.richardson]

Always interesting.
Thank you.
Peace 💕🇺🇲

[KimberlyLetsGo]

I loved seeing clips from my favorite series (that ended all too soon), Penny Dreadful. It was full of all of these subjects in this video. And, it's Victorian horror too.

[smileyflowergirl]

I love the history. I love art too.. My house was built in 1860. Enough said!! This is an AWESOME video. Thanks a million GRUNGE! :)

[virginiahard]

Did anybody notice the two leg bones laying on the bookshelf? 🤔

[eburel]

I worked as a security guard when I was in college. The cemetery in town was one of the places I patrolled. I would always see during the day wedding parties taking picture and the big fancy gravesites.

[cjillwrite]

I started laughing because when I was a kid I got invited to a party and I was the only girl there. They lived across from a cemetery, the mom had us walk to the cemetery take off our shirts and run thru the sprinklers for entertainment, of course I wasn’t going to takeoff my shirt in front of boys and was horrified that we were going to be playing in a cemetery. I guess we were just doing a historical activity, who knew?

[firstname__lastname]

People still make jewelry and art out of hair, pet hair as well. Also, I know some people who kept some of their children's hair. Especially if it was long.

[DesmondKarani]

I'd like to know this guy's training program. Who is he by the way?

[einienj]

People still want anthropomorphic taxidermy "art"..

[mikenixon]

Bizzare? Yes, but in many ways much more wholesome than society today.

[Oliviux]

I don’t find these things too bizarre. I already knew about a lot of these things. I watch movies. I don’t find anything bad about it, except for the freak shows, but they didn’t understand then I guess. People love to feel better than someone else. But as for their hobbies, it’s not like they had computers, the internet, and video games to obsess over.

[judymotto]

Can you imagine taking a date to a cemetery picnic ? I would have to take my smelling salt or flask of whiskey ..not a good place to drop your petticoats 💃

[jamesfiaco]

simple concept basic logic if life is not free why the hell would death be any cheaper it's not. So the question one may wonder is the spiritual cost to one's own soul and spirit for having lived and died to the lowest standards of quality for so many years now global pollution has diminished the quality of life to the point where today's people are living, dying and yielding the worst spiritual kickback that has ever been manifested since the beginning of life only getting worse. The polar opposite extreme to that is today's people should be living and dying to the highest standards of quality which would make each and every moment physically, mentally, financially and spiritually beneficial. S.R.F.