Things moved a lot slower in the old days. Netflix wasn’t around yet, and neither was the internet, so how in the world did folks entertain themselves back then? Aside from drinking, I mean.
As the list below will show you, people definitely had some really odd ways of staying busy back in the day.
1. Gladiator fights
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
We’re all familiar with this bloody, brutal part of history. Although the Romans are historically most famous for their epic gladiator battles, it was actually a very popular form of entertainment through much of the ancient world.
Photo Credit: East News
Gladiators would fight each other in one-on-one combat or in groups, and they sometimes even fought wild animals or held mock “naval” battles. It was only with the rise of Christianity that the practice eventually fell out of favor.
Although we don’t fight to the death, the popularity of wrestling, boxing, MMA, and other such contests prove that we still enjoy a little violent entertainment to this day.
2. Rolling hoops
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Rolling a hoop was a popular diversion for kids all around the world for a long, long time. There were all sorts of variations and rules, but at its most basic it was just about rolling a hoop as long as possible with the aid of a stick.
3. Stick-pulling
Photo Credit: fineartamerica
Stick-pulling, despite the somewhat dirty-sounding name and hilarious illustration above, is actually pretty tame. It’s basically an older version of tug-of-war, where the goal is for both players to pull in opposing directions until one of them bends their knees and/or crosses a marker.
4. Phrenology
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Phrenology is a now-debunked theory/field of study that claimed it could determine a person’s character, intelligence, and a host of other personal qualities based on the shape of the person’s skull. Yes, it’s exactly as inaccurate as it sounds.
5. Giant steps
Photo Credit: The Library of Congress
“Giant steps” was a popular playground toy consisting of a pole with a moving ring at the top with several ropes tied to it. Kids would run up to it and grab the rope, which would then swing the kids around in huge “steps.” Obviously, the potential for injury was very high.
6. Freak shows
Photo Credit: East News
There was a time when circuses and freak shows were one of the dominant forms of ‘mass’ entertainment, particularly for people living in isolated rural areas. While the idea of observing and laughing at the physically disabled is pretty horrifying today, people were far less sensitive to such concerns in the past.
On the bright side, some of the performers in these shows could actually earn a lot of fame and fortune. Julia Pastrana, above, was a very popular performer from Mexico who wowed audiences with both her appearance and her exceptional singing and dancing.
7. Premature baby exhibits
Photo Credit: East News
It might seem outrageous to have premature babies being displayed as a spectacle today, but this is one absurd old-timey pastime that actually helped save lives.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Hospitals at the time didn’t have resources to care for these babies, and creating an exhibit that people paid admission to view helped to raise money towards modern equipment and nurses’ salaries.
8. The “Headless” Girl
Photo Credit: New York World’s Fair
During the 1930s, there were a number of “headless girl” shows throughout Europe and the United States. “Doctors” present assured audiences that the girl was alive in every way thanks to technology that saved her life after losing her head in some accident.
In truth, the girls were obviously fine and had their heads perfectly intact. The illusion was simply done with the use of mirrors and precise angles of reflection.
9. Stuffing a phone booth
Photo Credit: East News
Yes. You read that correctly. Don’t ask me why, but kids in the 1950s apparently decided that it’d be really fun to see just how many people they could squeeze into a single telephone booth. It’s hard to say how/why this got started, but I’m sure that could be said for a lot of modern trends too.
h/t: Bright Side
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