These Weird Historical Trends Probably Wouldn't Catch On Today

Fern Collecting

Ferns might be pretty standard these days, but during the mid-1800s, Victorian women in London loved collecting ferns. This phenomenon was known as "pteridomania," or better titled as "fern fever."  Teens and young adult women loved collecting them so much, that the fern began to be used as a symbol of beauty, youth, and inhibition. Nothing says forever young like a fern, apparently.

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The More You Know

  • Benjamin Franklin was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
  • The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated the same year Nintendo was founded.
  • The Nobel Committee declined to award the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948 because "there was no suitable living candidate." This was meant as tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated earlier that year without receiving the Prize.
  • In the late 1600s, London was plagued by an attacker who would spank his victims with a rod and shout "Spanko!" before running away.
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