12 Bizarre Trends from the Past That Actually Went Mainstream
Even the strangest ideas, given time and the right social moment, can seep into the fabric of everyday life.
- Alyana Aguja
- 4 min read
Cultural trends don’t always start with logic or necessity; sometimes, they emerge from novelty, misinformation, or sheer spectacle. This list reveals how bizarre practices, from eating mummies to wearing bugs, can become normalized through repetition, fashion, or social desire. Looking back, these moments offer insight into how public imagination, peer influence, and marketing can transform the absurd into the accepted.
1. Toilet Paper on Shoe Soles (1970s Disco Fashion)
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In the late ’70s, some clubgoers strutted into discos with toilet paper trailing from their shoes — on purpose. It started as an accidental faux pas, but quickly turned ironic-chic as it signaled you’d just been somewhere fabulous. Eventually, fashion mags even referenced it as a symbol of carefree extravagance.
2. Arsenic as a Beauty Product (19th Century)
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In Victorian Europe, women ingested small doses of arsenic to give their skin a pale, “ethereal” glow. Vendors sold arsenic-laced wafers as part of beauty regimens. Despite the danger, it was widely accepted — deadly beauty in a dainty little package.
3. Beaver Hats (17th–19th Century)
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European elites wore hats made from felted beaver fur, believing them to be a mark of sophistication and authority. The fashion became so dominant that it nearly drove the beaver population in North America to extinction. It all started as a niche fur trade trend and snowballed into a global status symbol.
4. Radium in Everything (Early 20th Century)
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Radium, discovered in 1898, was hailed as a miracle substance and soon added to toothpaste, water, cosmetics, and even chocolate. People believed it gave vitality and eternal youth, not knowing the long-term effects. It wasn’t until factory workers began falling ill that the public started to realize “glowing” wasn’t such a good sign.
5. Cocaine in Coca-Cola (Late 1800s)
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The original Coca-Cola formula contained actual cocaine from coca leaves, marketed as a brain tonic and energy booster. It was considered a sophisticated, even healthful, drink for the elite. Only in the early 1900s did regulations begin to crack down on its intoxicating ingredients.
6. Powdered Wigs (18th Century)
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Wigs caked in powder weren’t just high fashion — they were essential social armor for European aristocrats. The trend took off partly to cover lice infestations and poor hygiene, but powdered wigs became synonymous with status and decorum. Men would even scent their wigs with lavender and orange blossom.
7. Mummia: Eating Ground-Up Mummies (16th Century Medicine)
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In Renaissance Europe, people ground up Egyptian mummies and consumed them as a form of medicine, believing the resin and bones could cure everything from headaches to ulcers. The practice was so widespread that it created a market for fake mummies. What began as ancient mysticism became grotesquely trendy.
8. X-Ray Entertainment (1890s)
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Shortly after X-rays were discovered, traveling carnivals and department stores offered X-ray photo booths as a novelty experience. People paid to see their bones or the contents of their stomachs, treating it like a parlor trick. The health risks were unknown, but the thrill was very real.
9. Flagpole Sitting (1920s)
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A man named Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly started sitting on flagpoles for hours — and later, days — as a publicity stunt. It caught fire, and soon young men around the U.S. were scaling poles and breaking records, often cheered on by huge crowds. It was strange, dangerous, and undeniably popular for nearly a decade.
10. Wearing Live Insects as Jewelry (Victorian Era)
USGS from Unsplash
In Victorian England and parts of Mexico, women adorned themselves with live, bejeweled beetles — especially Zopherus chilensis. The insects were decorated with gems and attached to chains, worn like brooches that crawled. It was both creepy and beautiful, and considered the height of exotic fashion.
11. Leech Therapy (All Over the 19th Century)
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Leeches were a medical necessity, used to treat a wide range of conditions, including fever and high blood pressure. Elite households even kept ornate leech jars in their medicine cabinets. Doctors believed that draining “bad blood” would restore balance — a grim yet mainstream practice for over a century.
12. Muscle Vibration Belts (1950s–60s Weight Loss Craze)
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These belt machines promised weight loss through passive jiggling and were a staple of mid-century beauty salons. People would stand around in rows, strapped in and shaking, while sipping diet soda and reading magazines. The science was shaky, but the sales were huge.