Myths About The Victorian Era, Debunked
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Date: 2022-12-29
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Comments and reviews: 20
M. J. G.
Youve missed some of the most popular myths of all.
The fainting couch is an unsubstantiated myth that everyone talks about. No one in the Victorian ever referred to this as a fainting couch. It was simply a couch and there is no evidence that it was actually anything more than that.
Second coffin corners on staircases were only a niche for a statue or plant. Has nothing to do with coffins.
The decoration around the chandelier plaster molding on the ceiling was purely decorative and had nothing to do with hiding soot.
Victorian slept sitting up! I know they didnt and theres no evidence of it. The only evidence talks about people who were ill.
Chairs are shorter because people were shorter. False. Chairs are all sizes and even Victorian some cells refer to some of their furniture as being low. I can go on for hours as Ive reached search the stuff for years with zero substantiated results.
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Youve missed some of the most popular myths of all.
The fainting couch is an unsubstantiated myth that everyone talks about. No one in the Victorian ever referred to this as a fainting couch. It was simply a couch and there is no evidence that it was actually anything more than that.
Second coffin corners on staircases were only a niche for a statue or plant. Has nothing to do with coffins.
The decoration around the chandelier plaster molding on the ceiling was purely decorative and had nothing to do with hiding soot.
Victorian slept sitting up! I know they didnt and theres no evidence of it. The only evidence talks about people who were ill.
Chairs are shorter because people were shorter. False. Chairs are all sizes and even Victorian some cells refer to some of their furniture as being low. I can go on for hours as Ive reached search the stuff for years with zero substantiated results.
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Veiled
Working class children faced extreme pressures? Seriously? Pressures? I mean I guess death, disease, and maiming in horrible ways could be defined as pressures, although I would think horrors might be a more apt term for what those kids had to face. Hell, even the wealthy kids were often being poisoned by lead, arsenic, or asbestos, the latter being in almost everything since they thought it was a miracle material. The worst part is that even when they got sick, medicine was just starting to not be old folk remedies that they were even more likely to not survive the many things that were dangerous in their world
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Working class children faced extreme pressures? Seriously? Pressures? I mean I guess death, disease, and maiming in horrible ways could be defined as pressures, although I would think horrors might be a more apt term for what those kids had to face. Hell, even the wealthy kids were often being poisoned by lead, arsenic, or asbestos, the latter being in almost everything since they thought it was a miracle material. The worst part is that even when they got sick, medicine was just starting to not be old folk remedies that they were even more likely to not survive the many things that were dangerous in their world
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Amber
In every story Ive heard about Queen Victoria she did have favourites one of her sons she was rumoured to be disappointed in because he gambled and publicly was known for attending brothels. Many of her children died young. It was in queen Victorias time that lockets were popular and keepsakes like photos with your dead. She was incredibly sentimental and seemed to like her privacy. She didnt approve of breast feeding and was said to have thought breasts were an intimate thing between couples but this could be because royals typically didnt breast feed their own children.
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In every story Ive heard about Queen Victoria she did have favourites one of her sons she was rumoured to be disappointed in because he gambled and publicly was known for attending brothels. Many of her children died young. It was in queen Victorias time that lockets were popular and keepsakes like photos with your dead. She was incredibly sentimental and seemed to like her privacy. She didnt approve of breast feeding and was said to have thought breasts were an intimate thing between couples but this could be because royals typically didnt breast feed their own children.
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Yearam
Victoria and Albert actually educated their children pretty fairly regardless of gender, Albert probably because he was just a doting parent, and Victoria because she was very limited to education in her childhood and she didnt like that. Victoria definitely wasnt the warmest to her children after Albert died, but before then, theres many personal records of the family enjoying vacations and holidays and Victoria writing about how much she enjoyed one of her young sons performances on his violin.
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Victoria and Albert actually educated their children pretty fairly regardless of gender, Albert probably because he was just a doting parent, and Victoria because she was very limited to education in her childhood and she didnt like that. Victoria definitely wasnt the warmest to her children after Albert died, but before then, theres many personal records of the family enjoying vacations and holidays and Victoria writing about how much she enjoyed one of her young sons performances on his violin.
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Dan
Slavery was NEVER legal in UK - see the case of James Somerset - this set the law clearly, slavery was nor ever had been, legal. Black folk in the UK had paid worked at the docks of liverpool or london or as domestic workers etc but never legaly enslaved. Some were unpaid which makes them near as damn enslaved but not legal - they had other perks such as housing, food etc and was a travesty but then unpaid work today still exists.
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Slavery was NEVER legal in UK - see the case of James Somerset - this set the law clearly, slavery was nor ever had been, legal. Black folk in the UK had paid worked at the docks of liverpool or london or as domestic workers etc but never legaly enslaved. Some were unpaid which makes them near as damn enslaved but not legal - they had other perks such as housing, food etc and was a travesty but then unpaid work today still exists.
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Lord
Here is a list of things I would like debunked. Contrary to popular belief: Since 1707, there has been no such thing as an English Army, Air Force, or Navy, that Britain, the UK and England are not interchangeable names for the same thing, and there is no such thing as a King or Queen of England. Oh and here's another one. It's a myth that cowboys wore cowboy hats, at least in the 1800's. The hat most preferred was the bowler.
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Here is a list of things I would like debunked. Contrary to popular belief: Since 1707, there has been no such thing as an English Army, Air Force, or Navy, that Britain, the UK and England are not interchangeable names for the same thing, and there is no such thing as a King or Queen of England. Oh and here's another one. It's a myth that cowboys wore cowboy hats, at least in the 1800's. The hat most preferred was the bowler.
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sumoni
Of course this video triggered the racists and ignorant regarding POC in the past. I've been around long enough to see them claim there were no POC(that weren't servants or slaves) in the UK. Now when proven wrong by facts they claim it wasn't enough so therefore there shouldn't be any depictions of POC in period films and TV shows. It's pathetically obvious they just want white focused entertainment.
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Of course this video triggered the racists and ignorant regarding POC in the past. I've been around long enough to see them claim there were no POC(that weren't servants or slaves) in the UK. Now when proven wrong by facts they claim it wasn't enough so therefore there shouldn't be any depictions of POC in period films and TV shows. It's pathetically obvious they just want white focused entertainment.
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angel
Oh here's another fun Victorian fact even though they thought visible tattoos were absolutely disgusting a lot of them would get little small tattoos on their wrist or ankle to be able to show their lover or later spouse as an indication of flirtation and desire for bedroom time.
That's why Single Ladies ankle or wrist could be very seductive and very naughty.
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Oh here's another fun Victorian fact even though they thought visible tattoos were absolutely disgusting a lot of them would get little small tattoos on their wrist or ankle to be able to show their lover or later spouse as an indication of flirtation and desire for bedroom time.
That's why Single Ladies ankle or wrist could be very seductive and very naughty.
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Solanaceae
Victorian era Century Brits may not have had mass numbers of opium dens, but there was certainly no shortage in the western US. We did a lot of exploring of mines and boomtowns from the 19th century back in the 1950s-60s and the sheer number of opium containers and associated paraphernalia in the areas and old dump sites left little doubt they were fiends.
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Victorian era Century Brits may not have had mass numbers of opium dens, but there was certainly no shortage in the western US. We did a lot of exploring of mines and boomtowns from the 19th century back in the 1950s-60s and the sheer number of opium containers and associated paraphernalia in the areas and old dump sites left little doubt they were fiends.
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Theo
Queen Victoria's mourning for Albert the rest of her days, as you describe, still left room in her emotional life for first, her Scottish boyfriend John Brown, and later her infatuation with Indian servant, Mahommed Karim. While she was not exactly the merry widow, she was also not the lonely, isolated grieving widow that people thought her to be.
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Queen Victoria's mourning for Albert the rest of her days, as you describe, still left room in her emotional life for first, her Scottish boyfriend John Brown, and later her infatuation with Indian servant, Mahommed Karim. While she was not exactly the merry widow, she was also not the lonely, isolated grieving widow that people thought her to be.
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education
Its not that people think there wasnt diversity then /there, its just that movies are about high society people, kings queens & other royalty! Not about maids & slaves. the people dont want to see boring dreadful stuff like that, they want to see excitement & magical, beautiful people living extravagant lifestyles! Duh! get over it!
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Its not that people think there wasnt diversity then /there, its just that movies are about high society people, kings queens & other royalty! Not about maids & slaves. the people dont want to see boring dreadful stuff like that, they want to see excitement & magical, beautiful people living extravagant lifestyles! Duh! get over it!
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Mrs.
People didn't smile for the camera because 1. exposure time was long, and it would be hard to maintain a grin for that long! 2. Even rich people had bad teeth back then. Dentistry wasn't as good as it is now.
About steampunk - It's pure fantasy. It wasn't meant to be accurate. The Wild Wild West movie and TV series are examples.
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People didn't smile for the camera because 1. exposure time was long, and it would be hard to maintain a grin for that long! 2. Even rich people had bad teeth back then. Dentistry wasn't as good as it is now.
About steampunk - It's pure fantasy. It wasn't meant to be accurate. The Wild Wild West movie and TV series are examples.
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richiethev
As a American this maybe surprising but I knew all this about Queen Victoria but was honestly unaware that other's existed that thought she was simply cold n' all that is all she was. It's like no she changed dramatically and showed her sadness through her dark clothes after Albert died but before that she was a lively woman.
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As a American this maybe surprising but I knew all this about Queen Victoria but was honestly unaware that other's existed that thought she was simply cold n' all that is all she was. It's like no she changed dramatically and showed her sadness through her dark clothes after Albert died but before that she was a lively woman.
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Reece
The main reason Victorians didn't smile in pictures is because they had to sit in front of the camera for around 15 minutes for the photo. Moving would distort the image so remaining neutral and comfortable makes sense. Try holding a smile for 15 minutes without your mouth moving.
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The main reason Victorians didn't smile in pictures is because they had to sit in front of the camera for around 15 minutes for the photo. Moving would distort the image so remaining neutral and comfortable makes sense. Try holding a smile for 15 minutes without your mouth moving.
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Adnilyoj
Post morts are a myth. May morticians have said that you cannot get a dead body stand up & the decay would happen so fast that they would not have time for the bodies to pose. They dod however sometimes take pics of them in dead in bed & might have drawn eyes on the eyelids.
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Post morts are a myth. May morticians have said that you cannot get a dead body stand up & the decay would happen so fast that they would not have time for the bodies to pose. They dod however sometimes take pics of them in dead in bed & might have drawn eyes on the eyelids.
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BlayreAilean
weirdhistory - please fact check your videos better. I do enjoy watching them a lot, but watching two of your videos back to back with one (victorian mourning customs) says tear viels where of course a thing and next this one saying they of course were not is irritating
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weirdhistory - please fact check your videos better. I do enjoy watching them a lot, but watching two of your videos back to back with one (victorian mourning customs) says tear viels where of course a thing and next this one saying they of course were not is irritating
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Wayne
People did not smile in Victorian era photos because the the lens shutter on the camera was open for a long time in order to exposure the glass film. The subjects had to remain perfectly still during the exposure. This is very difficult to do if a person smiles.
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People did not smile in Victorian era photos because the the lens shutter on the camera was open for a long time in order to exposure the glass film. The subjects had to remain perfectly still during the exposure. This is very difficult to do if a person smiles.
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Satan's
Since we're talking about myths of the Victorian era, why don't we talk about the corset myths that you guys perpetuated? You can't perpetuate myths about a certain era and then debunk different myths about that same era, that's hypocrisy.
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Since we're talking about myths of the Victorian era, why don't we talk about the corset myths that you guys perpetuated? You can't perpetuate myths about a certain era and then debunk different myths about that same era, that's hypocrisy.
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Queen
Can you do Myths/stereotypes of barbarians? I find the history of babarians, particularly the Visigoths fascinating but the modern day image pf a barbarian and who they were is so wrong. The result of a millenia old propaganda compaign!
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Can you do Myths/stereotypes of barbarians? I find the history of babarians, particularly the Visigoths fascinating but the modern day image pf a barbarian and who they were is so wrong. The result of a millenia old propaganda compaign!
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Channel
What makes studying the Victorian era jarring (at least for me) is that at times the Victorians seem modern, innovative, and compassionate. And then, you've got many other aspects of their society that are very much the opposite.
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What makes studying the Victorian era jarring (at least for me) is that at times the Victorians seem modern, innovative, and compassionate. And then, you've got many other aspects of their society that are very much the opposite.
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