5 Reasons The Victorian Era Was Utter Insanity | Answers With Joe

[@Itried20takennames]

I sew, and although dresses look “fancier” - a kids dress is much, much easier to make than a tiny shirt and pants. Given how fast kids grow, how hard they are on clothes and potty training- the dress thing for toddlers made a lot of sense.

[@tigereyemusic]

Also considering the home sewing machine wasn’t really available until the 1860’s or so. Sewing by hand took much, much longer.

[@audreyr.johnson8965]

Good points. Also, the average lower to emerging middle-class adult only had a few sets of clothes, so they surely couldn't invest in more than that for young children.

[@TheKillerEmcee]

No it didnt. Boys wear pants, not dresses

[@toforgetisagem8145]

@@TheKillerEmcee why do you say that?

[@browniecookiedough7026]

@@TheKillerEmcee apparently not those boys

[@Dan_Ben_Michael]

I’m also utterly fascinated with the Victorian era. I love the clothing, the photos, the technology, the architecture, and just the general aesthetic of the era. My grandparents were born at the tail end of it and they lived in an old spooky Victorian home and everything about the aesthetic of it was spooky AF.

[@bobross4886]

yeah it’s like the deliberately went with the most subconsciously terrifying aesthetic possible. Not necessarily ugly, strangely unsettling somehow.

[@simmi6348]

The Victoria era definitely is the definition for both beautiful & creepy in the same time

[@rare_grooves_shack_1983]

steampunker!

[@audreyr.johnson8965]

@@bobross4886 They did do it deliberately! As Joe said, Queen Victoria's extended mourning brought in the trend of black clothing, but also of inricately fillagreed mourning jewlery and lockets made of the deceased's hair. Their favored stones were dark sapphires and Bohemian garnets, which are a beautiful dark red, almost black color. They were the diamonds of the day. Black and dark colors were practical on walls and houses due to coal staining & if I'm not mistaken innovations in carpentry tools, like lathes, advanced miter saws, dremmels, etc made the intricate wooden lacework on houses possible. So they just went nuts.

[@audreyr.johnson8965]

Jealous. It's my dream to buy and restore an old Victorian house! Better yet, a Victorian era church.

[@eastcoastla612]

That description of the Victorians being trapped between an old life and new technology is exactly the way I feel about these times that we live.

[@bluex610]

Forreals the time before and after the internet/smartphones is so damn interesting. A lot of us grew up without it and now the new generations are starting to take over. Can definitely feel the old and new intertwining. I'm only 30 so I feel like I'm lucky to have grown up before the internet got going.

[@hamingnu6610]

@@bluex610 ​ I'm half your age + a bit. However, having been from a country that even now is still in 'developing' status; The changes to our daily lives have been massive. I was used to CRTs, portable MP3s, and T9 dialing. Yes, I'm pretty sure a lot of people were the same way in the 2000's. But we had a CRT until 2015, had a cheaper physical keypad phone (As well as the good old 3310 brick phone. I was lucky to have had one), as well as relied on DSL Internet until 2018. I'm lucky I never had to experience Dial-Up, however, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually used Dial-Up on a family computer we had that ran Windows 98, perhaps around the mid-late 2000's. Now, all my Internet woes are extremely small in comparison to the absolutely huge amount of time it took for me to even download a decent-sized jpeg, let alone stream past 240p. Food delivery services are rampant. Netflix and Online Shopping is at my fingertips. This stuff was likely already available to those who were more fortunate, however, in my country, we were already part of the Middle Class, perhaps not even at its lower boundary. Even then, I don't think a lot of those reading this even from more-developed countries would bat an eye at the stuff I mentioned since they experienced that as well, if they were able to experience the global trends in technology prior to let's say, 2015 - where definitively I imagine most people in developing to developed countries would be have been used to a 'modern' way of life. Edit: I haven't even talked about how I, as someone who's still studying - just had to get used to an entirely-new learning setup that completely depended on online-based infrastructure. Crazy stuff that wouldn't have happened even 15 years ago.

[@seanrallis6714]

@@bluex610 You're 30, and you grew up "Before the internet got going?" How? I'm 35, and the internet was already a common household commodity when I was 10 years old. You grew up alongside the internet, not before it. It was already popular when you were 5.

[@HistoryNerd808]

Yeah. I mean, I'm only 26 and even just in my lifetime, we've seen the smartphone revolution, electric cars going (sort of) mainstream, the rise of social media and both the good and bad changes it's made on society, among other things. It's crazy the technological changes, even in just the last decade and a half, much less the last 70, 80 years.

[@edwardespinoza7002]

@@bluex610 I’m 33 and the internet was definitely around in early elementary (at least in my schools in California) lol

[@MegCazalet]

Parents definitely got attached to their children, no matter how young or how many died. John Evelyn, who lived a century and a half prior, wrote a very moving diary entry about the death of an infant son. I think the pictures of dead babies also shows a love, not a fake sentimentality. I think there’s a lot of mythology or misunderstandings about the Victorians.

[@Breezy-jq6hq]

I hate 'historical' videos. Most of them are stupidly inaccurate. This asinine assertion makes me mistrust everything else he says. Yes, of course most parents were attached to their children. People from other cultures and times are not alien creatures. The human basics are always there- love, foibles, heroic choices, and evil choices.

[@Serena-or7sl]

I think it was a different kind of attachment, but apart from upper class (which handed their kid to the wet nurse asap and saw them only in "official way") yes, they lived together and it's difficult to not get attached. Though, if your mentality is that kids under 5 generally die, the reaction on one's kid's death is different than if your mentality is that almost all kids survive.

[@yurisakamaki-binghua]

​​@@Serena-or7slYes, I think that it might have been the same type of sadness that one feels when a very old family member dies, you kind of expect it to happen although it is very tragic. Meanwhile, nowadays, when young kids die, we feel a kind of shock, as if their lives were unfairly robbed and that it "shouldn't have happened"

[@mrkshply]

Totally agree. I think the Victorian era is where we basically built the modern concept of childhood. The middle class could provide healthier lives for their children but couldn't afford a wet nurse so the parents raised their own kids. They got attached. They started industries based around children to create what they considered to be the proper childhood.

[@Mixima101]

My uncle died when he was a baby in the 1960s. My my family visits his grave and sing Christmas songs to him with candles every year in 2023, even after my grandparents died. At the cemetery a lot of young kids are there from the 1960s after a bad sickness, and several of the graves still have flowers at them every year.

[@scarysara9364]

"If a bird crashes into a window; it means that someone _has_ died." Yeah, the _bird_ !

[@suzannemenuet947]

Facts! 😂 😂 😂

[@veenadenny6155]

😂😂😂😂

[@scarysara9364]

@@suzannemenuet947 Thanks. :)

[@scarysara9364]

@@veenadenny6155 Thankyou =D

[@shuruff904]

*Someone Not some bird

[@shookings]

Gender reveal party: *shows wildfire* That's a dark joke, dude. Keep that shit up.

[@notafantbh]

It's also kind of accurate

[@balu.92]

I didn't get it. Could you please elaborate on what the joke is?

[@fred_the_3rd373]

That was funny. The horse dewormer quip near the end was not.

[@HylanderSB]

@@balu.92 IIRC, either this year, last year or both years, a major wildfire was started by a gender reveal party.

[@HylanderSB]

@@fred_the_3rd373 That wasn't a joke, just a sad commentary on the state of ignorance in the US.

[@charlottedog5232]

My granny took pictures of the dead. They were polaroids. Just sprinkled throughout her picture albums. When she died at 94 in '96 we were all so pleased when a little old lady went up to her casket and took a picture of her. It wasnt a polaroid. But we know that was an important moment for her.

[@erin2215]

Thats weird

[@BilliePosters]

i love that

[@monhi64]

I feel like we need context for these pictures of dead people. How was she encountering so many dead people, and at what stage of dead they were because that could potentially be horrific. You even elaborated on the fact that they’re Polaroids but left the dead people context totally hanging 😂

[@nicholasbrown5572]

​@@monhi64 Nana was a serial killer 😂

[@allenjohnson7686]

my sister died in 1996 and she came home for 5 days for people to say good byes... i literally stayed with her alone for 5 days on my own as a 17yr old as i couldnt say goodbye... i remember everything to this day... yes looking back it was weird but i needed to do it.

[@williambliss6087]

I may be one of the last people alive whose parents were both Victorians. I was born late in their lives as far as child bearing goes and grew up with various Victorian era concepts held by my parents. It took me well into adulthood to figure out where they were coming from. It's been an interesting trip.

[@nostradumbass4984]

please tell us more!

[@oooh19]

Sounds interesting!

[@karengramajo8420]

Please give us some memorable stories you had of your parents. I remember how my aunt remembered events of her time that were not even close to what books were telling (mid-20th century of Latin America ). It would be interesting to view the perspective of a child of two Victorian parents.

[@SavoyMaker9]

please sir,gives us some more!

[@gmaureen]

My parents were not born in the Victorian era but they, and many of our neighbors, carried Victorian ideas from their grandparents. Behaviors, beliefs, don't die quickly they fade.

[@Alesha_Lewer]

The Victorian era was absolutely nuts. I’ve learned a lot about it and I can honestly say... it was absolutely not a time I would have survived. I love learning about it, but I’m glad I live now

[@krytenfivetwothreep2485]

Maybe if you were trasnported back as you are now, you wouldn't survive, but if you'd been born in that era you'd have adapted

[@sampal5352]

Now sucks

[@michaelwills1926]

Look at the radioactive transceiver in your hand and say that again 🥴

[@braden4797]

@@krytenfivetwothreep2485 why didn’t the 60% of kids who died adapt

[@krytenfivetwothreep2485]

@@braden4797 They did adapt. It just wasn't enough due to the extreme harshness of the conditions. My point was that if you'd been born into that era, the harshness would seem normal and you'd adapt to that, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'd survive

[@ladysaraofinsomnia2334]

It's not entirely accurate to say that parents didn't form attachments to their children. They certainly did, and mourned just as much when they died. This is a common misconception that I have heard many times before. They loved their children just as much as we do today, however they did so also with the expectation that many of them would not make it.

[@toforgetisagem8145]

I suppose it would very much depend where you were in the social system. If you could afford a large family and had the resources you would be able to love your children. For those of working class or lower children were not always a blessing. A Victorian family could have 11 to 15 live births more or less l A death of one or two meant more food for the rest. They might be mourned for who they were but it could be a relief to have one less mouth to feed.

[@stellabastoneintoronto955]

This whole series has a weirdly mocking tone that dehumanizes and way oversimplifies.

[@prod_zy]

@@stellabastoneintoronto955 its not lmao

[@jotsandtittles]

There are a lot of over-simplifications and a bit of plain old incorrect info in this, but it's KZbin, right? Not a thesis. Still, to say their culture was crazy is to assume ours is sane and correct so we're objectively qualified to judge. This notion is also insane.

[@appleicatpromax7069]

@@stellabastoneintoronto955 So are you gonna explain or just spew a stinky load of sewage for us to dissect on our own, and then leave? Wow. How do you get the term 'dehumanizes' from one of the more open-minded Victorian era videos? Are you talking about the audience or the Victorian people he was talking about in the video? Are you unable to detect the nuances of human speech so you assume he is 'mocking' you, despite just being informative, due to being a smoothbrain? Are you even aware of the kind of work that goes into condensing information and presenting it for a YT video, and if so, could you comment on how he went too far? Also, since you seem to be a historian too, you'll surely be able to speak on which SPECIFIC points and aspects of the Victorian era he doesn't mention en lieu of 'oversimplification' right?

[@DonyaLane]

My biggest take-away from this video is that the human experience has mostly been a wretched, horrific, insufferable nightmare for the majority of the people who have walked the earth. Even my pampered pets have lived a better quality life than most humans throughout history have lived ! Watching content like this reminds me of how fortunate and blessed I am, to have been born in the 1960s in the United States. Of course, there have been struggles and hard times, but at least, I've never known a time without proper sanitation and sewage treatment! I've always had air conditioning, new shoes, clean water, and access to antibiotics, etc. Even the poorest people I've ever known still had a TV, microwave and phones. And none of them ever had to sleep on a rope! Count your blessings, folks! Be grateful.

[@masonsmith9619]

Well there is the counterpoint that many of these people from the past were likely far more content than the average person of today. While people now live much less difficult lives, they can often be unfulfilling to the point of it being unbearable, hence the gigantic suicide rate in industrial and post-industrial nations (ex. Russia and Japan)

[@thegrayyernaut]

@@masonsmith9619 In my opinion, they were content because they weren't as aware of how awful their lives were. Today, we have access to information, thus we know more, thus we want more, thus we are less content to stay put and suffer.

[@sometimessnarky1642]

​@@thegrayyernautoh they knew how bad it was. And people committed suicide. But mostly people just plodded on through like most people do today.

[@mrscreamlad6572]

I think the lesson here is about having hope, and about things ABSOLUTELY CAN get a lot better than the present, and it's happened before. Also, keep in mind that they probably weren't as unhappy as you think. People in the middle ages probably still, ya know, gathered around to have a nice family dinner sometimes or go out singing with their friends. Although yeah I definitely wouldn't want most aspects of that time period.

[@wendynothaft8197]

🎉So true for sure. GRATITUDE IN YOUR ATTITUDE!❤

[@lizzumzzz]

This popped up in my recommended and I am SO GLAD I CLICKED IT! I love the way you give the information (some of which I actually didn't know) with some humour in between. I love the Victorian era, it's so bizarre from a modern perspective but I do think you're right in saying that people will look back at this era and just say "wtf were they thinking?" but that definitely comes with exploring new avenues and inventions. I'm excited to watch more of your content!

[@dustin628]

I'm glad you talked about the similarities between then and now. The more I look into it the more I realize we are going through a change right now as great as they went through, we just can't see it because we are in it.

[@carsongeorge8199]

Oh boy do I see it when I work my customer service job. It’s a horrifically tough change and some people aren’t going to make it through. Who knows what the future is to hold? Let’s just cross our fingers it’s something good.

[@brendamarin3931]

Some of us can see that we are in a time of transitioning quite clearly. And with just as much clarity some can see that the insanity of bygone eras is not a plague from which this last generation has been cured. On the contrary, the mental infirmities of the yesteryears have accumulated over the centuries and manifested into an incurable madness that cannot be denied. It is blatantly visible anywhere the eyes may glance in this so-called modern time, from the contrived scripts being acted out on the world stage in the realm of politics ( the covert business of making merchandise out of men), all the way down the pyramid of shame to the common man and woman, as no one is immune.

[@larsulrichvevo3196]

Holy shit

[@aculeatus4356]

the craziest thing is that the change ur talking about, is always happening its a endless cylce

[@KB-fk3jj]

Without the unnecessary amount of swagger Brenda has, yes, each and every generation will face challenge and change, and make mistakes the same as our elders. I might add that life is a learning experience, and that we don't have to mull about like our Victorian predecessors with the improvements to common knowledge and rights today. Still a work in progress, as it will be centuries from now

[@TomLaios]

Those memento mori pictures always bring tears to my eyes. The sadness and heartbreak in the living members holding their deceased beloved is so poignant .

[@__WJK__]

Extremely surreal for sure... to think of a time, not all that long ago, where people's experience with death was such a common occurrence... they accepted it to a fault, giving little to no pause posing in photos with freshly deceased loved ones.

[@nas9229]

Yo mama poignant

[@emmestein]

Gotta arrange a photo session pretty quickly since the deceased soon will begin to look less... "pretty"... Imagine having to wait a week for the next available time slot, coming to the studio with a bloated corpse (maggots included.)

[@truesosense7722]

@@__WJK__ Death wasn't that common, stop deshumanizing the past.

[@priiifrg]

​@@truesosense7722what are you talking about? It was EXTREMELY commmon.

[@oneghost1257]

The death thing in Victorian England especially always interested me. I had a humanities teacher once who said that we (being people in western culture) go through sort of cycles. I can't remember the length of time but, he said that if you through history we go through periods of death positivity and sexual repression, to sexual positivity and a sort of, death repression "I don't think about it" kind of phase. Nowhere is that clearer than the Victorian era.

[@DISOPtv]

Interesting, I also have seen a pattern in governments, there definitely is a government cycle as well. I supposed most things have a cycle to them. We as humans just ignore history and keep doing the same things over and over.

[@arcadia-ego2951]

Humanities teachers are not as well-known as, say, English teachers. I wonder if, by chance, your teacher had the initials of J. C.?

[@YuBeace]

I kind of feel like we're in a "sexual repression, death positivity" phase as well, just look at what is and what isn't allowed in media, and especially on the internet. More and more "mature" content is getting censored, but things like war and shooting games are totally fine to upload to KZbin, whereas a bare chest will get banned. When we say "think of the children" we are talking about the human body, people are out there complaining to zoos because the animals have their things out and mate in front of the kids. And not nearly enough children know what is happening to their body when they hit puberty. Young girls are taught their body is something to be ashamed of. But we don't hear anyone say "think of the children" when all these toy guns are being advertised and sold, despite guns having one single purpose only; to take a life. Kind of insane. When you think about it.

[@oneghost1257]

@@YuBeace personally I'd say, we're in more of a death denial sex positive phase but coming out of the opposite. We have a lot of people still living who came from the "married couples in separate beds" way of life and it's having some friction with the younger generations' attitudes. Death positive doesn't exactly mean violent media, what I meant was, like, a social acceptance of death. Casual conversation about funeral plans for loved ones, new alternative practices. And we do have some of that but at the moment it's sort of a little movement. From my perspective generally, most people don't want to talk about or even think about dying, or people they love dying. I just mean it seems like especially younger adults have an easier time discussing their relationship history and sex lives than they do well, what's been established already lol

[@oneghost1257]

@@arcadia-ego2951 nope lol

[@shawizz]

You had me at "TidePod" 😂I love how you are not "over funny" with cheesy jokes, but rather appropriately pointing out reality in a funny way. I really enjoyed your video, the information, and the delivery. Well done! I"m always excited to find a new KZbinr I can look forward to enjoying.

[@AnnaCurser]

"Sleeping in a Coffin is a big step up from hanging over a rope" - isnt a sentence I thought Id Ever Hear!

[@bryanl1984]

Somehow I rad that as "California" after the gender reveal thing but now that you mention it...

[@victoriaprior2185]

It’s a fucking quantum leap to the rope hanging scenraio! Imagine being freezing cold hanging on a rope drinking sewage water ya whole family just died from wallpaper and arsenic poisoning

[@banannakis6723]

Another way their homes were death traps, stairs, especially for servants. They didn't have the kind of stairs that are more common nowadays. Making them more safe to go up and down. The steps were usually smaller spaces to put one's foot, so it wasn't as balanced to walk on which made it easy to misstep. Also, sometimes they didn't have railings at the time to help keep balance, making it easier to lose their balance. Didn't help that they were often carrying heavy trays or items and usually had to run up and down the stairs at their master's beck and call. Often a servant would trip, slip, or fall down the stairs breaking a bone or their neck.

[@Ranstone]

I lived in a 180 year old house. I called the stairs "the ladder" Way too steep...

[@banannakis6723]

@@Ranstone Definitely I've been to some old houses too, step with tiny steps. I felt like was climbing a ladder as well. The ones I like the least are the ones that have tiny step little steps where the stairs creak around a corner. The steps get even smaller and more dangerous.

[@deltaphilip8611]

reparations to descendants of servants, perhaps. There was no workman's compensation back then and employers benefited, so modern day employers should pay reparations.

[@nunya___]

@@banannakis6723 People were smaller, lighter, also more muscular so smaller feet and shorter handrails but better able to go up steeper stairs. Still dangerous to go down.

[@ivechang6720]

There also weren't standards for the height width ratio which we understand better now. I forget the number but it's a thing. 🤷🏽

[@Raygo.]

John Snow (not the _Game of Thrones_ character, who was "Jon Snow" wasn't he?) also played a significant part in the development of anaesthetics, something else which only really got going during the Victorian era. He was one of the first medical men to study the effects of ether and chloroform when used during surgery, and to calculate the best dosage to use. Just consider that even as late as the 1840s and 50s, amputations of limbs as well as just about every operation you can think of, were generally done without the use of any kind of pain-killer. One famous "showman surgeon" on the London scene at the time, Robert Liston, became renowned for the speed with which he removed arms and legs. He would begin his procedures by inviting his audience (yes, many were apparently there for the "fun" of it) to "Time me, gentlemen. Time me!" The development of anaesthesia at this time is a fascinating and often harrowing tale which goes well with the notion of the Victorian period as being that which gave birth to our modern era of pain-free surgery and convenience. There's a great book, actually written by John Snow's great-grand-daughter, Stephanie J. Snow, *_Blessed Days of Anaesthesia: How anaesthetics changed the world._*

[@LuisAldamiz]

Seems like a most important person in the history of humankind and he's mostly unknow when he should be side by side with Pasteur and Fleming.

[@travcollier]

John Snow is an absolute legend in my geeky circles

[@stdesy]

There was dry comedy on British tv called Quacks based on this guy. It was pretty good but only got 6 episodes

[@peterjf7723]

Robert Liston is also famous for an operation with a 300 percent mortality. The patient died from infection, he accidentally cut fingers off his assistant, that injury became infected and his assistant died. One of the spectators died from a heart attack when Liston's knife cut his coat.

[@mellie4174]

Wow! I gotta read that!

[@laughing-cat]

Commenting on the part about Victorian toddlers' dress: I often wonder if it's also much easier to deal with diapers when the toddler is wearing a dress. Snaps weren't invented until 1885, so other than making toddler drawers with button crotches (which would probably be slow going) a dress really sounds like the more functional piece of baby and toddler clothing.

[@lindenpeters2601]

Yeah I think the notion of "dehumanizing" the children is pure speculation on his part. It would have been more accurate to say that people throughout history, including the Victorian era, viewed babies and toddlers as almost genderless. The German article for Baby is the neutral one: das. Das Baby. Considering English has a strong German influence, I think that's why Victorians and previous generations referred to a baby as "it".

[@HelpMe-iu6fn]

Dresses are easier to sew too rather than tiny pants and shirts, important since most mothers were sewing a majority of their children’s clothes by hand. You can add a few inches in the seam to let out as they grow too so dresses can be often worn longer than pants and shorts on children since they grow so quickly.

[@YoungMule]

It’s terrifyingly absurd to think that regular, seemingly well meaning ppl like scheele could unknowingly be contributing to untold amounts of suffering for such trivial reasons such as wallpaper. Imagine all of the damage we are unknowingly inflicting upon ourselves

[@valeriemishldavis183]

That part

[@otaku3OBSESSION]

I mean, BPA and microplastics, rBST and other hormones treated to our livestoxk, HFCS in all sodas and processed foods, carbon emissions and pollution, sedentary lifestyles, eyestrain from electronics, failed healthcare systems, homelessness epidemic, captialist economic collapse... The damage has been done, and anyone paying attention knows it.

[@johnjack3578]

Like asbestos, microplastic, air and water pollution?

[@J3diMindTrix]

It cannot be overstated how much more advanced we are now than in Victorian times, technology as we know it today can trace its origins to the industrial revolution, before then major advances were few and far between compared to today's pace of development, occurring decades or centuries apart thus civilisation remained pretty much the same since Roman times, with even a decline in living standards during the roughly thousand year 'dark age' up until the Renaissance; today, computing power doubles every two years or so, thus, as a metric, so we are advancing at an exponential pace compared to just over a century ago Health and safety regulations thanks to discoveries like poisons in paint have had a very long time and many examples to set precedents by, and we can analyse everything at the atomic level, the medical field is also unrecognisable compared to what it would have been to a Victorian person, products have to pass rigorous safety checks to be saleable and companies don't want to be sued for something that was their fault so a lot of testing is done and legal requirements met before a product is fit for sale (or at least that's supposed to be the case) What we should be more concerned about is the damage we're *knowingly* inflicting on ourselves. Given all of the above, we're still hooked on a liquid that took millions of years to form and we burn in an instant releasing emissions that we have proven beyond any and all reasonable doubt are causing dangerously high levels of all types of toxins in our air whilst heating the planet up beyond a point that may be reversible, it's happening right now, we are all aware of it, yet don't seem bothered enough to want to do anything about it. If we can't at least focus on that as a top priority, when not only should it be far and away the most pressing concern for every nation and everyone that wants a planet to live on, and when we have alternatives, right now, that can fix the problem, then that just speaks volumes of our complacence with a headlong course towards our own destruction Also the many other things we are fully aware of yet seem either uninterested or unable to fix (such as those mentioned above by Jaxxson). What we need is a paradigm shift, globally, in awareness and understanding to prioritise the things that we know full well should be prioritised but pure, basic greed is in the way. Anytime you hear that climate change is a 'myth' or that we are 'unsure' if we are causing it, just remember that those views, if not bought outright as a bribe, can be traced back to 'studies' funded by big oil to keep their industry afloat and their profits pouring in, when every scientist, academic, or person with half a brain is of the opposite opinion. It is patently obvious now and still some would rather pull the covers over their face like a kid scared of the dark as the truth is too scary for them; then they are most likely too entrenched and complicit in those industries that cause planetwide destruction and unwilling to change careers than accept reality.

[@admiralbenbow5083]

Scheele was but a morsel of gnat shit compared with what we are doing to ourselves now.

[@Mel-jl8dt]

From a fashion perspective they were not dressing their children as girls back then. The notion of giving gender to a child simply didn't really exist in the way we do it. White gowns were used for practical reasons (easy to spot stains and easy to wash/dry). It's also easier to change diapers. There is still a difference between the dresses given to boys and girls. Boys usually had metal buttons instead of buttons covered in fabric

[@xToniMichellex]

That makes sense and it’s absolutely practical I agree

[@cairoanderson7944]

Even in the 1940's babies wore dresses - they were just for "babies" to help change nappies. Also note these are gender-attached notions (era specific social rules, aesthetics, roles, stereotypes, etc) not actual Gender - the word stemming from the same tree as Genes, Genesis (beginning), Genitals, etc

[@pauly1dad]

It’s also a myth that people didn’t love their children because they might not survive. Sure, the nobility had a distance because they were not expected to show emotion. This myth crops up throughout history, especially in medieval times. People are people no matter what period of history, just as there are people today that don’t care for their children, there were people back in history. Yet the majority of parents did love their children and mourned their deaths.

[@JeffreyBenzodiazepines]

🤓🤡

[@oooh19]

You’d think they would be more strict and traditional about gender roles.

[@jessegirlb]

I love the arsenic green of the Victorian era. Such a beautiful color. They also had gas and electricity at the same time, often, so they had live sparks igniting gas.

[@truthplaguer2196]

Nut on the leaf, bitch I been killing these beans, I got a m16 on my potty, told that lil * to creeeeaaam

[@clueless_cutie]

Don't forget intentionally huffing the gas, too. There was AA for gas sniffing and everything. What a wild time.

[@Tweej]

Most gas is ignited via live sparks today...

[@jessegirlb]

@@Tweej Yes, but our in-house fixtures aren't literally designed to include both live sparks and gas in close proximity.

[@ariel_33]

Arsenic green was deadly thi

[@shellydorai-raj1322]

The book The Ghost Map is about John Snow tracking down the source of a deadly Cholera outbreak. Great read!!

[@planescaped]

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" really is so true of this era. For a person alive at this time it must have seemed like life was amazing compared to the middle ages and classical era. Modern conveniences were finally becoming mass produced for everyone, technology was advancing and it wasn't just aristocrats who got to benefit anymore. However us looking back at this time often say it was one of the worst times to be alive... by their standards it was the best, by ours it was the worst.

[@butterphli3z]

And human society will probably look at this century in the same regard in 100-200 years.

[@sampal5352]

That was referring to the French Revolution

[@cathylindeboom4494]

@@sampal5352 What was referring to the French revolution? The quote "best of/worst of times"? That was from Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities".

[@sampal5352]

@@cathylindeboom4494 Correct, about the French Revolution. Just seemed confusing reference about two diff time periods. Probably just me.

[@lilymarinovic1644]

@@sampal5352 it's not either/or. Charles Dickens was a great commentator on the ills of his own Victorian era. It is hard to believe he wasn't commenting on BOTH the French Revolution AND his own times. Just like the TV show MASH, set in the Korean war but clearly commenting on the then-current Vietnam war.

[@STUCASHX]

🤔 I wonder if the term "hangover" as it relates to feeling like shit after an excessive amount of booze, actually came from how you'd feel after trying to sleep on the victorian hangover???

[@JJs_playground]

I thought the exact same thing when i saw that. Lol

[@joed1950]

At about 12:35, In Dublin Ireland 1985 we saw a 2 Penny Hangover at a sheltered bus station. About 5AM and perhaps 10 people were sleeping while hanging over a rope and there were several benches with folks sitting. We assumed just what this video is saying about this. But, in 1985!

[@GlassDeviant]

@@joed1950 We Irish like to hold on to traditions for far too long.

[@lyreparadox]

Yes.

[@ryanwilliams9025]

I love hello fresh

[@denisestinnett8904]

I made myself “Victorian” clothes in high school and wore them to school, loved them. Natch, I was considered weird but just loved the period. Oh by the way it was 1969 and clothes were wild anyway!

[@DraccoXX]

sounds proto-goth almost im messin with it

[@denisestinnett8904]

@@DraccoXX haha! Yeah. The real proto goths had to be what was called at the time “Beatniks”. Dressed all in black with heavy black eye makeup and stark white lipstick and don’t give a shit faces. SO cool!

[@KC-nm7mf]

that took major balls so mad respect because bullying was definitely way more ruthless and savage then than it is now

[@denisestinnett8904]

@@KC-nm7mf haha, yah, but I already had my time in on weird 😜

[@penelope-oe2vr]

I'm doing it now!

[@monicacall7532]

It’s a fallacy that Victorian era parents didn’t grieve when their children died as babies, toddlers or at any age before adulthood. Many parents never came to grips with all of the death that visited their children. My great-grandmother dealt with the death of an infant due to meningitis at 6 months old, a 13 year old son who died from internal bleeding after an appendectomy and the drowning of an 18 year old daughter who’d just graduated from high school the week before while trying to save another drowning person. This all happened within 15 months. My grandma told me that her mother was never quite the same again, but when friends and family lost children she was the first person to go grieve with the family.

[@nidgithm]

the victorian era is very interesting to me, but also kind of terrifying. it makes me worry about if there are any things that are currently used a lot that we don't know are dangerous and won't realize is dangerous until it's far too late. i know there are more rules in place now, and they're testing things more carefully before letting it be used, but still. i mean things like that have happened even more recently, such as with smoking: a few decades ago they didn't even know smoking was bad for you, so everyone did it in their house in their car etc

[@konayasai]

Micro plastics and screen time for small children are my bets.

[@lagann4064]

Agreed. Microplastics are already in our food and bodies. And screen time is destroying children

[@avamasquerade]

@Fasih Tahir Or "screen time" is making children infinitely more intelligent. Children today do at least 200x more reading than they did 100 years ago. And then there's having all the world's knowledge at your fingertips. Adults who didn't grow up with computers tend to project their own intellectual limitations and conditioned lack of curiosity onto the younger generations and it's just not an accurate assessment. I catered to my son's immense interest in tech. Naturally, I taught him moderation, but nothing any of my virtue signaling peers would be happy with, I was quite "indulgent" with all the things my son showed a passion for. Now he's more successful (in the tech field) than most adults I know and he's only 20. While he's a sensitive man, I swear his brain is primed like a machine sometimes, and it is paying dividends. I think we should stop being quite so insecure, jealous, and close minded with our "kids these days!" judgments. Kids these days is why you're going to live many *many* more days than you otherwise would have. "Kids these days!" is why infant and child mortality is no longer 60%. Encourage them, let them learn, innovate, and invent. Who knows, "Kids these days" may be exactly what we need to save humanity from itself....

[@lagann4064]

@@avamasquerade I think i didnt word myself properly. Technology is good for everyone involved but today's parenting of leaving children by themselves to play with their devices while parents sit on their couches while watching TV or social media is what I have a problem with. Everything should be in moderation. You sound like a great parent but that is not the case for majority of the people. Today's teens are disconnected from their families and soceities due to having no model for how to talk and connect with other people

[@YuBeace]

@@konayasai Screentime is fine, but the rise of touch screens is already proving a lack of motor skills in children's hands, they have more trouble holding a pen and writing with one than they used to. I highly suggest that if you're gonna give kids screen-time, you make sure they use a chunky keyboard to use sometimes, give them some actual, physical toys to teach grip and the feeling of different textures, maybe a variation of video-game controllers. And of course make sure they still get enough sunlight in a day. And, of course, the non-screen-time option; actual pen and paper. Teaching them how to draw in a way that isn't with the tip of their finger. Maybe even teach them how to sew when they get older; that's a life skill more people should know anyway.

[@wavecast64]

One effect of the social structure of the Victorian Era that I find interesting is how many european stories involve somebody discovering that they are secretly a prince or heir to a throne since that would've been one of the only ways one could hope to elevate their social status

[@miroslavhoudek7085]

Phew, luckily that has changed so much. Now 1 in 10000 can actually go from poverty to richdom.

[@kellydalstok8900]

Really? I can’t think of a lot of these stories. The only one that comes to mind is Oliver Twist, and he doesn’t even discover he’s royalty.

[@wavecast64]

@@kellydalstok8900 Spaceballs

[@aa-sw8bp]

@@kellydalstok8900 hmm, I remember that one of the most common things someone wishes for is that they are secretly royalty. it's just an really common dream

[@Macakiux]

People in the 1800's were sooo obsessed with Batman

[@JonS]

Less so than our juvenile obsession with super heroes.

[@L3onking]

And Clowns only had to put half the effort into killing kids

[@wadetisthammer3612]

Are you trying to gaslight us about Gotham? #SeeWhatIDidThere

[@illusorybucket5703]

Probably because his parents are dead

[@djimma5080]

He was known as bat gentleman originally

[@WinningReality]

24:48 - That didn’t age well at all. Since you’ve taught me some interesting things, here’s something for you. MRNA is gene therapy, not an immunization. They changed the definition of vaccine to include gene therapy so they could manipulate non-dewormed sheep into believing they were safe from infection even though they weren’t. In fact most became more likely to get it numerous times verses those who opted for other options, and mostly were one and done Now we know the non-dewormed sheep were actually conned into being big pharma.guinea pigs, and the devout boosted, their customers for life. I won’t even go into the numerous side affects of that little miracle grift we are seeing now. A little present history for you.

[@almightysosa3007]

“After a funeral precession has left the house its bad luck to lock the door” Yeah good one robbers, you’re going to have to be more convincing than that

[@paddor]

Spelling and punctuation, please

[@AmericanIdiot7659]

@@paddor spielling annd ponctouation.,.?!/` plieese

[@daltonking6956]

Sheep dewormer huh? Didn't realize he was a a qualified medical professional, he should do the same thing he would say anyone else spreading misinformation should do, stop talking about thing he doesn't understand

[@NextWorldVR]

@@daltonking6956 Ivermectin _is_ a sheep dewormer. Idiots _are_ taking it even though we have an effective FDA approved vaccine. He is simply stating facts.

[@NextWorldVR]

@@paddor Personality and decency please. This isn't English class, isn't it for casual chats? (ooops I don't want to end a sentence with a preposition,..) _Isn't it for casual chats, you cretin?_

[@zappababe8577]

18:00 Goes to show that politicians won't act on an issue unless it affects them directly.

[@hasoonnine]

I thought everyone knew that

[@kat-cx5ir]

Ahh, how nothing has changed.

[@mk-du3nn]

J.r.m

[@pissapocalypse]

Its always been like that

[@swssfms]

". . .an immense telescope of an entirely new principle." I am, in fact, going to use this bit of information in my Grad School thesis.

[@NOSTahlgia]

Always happy to come across channels like this, history is a refreshing way to gain perspective and gratitude

[@ajproksa]

I really enjoyed this video. Except for the part where you said Victorians didn’t care as much for their kids because of the high mortality rate. You could do a video debunking this persistent myth for which there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. I’d watch that.

[@Lozzie74]

Captain Barbosa: “You better start believing in insane eras, because you’re in one!”

[@fuckoffyou]

Potato Biden is "president". Insane era indeed.

[@jimgadsden2459]

@@fuckoffyou Just wait till harris gets the reins! You ain't seen nothing yet! This party is just gettin started!

[@gramioerie_xi133]

@Mekehl Mon lol

[@thirdgen377]

@@jimgadsden2459 She won't. If Joe is legally taken out of office, his entire administration goes with him and the VP has no rights to take over. If she does, it would be a coup and would be considered treason. If it does happen and nobody blinks, then it's a travesty and this country is done.

[@krashd]

Joe Biden's presidency has been a debacle thus far but compared to the alternative of another four years under Trump I would say the US got lucky. Take it from a non-American, Trump damaged your country on the world stage like no other president ever has, or will.

[@lexxon11]

This really makes me appreciate the era I currently live in and the Poor souls who endured these dreadful and horrific conditions and mentalities. Thank you!!!

[@GIguy]

It’s a miracle our species survived this long… my mother had 12 siblings in rural Nova Scotia, my grandfather always joked, they were cheaper by the dozen, because they ran a farm, and lived in poverty, so the more hands, the more help, but the real reason people had so many children, is exactly what was stated in the video, infant mortality rates were incredibly high, simply because we lack the knowledge necessary for maintaining sanitary conditions, and post natal care, along with proper nutrition. My mom’s family was the smallest family in her town, her neighbours had 28 children, for a good reason, only 10 survived the teenage hood, and only five of those lived to be adults. It was much much different back then. There was no Tylenol or antibiotics, diabetes was a death sentence, along with most other ailment that people now can live a full lifespan with. Strangely, my mothers family was the only family in the entire town, where all the children survived and lived a very long life. My mom turns 90 on Wednesday, she is the baby of the family, she still has eight siblings, alive and well, living fully independently on their own without help, six of them are in their hundreds, the oldest being 106, and she is still married to her husband who is 105, after raising 20 children, all of whom survived as well. When my grandmother passed away, they literally had to rent the town’s hockey arena to hold the funeral, I have over 120 1st cousins alone, needless to say, I haven’t met all of them, especially because I live in Toronto. But I love hearing my family talk about their lives and what it was like back in the 1920s. Especially in a poverty stricken rule area in the countryside. I guess fresh air and hard work, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, free of pesticides does make a difference. They claim our family is listed in the Canadian book of records is the oldest living family, but I’ll be damned if I can find it, although it wouldn’t surprise me. My 106 year old aunt (mom’s sister) and her husband are so cute. They still live in their own home that they’ve built back in the 1940’s, they’ve been married for over 80 years, give or take, they still take care of their own home, do all the cooking, grow all their own food, and still drive, and, without anybody’s help. Her husband is a riot, every time you ask him what’s the secret to living that long, he says the same thing every time, lots of whiskey, great sex, then, more whiskey, in that order! They still hold hands when they go out in public, and drive a 57 Chevy in mint condition, he is the original owner, and that’s just one member of the family. My mother’s other siblings are all equally independent and healthy, even though they worked on the farm all their lives, as well as in lodging camps, as my grandfather also ran a logging camp on the side, you would think all that physical labor would cause an early death, but the total opposite is true, Maybe I should leave the city and move to the country if I ever hope to survive to 60! Lol!

[@westminsterabbey.6916]

5:54 I would argue that people did still “get attached” to their children back in the days of high infant mortality, just as much as we would today. Just because the numbers of both children and deaths were greater doesn’t mean the pain of losing a part of you was diminished. I think there’s an argument for the loss of a child being slightly less of a shock then than it would be now, considering it was a louder fact of life than it is today. It’s still a fact of life now, but we have this almost solid expectation that our children will outlive us, and so the thought of that loss is perhaps *slightly* more unthinkable than it was for people back then. The fact remains, no matter what era you live in, the loss of a child is catastrophic.

[@xXedwardXbellaXx]

I can’t believe he even said that. I’ve never watched this channel before today but I think I’ll be seeing my way out. I don’t know if he has children, but I can assure you, even if death rates were high, those parents suffered.

[@0912sooli]

@@xXedwardXbellaXx oh comon...he is just stating facts. He never said that parents didnt love children, he just says that they didnt attach themselves to one particular child especially in aristocracy they just purposefully never spent much time with them until they grew up a bit. Just imagine knowing that your child might not survive until adulthood, but it is more realistic fear in those times

[@stewartmillen7708]

I have heard from people who hail from countries with high mortality rates where you step over the bodies of those who died on the street that yes, you do deliberately desensitize yourself to this. So I think it's not unexpected it also happened to parents.

[@AngeloXification]

I watched a documentary about the victorian era, it honestly sounds like a nightmarish existence. Meanwhile, I get upset when I need to pee after getting into bed.

[@buzzbee8869]

I always shake my head when people say they wish they could go back to that time because of their clothes and shit🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

[@dataexpunged6969]

@@buzzbee8869 dude I legit get an aneurysm everytime some kid says 'I was born in the wrong era'. Sweetie, you couldn't survive the era you were trying to be born in 💀

[@Itsme_isabelly]

Hahaha same 😤🛌🚽

[@lainiwakura1776]

@@buzzbee8869 Exactly. all anyone has to do it learn how to sew anyway, then they can make those clothes and still be healthy.

[@dataexpunged6969]

@To Release is To Resolve well I didn't know babies could form full sentences. Damn you must be surrounded by prodigy babies! 😱 You're so lucky, I'm jealous.

[@brittanymcguff]

I can actually really relate with the need and desire to get a picture of your deceased child. When my husband and I lost our daughter we took pictures with her so we could always remember her. It is hung on our wall and a treasured possession.

[@lara4life656]

I'm very sorry for your loss. ❤️✝️🙏🏽🙏🏻

[@audreyr.johnson8965]

Condolences, dear. I can relate as well. Our (U.S.) society shies away from death to an uncomfortable degree that makes grieving difficult, I believe. There has been a resurgence in the making and purchase of mourning jewelery, made of the deceased's hair and/or ashes, lockets, etc. I think this is emblematic of our need to reconnect on a personal, tangible level with our departed loved ones rather than just handing a wad of cash to an anonymous funeral home.

[@drummerdoingstuff5020]

Omg, I couldn't imagine. I'm so sorry for your loss.

[@XSemperIdem5]

@@audreyr.johnson8965 you are so right. Are you familiar with the KZbin channel Ask a Mortician? She addresses this topic often and explains how important it is to be allowed to grieve in ways you are prevented from nowadays. An example she's used is how everyone treats death as an emergency and immediately calls the mortuary home to take their family member's body. But in cases of natural death or terminal illness where you don't need a death investigation, you can spend some time with your loved one at home to say goodbye. She's also mentioned how some funeral homes will let family members participate in preparing the body by cleaning, dressing, and even putting makeup on loves ones. These are all things that were normal back then but now society treats as odd or even inappropriate because it wants to cover its eyes to not see death.

[@josh6567]

@@XSemperIdem5 i know that channel and i dont watch it cause her channel is so damn creepy AF!

[@shariberry3123]

I had a neighbor friend who grew up in a very rural area, raised by parents who had been very cut off from the modern world. He told me horrible stories about his awful, horribly abusive father. His father would tie a rope around him when he was very young, and lower him into their well in order for my friend to clean the well. He was terrified. Once he had to go under the house to remove a skunk. The skunk sprayed him, he smelled so bad that everyone had to stay far away from him. His dad would hand him a shotgun, tell him to go get a squirrel, and my friend would be outside worried because all he could see was rabbits, and he dared not go home without a squirrel for dinner. Lastly, my friend would break down in tears, telling me about the time that his very drunk dad showed up at their new home they moved into with their mother's new husband, who was a nice guy. His drunk dad started shooting when they opened the door, fortunately injuries were superficial, but the new husband returned fire as the dad ran off. The new husband shot the dad in his spine, rendering him alive but never able to walk again. I'm sure my friend's dad was raised in equally horrific conditions, imitating only what he knew because of the rural isolation back then.

[@luctube6591]

Hope nothing but the best for you

[@djordjepepic1656]

I have to say 'These are the birth pains of a new technological society' is one of the most refreshing, optimistic perspectives I have heard on the topic of WTF is todays world doing. My cynicism has been unshakable for many years, and you, sir, have knocked me flat on my ass with that one. Thank you very much.

[@dfsdfsdfs]

Same, had to go back and listen again because it was so calming 😅

[@MrKurtykurt]

The irony is in the same breath he spread misinformation about Ivermectin

[@erinr650]

"At least we're not drinking our own poop." A statement of perspective perfect for any occasion.

[@That_Freedom_Guy]

Well actually...

[@0777coco]

i mean there's one occasion you could consider an exception to this statement

[@fajaradi1223]

You should check Hello Fresh ( Joe - 2021 )

[@lyreparadox]

Except in all the small cities around the US where the stormwater run-off floods the sewer system and is shunted into the nearby river... Which is also where the city gets its drinking water from. I mean, they treat the drinking water now (gotta love that chloriney taste), but still...

[@ViniSocramSaint]

#UpStreamGang

[@gazza595]

Interesting things. My grand parents grew up at the end of the Victorian era. Some of the "traditions" mentioned still persisted to my childhood in the 50's and 60's. For example if there was a funeral in the family even my mother would cover up mirrors, we would not ever watch a funeral pass and the house curtains would be drawn if a funeral was leaving from a nearby home or likely to pass the house.

[@anandsharma7430]

This is one of the best videos I've seen. I truly, no sarcasm, have a much greater appreciation of my life today. A commoner like me today is better off than nobles and royalty from the Victorian era. I have more than enough to eat, I work from home, from my own room, pushing buttons on a flat plastic keyboard and accessing endless information and knowledge from around the world. If you moved any one, literally any one, from the Victorian era to today, they would not stop jumping in excitement for a few weeks.

[@akey26]

I know I've said it before, so I'm gonna say it again, the amount of consistency on this channel is amazing. . And Joe if I'm not disturbing your schedule.. please make a video on learning and education..I can use a motivation this year.

[@JimmySpann]

This

[@reubennichols644]

I agree . Way to go Mr. Scott . An excellent presentation . Good job " " Joe " " . Thank you .

[@johnstrawb3521]

Yes, let's pretend that reciting "the sun never sets on the British Empire" without mentioning the mass murder and theft involved is just peachy.

[@cytherians]

Those periods where food, clothing, housing, and safety becomes commonplace for a notable segment of society brings about some pretty astonishing creativity, innovations, and... sometimes strangeness. I'm so glad you're onto these tracks, Joe. You do an amazing job of deep diving into them with captivating content and presentation. You are creating material that is so good, it really could be taught in high school and college classrooms!

[@prokapotus9742]

The superstitions around death still persist in my family. The picture falling and the bird hitting a widow. There’s also weird ones with crows. This is a great video man!

[@Phoenixash-delfuego]

The bird hitting a widow sounds like a very insensitive animal.

[@matheussanthiago9685]

I wonder, with most photos today never leaving the digital medium how would that superstitions apply? a photo that simply disappears from the file, without active deletion or every time you drop the cellphone you just screwed for everyone

[@AmericanIdiot7659]

@@matheussanthiago9685 BRO WHERE DID MY PHOTO GO I DIDN'T DELETE IT "Photo has been corrupted" -smartphone BRO THEY ARE TOTALLY COVERING UP THE TRUTH

[@AlishN7]

Yeah same. I was told to never put a bed facing feet towards the door because that’s how dead bodies are carried out during funerals and sleeping like that means you’ll be soon carried out feet first. Also bird landing on your window means someone you know died and it’s their soul visiting you for the last time. And also some weird ones, like if you are an unmarried woman (like I was) to never sit on the corner of the table because that meant you will “end up with no corner of your own” aka a spinster oh humanity.

[@LollipopLozzy454545]

I am SUPER late to this but I collect and study antique photography and a lot of post-mortem photography is misidentified. If the subject is standing, it is guaranteed they are not dead. Have you ever tried getting a corpse to stand naturally? It's impossible, and a stand wouldn't support them without being seen. It just wouldn't look right even if you did somehow manage it. Remember as well that after 24-36 hours, you don't have a nice stiff mannequin corpse- you have a relaxed, floppy, decomposing corpse. You couldn't stand a corpse in secondary flaccidity even if you tried. If they're standing, even if you can see something that looks like a body stand (it's to keep folks still during long exposures)- that's a living person!

[@GenLiu]

That was actually one of the most hillarious video you've ever made. I mean, it started pretty creepy but then John Snow repeatedly being ignored for his discoveries, the peoples waiting for the house of parliament to become a massive stink hole to do something about the water and the civilisation of Batman on the moon...That was some crazy time indeed.

[@AlishN7]

The funniest part about it is the new Houses of Parliament building was just finished, almost right before the stink begun. So there they all were, in their fancy new building… breathing sewage from the river :)

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

Well, we may have found Joe's story to be hilarious, but now we know why the Victorians were not amused.

[@joescott]

Yeah, I wanted to work that in there but the video was going too long already. :)

[@kwilliamson1096]

Does make one wonder if the Parliament building had been 10 mi away from the Tim's how much longer would it take in to clean that mess up

[@BlackDogDenton]

Gotta be honest, doesn't sound too different to how our parliament works today!

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

The gender reveal party clip was hilarious - well played Joe...well played.

[@mb-3faze]

lol - forever associated with some sort of flammable/explosive disaster :)

[@mignonthon]

I saw a video of a gender party which cause a little earthquake ( they used thermite)

[@vorpalcheese]

Caught me totally off guard, nearly spit my coffee all over my laptop

[@jodivandyk3649]

Had to replay part of the video that I missed because I was laughing so hard. Well done! :D

[@platinum-or3y]

ok

[@elizabethshaw734]

Memento Mori may have been the only picture of the person who passed away because it was new and expensive. They would also paint eyes onto the closed eyelids so that the person looked awake. Just the study of that is extremely fascinating.

[@brookiecookie6675]

Memento Mori has pretty much been debunked at this point. Ask a mortician did an awesome video on it called "recreating victorian death and grieving photographs " or something close to that.

[@Vector_Ze]

8:14 another result of the long exposure times of the day's photography is that smiling faces were rarely captured. It's hard to hold a smile that long without moving.

[@masamune2984]

“They were professional breasts, basically.” Never have I spit out my drink with such velocity.

[@todaywefly4370]

Sorta helps me understand why grandad called grandma a cow!🤣😂🤣😳

[@memesfromdeepspace1075]

@@todaywefly4370 hold up

[@nehajoshi7782]

Was it milk 😂

[@ThePenguins101]

ngl I hit dislike on the video instantly, he really didn't have to comment on women as if we're objects like that.

[@crgomarro]

Dude. just happened to me with the gender reveal joke. Lmaoo

[@dcdad556]

Speaking of lead and mercury, they were ingredients in women's makeup. Also, there was a fear of being buried alive. You slip into a coma and opps, he's dead. So some graves were outfitted with a bell with a string on a staff above the grave and the string was tied to the hand of the deceased.

[@englishatheart]

Hence the term "Saved by the bell."

[@GrifoStelle]

@@englishatheart I believed that too for a long time but it's not the case :) "Saved by the bell" was coined in the USA, refers to boxing rounds which begin and end with a bell. If a boxer is doing badly they can be saved by the bell if they hang on. "Dead ringer" instead comes from horse races, "dead" like 'dead on' meaning precise, "ringer" meaning look alike. Arose from the practice of using look alike horses one faster and one slower to switch out in races for betting purposes. Graveyard shift has Maritime origins it's the watch from midnight to early morning when ships were most likely to have accidents, the USA adapted graveyard watch into graveyard shift for industries which had assumed a 24 hour work day

[@markschwarz2137]

"The body needs to be removed from the house feet first to prevent the spirit from looking back and beckoning another family member to follow." Surely face-down head-first would be better. The illustration seems to be someone feet-first looking back and beckoning.

[@delphicdescant]

Yeah I didn't quite get that part either, but maybe they were thinking of the person looking "down" towards their feet to beckon, and for some reason looking "up" to beckon wasn't as worrisome. I mean, it's nutball superstition so there doesn't really need to be a good explanation I guess.

[@Kurtlane]

No, not face down. There was a belief about that. Whoever was a servant of the Devil in life would turn face down when dead, so as not to see the light. Supposedly there was a character who kept turning face down no matter how many times people turned him face up, and eventually had to be buried that way.

[@MrMelonMonkey]

@@Kurtlane "a character who kept turning face down" - "eventually had to be buried that way." what a bs... tell me how a dead person laying on its back would turn itself over to point his face down...

[@emmestein]

@@MrMelonMonkey Superstition and tall stories my friend, that's probably how!

[@Kurtlane]

@@MrMelonMonkey The Devil would make him do it. How would a black cat crossing one's way lead to misfortunes? We're not talking logic here.

[@xXNekou]

Victorian Era is really fascinating to me. I read the book "the Arsenic Century" and would highly recommend

[@dogsdinner99]

Joe : "At least we're not drinking our own poop..." Gwyneth Paltrow : "Hold my fresh organic celebrity poop"

[@Ali-kb8gr]

🤣 hahaha

[@ZlothZloth]

On behalf of Joe, I refuse!!

[@Ifuddontlikeitwatchsomthinelse]

Joe rogan maybe

[@kellyinCT09]

🤣🤣🤣 but it's organic!

[@plojo]

Homeopathy says water has memory, therefore, we are drinking ancestral poop all the time

[@MateusMeurer]

Dude you're the best creator of your type of content.

[@MicahPotts]

Just curious, what other creators are like him anyway?

[@MateusMeurer]

@@MicahPotts Oh I've seen a bunch. but the only other one I'm subscribed is Thoughty2.

[@ManuTheGreat79]

A joke I recently heard: The sun doesn't set on the British Empire ... because god doesn't trust an Englishman in the dark

[@BB-44]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 brilliant

[@antoniosoul]

Why? What's wrong with the English?

[@Len0Grady]

@@antoniosoul put it to you this way- 65 countries have getting rid of the English enshrined as a National Holiday. There’s a reason most villains in Hollywood movies have British accents.

[@antoniosoul]

@@Len0Grady Not in any movie made after 1935.

[@robocapy6045]

@@antoniosoul Grand Moff Tarkin and dozens others.

[@paulspice4717]

In fact we can say the Victorians invented everything we use today, and since 1905 we have only IMPROVED what the Victorians invented. Cars, Planes, Telephones, movies, medicine, and even quantum mechanics and e-mc2.

[@blanchequizno7306]

Actually, John Snow convinced the mayor of the town to remove the handle from the Broad Street pump *and truck in water for the people who used the pump*. They did not have to go elsewhere to get water. Also, the Broad Street pump's major failing was that it took water from the Thames *downstream*, where more sewage had had a chance to flow in from sewers and cesspits; the pumps upstream were not associated with the high rates of cholera cases as the downstream pumps were. But otherwise, good show. Very enjoyable; now subscribed.

[@Josh729J]

This guy acts like he hates misinformation but gobbles up bias words like ppl do with the Bible. Wtf was that about the dewormer stuff lol @joescott do some actual research

[@wadeguidry6675]

It's like everyday was Halloween during the Victorian era.

[@laVIEchef]

Ministry fan by chance …?😏 anyone else?

[@droppedpasta]

7:50 Ah yes, I’m familiar with the concept 🧐 My brain: Unus annus, unus annus,…

[@case425]

Memento Mori, we will never forget

[@jtking76]

Damned dude! You have the gnarliest videos! It blew my mind when you mentioned the superstition about fireflies because my grandmother had the same superstition. And she was born in the Southern U.S. with a mixed heritage but her name was Agnes so there must have been some English roots. It's amazing what you can learn by viewing your incredible videos. You rock!

[@geryddle]

It's always fascinated me how in an era when people would not bathe regularly, and would walk in sewage, architects would envision and build such amazing buildings (as in 18:00 ) and structures. Same goes for thousands of years before Victorian era. Just... fascinating!

[@callbackdons]

I hear ya, our buildings these days are just embarrassing trash. If you're ever in McDonald County, Missouri, the (old) county court house is in the center of the town square, which of course has interesting architecture, and the county just let it go to waste, even though it's still standing, all boarded up and ugly. Meanwhile, the "new courthouse" is in the line of sight from the old one and it's a.. M E T A L B U I L D I N G

[@ghostchiryou]

They bathed. Why would they not. I've read books from this time and there are references to daily washings, perhaps not fully immersive baths but more a spit bath of sorts at a sink. Please. People didn't want to be dirty and smelly, why the fuck would they. Please just treat them like human beings and not like freaky things we can look back on and gawk at, it's awful.

[@admiralbenbow5083]

And nowadays we explore space, use computers etc, but we still poison our one and only home. What is even worse is that we know we are doing it, but all we do is bicker.

[@exaggeratedswagger7485]

@@ghostchiryou they aren't gonna see this lil bro

[@catherinebirch2399]

You needed a strong immune system to survive in those days. A modern person wouldn't stand a chance because our immunity has been weakened by our sanitised lifestyle.

[@AlishN7]

I see you have also enjoyed the “Hidden killers of X era houses” :) love that little series, so much fun. But may I recommend to you also the “Victorian Farm”? It’s more about the rural life and the challenges of making a living as a tenant farmer in the 1880s, it has wonderful presenters and is brimming with information, I think you’ll love it!

[@littlelimax3739]

I've watched Hidden Killers so many times. Victorian Farm looks interesting. If you have audible, you should check out Victorian Secrets (a podcast narrated by Stephen Fry).

[@ahuddleston6512]

I love that series....and Ruth Goodman's books too!

[@DezMarivette]

Ooooo thank you for these recommends!!

[@Lymbe06]

I always thought how odd it is that the “happy birthday” wish literally translates in my language (Greek-Cypriot) as “may you live”. As a former English colony I sort of get it now.

[@IDreamOfLogic]

"May you live" (Να ζήσεις), or "(May you have) many years (ahead of you)" (Χρόνια πολλά) on our birthday, "May your child live" (Να σας ζήσει) when a baby is born, our past is riddled with death and the fear of dying. But I don't think it's a British influence. Everyone more or less lived in such conditions.

[@gerardvila4685]

@@IDreamOfLogic EDITED Having lots of children because lots died 5:45 wasn't new in the 1800s. People had been doing it for ever, because children had been dying like flies for ever - they didn't know basic hygiene or any other kind of hygiene. 100 years before, there's a remark by Mozart in one of his letters about his wife's family not wanting his kids to be put on "the water diet" - ie no milk. “It never did me any harm" wrote Mozart. He was forgetting he had had siblings who died on that diet... and he himself had wretched health, dying in his 30s.

[@colorbugoriginals4457]

@@gerardvila4685 humans have practiced all kinds of hygiene thoughout the centuries, the key missing piece was germ theory 👍✌️

[@aa-sw8bp]

@@gerardvila4685 children died so commonly and heavily only in big cities where crowded livestock and humans ate at the places where they shat. rural life was better, they had enough space to not mix with livestock pathogens and bathed in rivers during warm months.

[@gerardvila4685]

@@aa-sw8bp That's something I heard too... but I got the impression life could be pretty grim in the country as well, especially when a harvest failed or an epidemic was going around or an army came along and helped itself to everything it wanted... and that's when it was a friendly army, a hostile army was something else. The Marseille goes: "Entendez-vous dans nos campagnes / mugir les féroces soldats / ils viennent jusque dans nos bras / égorger nos fils, nos compagnes" - "Do you hear in our countryside / the roaring of the ferocious soldiers / They come in to our arms / to cut the throats of our sons and wives". Propaganda maybe, but it wouldn't have worked if there was no truth in it at all.

[@ZopToppyns]

the victorian era is like a VHS, placeholder technology that ppl cling to because improvements came so quickly

[@XSemperIdem5]

Ask a Mortician has a whole video about Memento Mori and she actually went to a photographer and they even did a recreation where she pretended to be the body. It's a really cool and informative video. Omg the 4 penny one. Old school capsule hotels like the ones in Japan nowadays.

[@Dogen70]

I've seen the future of homelessness in America. $4 dollar sleeping box thingies

[@jeanettecobb6701]

She's great!

[@MrJoeFuego]

The genius of this channel comes into play when Joe says something like “gender reveal party” and on screen, there is a forest fire 🤣

[@Taylor_5724]

I didnt even question that until I read the comments

[@Anytyme06]

Because a gender reveal party caused a huge fire in California last year.

[@aaronyallop7818]

Sheep de-wormer?

[@aaronyallop7818]

It should have been a Dumpster fire.

[@kathryngeeslin9509]

@@aaronyallop7818 Ivermectin is a dewormer for horses and other livestock, some pets.

[@SirenSongstress1]

Lead poisoning didn't go away in the Victorian era, my little sister caught lead poisoning from the flaking paint in our home's ancient windows in 2006. Luckily we caught it in time and got her to a doctor, and replaced all the windows in the house. Modern materials don't have lead/asbestos/arsenic anymore but a lot of those old materials are still around.

[@shoot_the_glass5654]

Yikes. ☠☠☠☠☠

[@copperwerewolf]

They didn't outlaw lead paint in the US until the 1970s

[@Professor_sckinnctn]

One of my favorite videos by you (I started watching yours about a year ago, so I'm catching up). I laughed good-naturedly at your French pronunciation (mine isn't much better) and then I realized your "Victorian" era was only discussing British and American weirdness. Trust me when I say: the "Victorian" French were even weird, if not more so. Worth looking into, even if that means you might have to pronounce French on your videos someday.

[@somedudeok1451]

That part about legislators getting the sewage issue fixed in record time just because this time it was them personally affected is soooooo typical. Ugh, politicians and rich people. Ugh.

[@johncliffalvarez6513]

This was definitely a very entertaining and fascinating video, Joe! Would love to see more! Perhaps a part 2, 3, and 4 should suffice?

[@reubennichols644]

I agree . Way to go Mr. Scott . An excellent presentation . Good job " " Joe " " . Thank you .

[@pinkrose5127]

I just love Joe's wittiness and his ability to narrate history with a bit of dark humor. I'm learning and cracking up at the same time😂

[@neo_7864]

u said it right, victorian era was a transition era between the old world and the new world..and because they adapted the technology that was not invented by them, ie, the old world, they faced many accident.

[@thompsona10625]

It’s amazing that the morality of children was so 50/50. Children are incredibly robust and the likelihood of death between 1-5 is very low; even in abysmal conditions. Just goes to show how much the manufactured environment can affect your health. Hit and old cemetery pre 1930s and look at the dates. You’d be saddened by the number of young children in nearly every family site.

[@jayfrank1913]

It's mainly vaccines and antibiotics that have lowered the childhood death rate (along with better nutrition). That's why getting ALL your vaccines is so important.

[@lijohnyoutube101]

Vaccines Vaccines Vaccines Sanitation General improvement of safety

[@jayfrank1913]

@@lijohnyoutube101 Smallpox, polio, tetanus, measles and many other diseases have been eliminated or almost eliminated and they killed hundreds of millions. TB, which killed 1 out of every 7 people in the US before WWII, was largely eliminated by antibiotics. It's resurgence is because of overuse of antibiotics, such as people taking Z-pacs for Covid, a viral disease. Oh, I forgot the 1918-19 Influenza.

[@catherinejohnson1354]

Without proper nutrition and antibiotics and hygiene I am surprised more didn't die.

[@SRPDunn]

"the manufactured environment" that now means mortality isn't like that for kids? Damn that indoor plumbing, central heat & air, easy food sourcing and antibiotics!

[@Geoff31858]

I wonder if the "2 penny hangover" is where the expression "I'm feeling hungover" comes from? 🤔

[@280SE]

Yes it’s exactly where it comes for

[@deliawest3607]

@@280SE Also "I could sleep on a washing line" is associated.

[@280SE]

@@deliawest3607 yea that saying sadly fell out of favour

[@Krazygurrly]

@@280SE What are your sources? I just googled it and it sounds like this is not true and that two-penny hangovers may have been an urban legend entirely

[@cyberpotato63]

The depiction of a "twopenny rope" shown is pretty suspect. Charles Dickens gives a description of the practice in "The Pickwick Papers" as follows: “And pray, Sam, what is the twopenny rope?’ inquired Mr. Pickwick. ‘The twopenny rope, sir,’ replied Mr. Weller, ‘is just a cheap lodgin’ house, where the beds is twopence a night.’ ‘What do they call a bed a rope for?’ said Mr. Pickwick…They has two ropes, ’bout six foot apart, and three from the floor, which goes right down the room; and the beds are made of slips of coarse sacking, stretched across ’em.’ ‘Well,’ said Mr. Pickwick. ‘Well,’ said Mr. Weller, ‘the adwantage o’ the plan’s hobvious. At six o’clock every mornin’ they let’s go the ropes at one end, and down falls the lodgers.” This is a description of stretching canvas hammocks in series between two ropes six feet apart. This arrangement sounds much more likely. Dickens lived in London during the time period in question 1812 to 1870 and would have had the benefit of being a direct observer and personally knowing direct observers. The few photos of this are also pretty suspect. Photography didn't exist for the most part before the 1850s. A number of these photos are later recreations. By the time the photos were created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the "twopenny rope" may have already become a wildly inaccurate urban legend.

[@alonealien1474]

4:57 I believe, in addition to this fear of 'impropriety', breast feeding was also associated with birth control. Aristocratic ladies were expected to produce heirs to continue the hereditary ownership of lands and assets. With high infant mortality rates, having more children was a good way to ensure that familial lines continued. So, birth control was the last thing the aristocratic society wanted and as a result breast feeding (which would prevent pregnancies) was not encouraged in those circles.

[@daver1787]

I have trouble believing that breast feeding was discouraged due to it being a birth control method. I don’t think they figured out the connection between the two. I suspect the ‘animal’ feeling of breast feeding was a driver. At least among the upper classes-

[@turn.off.the.century]

Just fyi out there for anyone reading this comment (not a critique of the comment/-er), breast feeding is NOT 100% effective birth control. People can become pregnant while breastfeeding, either intentionally or unintentionally.

[@emilysmith2965]

Breastfeeding doesn’t prevent pregnancy… not well enough to be considered birth control by today’s standards. Sure, à breastfeeding person’s hormone balance is slightly different, but menstruation (and ovulation) continues.

[@takocos]

​@@daver1787 ... people would breastfed in church, you can find contemporary paintings from the time period, he's actually wrong about the sexualization of breasts at the time, it was one of the few body parts that wasn't sexualized. Queen Victoria herself has official portraits with her breasts exposed. The wet nurses were exclusively because the Victorians mistakenly believed that breast feeding created temporary infertility because if you're malnourished, which they all were, it actually did. Breast feeding can raise the basil metabolic rate up to 1.5x non breast feeding BMR. If you're malnourished at all, that will make you infertile. It's not, "birth control," it's straight up infertility that we now know is a major medical problem called Amenorrhoea. It's not the slight hormonal changes that we think of today, it's a straight up disease that caused infertility that we solved with better nutrition.

[@philipwagner9169]

What a great source of ideas for a steampunk enthusiast / author. So often stuck with the airship, corsets and death-ray tropes, there are so many other bizarre ideas, characters and obscure speculations which could be followed up and used, with a little research and imagination! Thank you Joe, for this inspirational starting point.

[@tessiepinkman]

I'm also crazy about everything Victorian, it's an unbelievably interesting period. So much crazy theories but also great discoveries and amazing art, music and architecture. It's an era almost anybody, regardless of how uninterested they are in history, can find something exciting or just plain odd to dig into and immerse themselves in. A lot of weird and macabre stuff was happening, and that's something I've always been drawn too. So an extra big thanks for this one, Joe! Have a good one!

[@frognibbler]

You missed the staircases in their homes, specifically the servant stairs of larger upper class homes, to save on space but also to hide the servants they’d often be really steep and poorly lit, a LOT of people died from falling down such stair cases

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

Even pigeons succumb to magical thinking. If you put one in a box and ramdomly give it food it will start acting strangely. The animal will think that whatever it did prior to getting food somehow results with people rewarding it for the behaviour. Waving wings, walking in a circle, cooing - anything could be interpreted as the "right" behaviour It's not surprising then that victorian men and women had such random superstitions. Helpless in face of death they tried to find a pattern, a way of at least being able to prepare for yet another tragedy

[@Pete...NoNotThatOne]

Yep, that’s a Skinner Box. With practise, you can get the pigeons doing entire routines.

[@musaran2]

It is called superstition. It kicks in when the odds of success are too low - probably because we don't get to invalidate bad ideas.

[@bbirda1287]

Yeah, well, I taught my cat to scratch me whenever he was hungry, because when he scratches me at the computer I turn and can see where his bowl is and if it's full, and now he does it every time. Pavlov works both ways I guess.

[@bbirda1287]

That's a joke, Pavlov goes to a bar, the phone rings, he says "Dammit, I forgot to feed the dog."

[@angelikaskoroszyn8495]

@bbird a12 I "taught" my cat to throw things off a table / desk / windowsill when he's hungry

[@jaguilar300]

You are right about 19th C. and obsession with death, especially in London. People were crammed in everywhere, especially in poorer sections which existed for decades (think of Whitechapel (East End), 1888, Jack the Ripper's hunting ground as an example) . The Thames was basically an open sewer combined with industrial waste (The Great Stink), full of disease and/or transporting diseased vermin. Any parts of London nearby had that to look forward to. Unbelievable sets of circumstances promoting death everywhere.

[@audreyr.johnson8965]

I'm an art historian who specializes in the Victorian era. Well done, Joe! (Some of the art was more Art Noveau, but we'll let that slide. ;)

[@somethingwithbungalows]

18:20 do ya know what the name of this piece is? It’s so macabre and cool looking

[@audreyr.johnson8965]

@@somethingwithbungalows K I'll admit that I had to double check myself here! It's William Pitt Addressing the House of Commons, by Karl Anton Hickel. Dates for Hickel are a bit debated depending on the source, not uncommon the further back in art history you go because most painters were considered tradespeople and not entirely worth documenting. So Hickel lived from 1745 - 98 & the painting was likely done sometime between 1783 - 94.

[@somethingwithbungalows]

@@audreyr.johnson8965 thank youuu! I appreciate your help and info about it :D

[@audreyr.johnson8965]

@@somethingwithbungalows That'll be your soul or your first-born child, please, whichever is worth more.

[@firstworldproblems5477]

"At least we're not drinking our own poop." - Sounds like a new tik-tok challenge.

[@Darkflowerchyld718]

I mean... People are already willingly drinking their own piss so it's only a matter of time before they start eating their own poop as well. What a great time to be alive 😍

[@obiwanpez]

This was already done on dark corners of the Internet from the beginning.

[@beomgyusclearhair2408]

2 girls one cup says hi

[@ahuddleston6512]

I wouldn't be surprised

[@simplesimon755]

10:45 In this section I just kept hearing Monte Python's The Four Yorkshiremen sketch. "You had a rope to sleep on? Luxury!" Thanks for another great video.

[@goblingoblineus9033]

I got evicted from my whole in the ground

[@lindenpeters2601]

​@@goblingoblineus9033 you were lucky to have a hole! We had to live in t' lake!

[@k_dawg7475]

This was the first video i have ever watched on your channel. Just loads of great content here, good humor. Good job, Joe!!

[@L3onking]

I thought you said "Long canoe" when you meant L'inconnue and I'm crying 🤣

[@wotireckon]

Yeah, must admit I'd never heard of that quaint British tradition of floating dead bodies down the Thames in long canoes

[@jkhowlingstories3660]

Ha, wow thanks for this because I've tried telling people, during my history student days, The Victorian Era was just goddamn bananas wacked lol. I noticed that many didn't believe this and a popular belief is that it was boring, stuffy, churchy, (well it was partly that too) but as seen in this video they were off-the-hook weirdos, sometimes hilarious, oddballery, crazy contradictory lifestyles hah.. oh man. Good stuff on this vid! holy shlt yes they made highly flammable homes and regretted nothing. if anything made them MORE flammable!

[@cheriseolivier1155]

Your blank stare and the John Snow joke is the reason I am now a happy subscriber. Keep it up Joe!

[@TheMelanatedElephant]

New subbie here. I love your channel! I love an entertaining history lesson and you give me everything I need!!!

[@malfattio2894]

I think this is all the more interesting when you consider how recent the Victorian era really is. There's a lady living in Japan who was born less than two after it ended.

[@IanYatesDude]

Joe, never stop making content like this. Thank you.

[@etherealechoes9907]

Great video-if you enjoy going down the rabbit hole, Suzannah Lipscomb did a great series on hidden killers of the home which covered Victorian and Edwardian homes which goes into detail about the lead and arsenic paints etc. It also features the Tudor home and 1950's home. Very interesting series. Crazy how many things could kill. I think in the future they'll look at things like sun-beds just an example and say wow how did people do that? xxx

[@vicky.blahblahblah]

I love this channel 🤓. Super educational and just as funny at the same time. 💞