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Everyone possesses some unusual characteristics, even iconic historical personalities. For instance, Josef Stalin examined people's excrement to predict their actions. Beethoven drenched himself with water before composing his music. Charles Dickens could only sleep and write while facing north. William Harvey practiced meditation in a cave that he specifically dug, while William the Conqueror adopted an alcohol-only diet to shed pounds.
10. Josef Stalin
Former Soviet leader Josef Stalin was convinced that he could read people's personalities by analyzing their stool. He took this belief so seriously that he created an entire department within the secret police dedicated to studying people's excrement. One of his primary targets for these strange tests was the Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung.
In 1949, Stalin had Mao’s toilet disconnected from the sewer system during his visit to Moscow, instead connecting it to special containers where his waste would be collected for analysis. Interestingly, Mao was convinced Stalin had his room bugged and would often shout, 'I am here to do more than eat and s—' when alone. What Mao didn’t realize was that the Soviet Union didn’t have the necessary equipment to bug his room. Instead, Stalin was collecting his poop.
The poop analysis lab operated throughout Stalin's entire rule and was only shut down when Nikita Khrushchev assumed the presidency.
9. Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder and displayed various eccentric habits. He had a constant habit of staring at himself in mirrors, combing his hair hundreds of times each day, and rearranging the furniture in any room he entered. He also wrote while facing north, believing it enhanced his writing abilities. His fixation with the direction was so strong that he carried a compass wherever he went to maintain his orientation.
Dickens also slept facing north, with his arms stretched evenly away from the bed’s edges. He was known to sleepwalk, often wandering the streets of London during the night. Surprisingly, his sleepwalking was an asset, as it sparked inspiration for many of his novels and their unique characters.
8. Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe, the 16th-century Danish astronomer, had a rather unusual life from the start. Kidnapped by a relative at the age of two, he later lost his nose in a duel over a mathematical equation. He also became the companion of a dwarf named Jepp, whom he kept curled under his table during meals.
Brahe was convinced that Jepp had the ability to read minds and predict the future, which led him to take Jepp’s words very seriously. His death was just as bizarre as his life; he reportedly died after being unable to urinate. While some believed bladder disease was the cause, others speculated he had been poisoned.
7. Marcel Proust
French author Marcel Proust was in such frail health that he withdrew from the outside world, eventually remaining confined to his bed. He developed the peculiar habit of writing at night and sleeping during the day. On one occasion, he wrote non-stop for three days without any sleep.
Proust believed that in order to write, he needed to disconnect entirely from the external world. He blocked sunlight from his room by closing his windows and lined the walls with cork to reduce noise and trap dust, which aggravated his asthma. His self-imposed isolation was apparent in his pale appearance and perpetually cold hands.
6. Ludwig Van Beethoven
The renowned deaf composer Ludwig Van Beethoven was born to a father who was an alcoholic and frequently boasted to others that his son was more talented than the famous child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Beethoven, however, despised music at first, but his father, driven by greed, would wake him up from sleep to force him to play the piano. Any mistake was met with harsh beatings.
As Beethoven grew older, he developed a deep passion for music, along with some peculiar rituals. He would immerse his head in a cold water container before composing and often drenched his hands and body with water. He would pour so much water that it would seep through the floor and into the rooms below.
5. William Harvey
William Harvey, the personal physician to King Charles I and the pioneer of blood circulation studies, was deeply devoted to meditation, taking it to extreme measures. He insisted on meditating in complete darkness and silence, believing that it enhanced his analytical abilities.
Harvey also kept a dedicated flat in London exclusively for meditation and had an underground cave specially constructed for the same purpose in Combe, Oxfordshire. During the summer, he would frequently travel to the cave to spend hours away from noise and sunlight, focusing solely on meditation.
4. Stonewall Jackson
Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, during the US Civil War, was known to constantly walk with one arm raised high. He believed that one side of his body was heavier than the other, and by lifting an arm, he could redirect blood flow and balance his weight. Some reports also suggest that he thought his arms were of unequal length, and he raised one to avoid comparisons between the two.
During the First Battle of Bull Run, Jackson’s raised arm was shot, and it was hit again at the Battle of Chancellorsville. After the second injury, the arm was amputated and buried in its own grave.
3. Henry Cavendish
Henry Cavendish, the 18th-century British chemist and physicist, was so introverted that he avoided interacting with others, even his household staff. He communicated with his maids only through written letters and even built a second staircase for his private use after an uncomfortable encounter with one of them. His extreme isolation led neighbors to think him eccentric, but they changed their minds when he once saved a woman from a cow attack.
Cavendish rarely left his house except to attend scientific society meetings, and he never welcomed guests unless they were fellow members of those societies. Oddly enough, he would only serve them mutton, and nothing else. His severe shyness led him to steer clear of politics, a decision that enraged his father, who retaliated by cutting his allowance.
2. Nikola Tesla
Inventor Nikola Tesla had a strong aversion to pearls, refusing to associate with any woman who wore them. He even once sent his secretary home for wearing pearl jewelry. Additionally, he was fascinated by the number three, feeling compelled to do things in sets of three or multiples of three.
Tesla had a habit of walking around a block three times before entering any building and used 18 napkins every night to clean his dishware and cups. In an eerie twist, he passed away in room 3327 on the 33rd floor of a hotel, just three days before his 87th birthday.
1. William The Conqueror
William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England, became so overweight after taking the throne that his horse struggled to carry him, and the King of France often mocked him. This led William to adopt an extreme diet that allowed only alcohol, with no other food or drink.
It’s unclear whether William’s diet had any effect, as he fell off his horse and died the same year he began the regimen. Whether he was intoxicated or had simply gained more weight, which the horse couldn’t carry, remains unknown. In the end, his body was so large that it couldn’t fit into its coffin, and it had decomposed to such an extent that it filled the church with a horrendous odor.
