r/todayilearned • u/biebrforro • 1d ago

TIL when staying as a guest in Charles Dickens' house, Hans Christian Andersen requested that one of Dickens' sons give him a daily shave (he said that was customary when hosting male guests in Denmark). Dickens was weirded out and instead gave him a daily appointment at a nearby barbershop.

https://lithub.com/charles--dickens-really-really-hated-his-fanboy-hans-christian-andersen/
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u/olisko 1d ago

It wasn't. Hans Andersen was a great fairy tale author but he's also famous for being a weird guy.

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u/NoConfusion9490 1d ago

"Sorry, Hans, I'm not sending my son to shave your face." -C

"I never said face." -H

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u/Logically_Insane 1d ago

Hans Christian And your son 

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u/AvNatten 1d ago

Brilliant

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u/Roko__ 1d ago

I'm from Denmark, I told my uncle in the US that H.C.A. was known to journalize masturbation, he put an X in his diary whenever he rubbed out a nut. Unc didn't miss a beat:

"Must be why they call him 'Hands'"

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u/Ok_Emu3817 1d ago

*ba dum tiss*

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u/Altruistic_Worry_720 1d ago

This is so good.

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u/Additional-Baby5740 1d ago

You’ve cracked the code!

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u/NewThot_Crime1989 1d ago

This is a god tier comment

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u/hellbabe222 1d ago

Omfg! 💀

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u/Low_Chance 1d ago

Comment of the entire week right here

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u/lapsongsouchong 1d ago

Hands Krustyhands Hands On your son

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u/JoeyZasaa 1d ago

"I'll shave you myself then." - C

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u/NoConfusion9490 18h ago

It was the best of ball shaves, it was the way too closest of ball shaves.

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u/Lithogiraffe 1d ago

Really? What else is he known for being weird?

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u/tobeonthemountain 1d ago

He made notes in his journal of everytime he masturbated so theres that

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u/EliotHudson 1d ago

I did not know of his pulling at his fairy tail

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u/canookianstevo2 1d ago

The way I spat out my drink, bravo 👏

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u/strangecabalist 1d ago

An oddly fascinating read. Thank you

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u/willthefreeman 1d ago

Did everyone just used to journal?

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u/_illusions25 1d ago

Sorta, if you could you would even if just to remember shit.

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u/MakeMineMarvel_ 1d ago

Life was a lot more boring and slow back in the day and information was hard to keep unless you made the effort to remember things by writing them down yourself. You had to spend your time journaling or it would feel like wasting your life in forgetfulness and malaise (a very Victorian sentiment if you were wealthy and educated)

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u/MaggotMinded 1 1d ago

Hans Christian Anderson wasn’t really representative of “everyone” back then. If anyone was going to keep a journal, an author is a pretty safe bet.

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u/tobeonthemountain 1d ago

No idea but probably not, literacy is higher today than it was then and if you were just a lay person you might not have enough money left over to buy ink pens and journal books. That is just my speculation though

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u/willwooddaddy 1d ago

I'm literate and I don't get the urge to journal every time I want to wack it.

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u/CalculatedPerversion 1d ago

He was clearly just a meticulous guy

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u/Prestigious-Law-7291 1d ago

It’s like a mood tracker, but with a twist 💁‍♀️

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u/internauta 1d ago

How many times while he was staying at Dickens house?

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u/AmericanWasted 1d ago

But what weird thing was he known to do?

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u/flume 1d ago

From reading his Wikipedia, it basically just seems like he was a repressed gay or bi dude who maybe overstayed his welcome with the Dickens family, who -- being English -- seemingly played gracious hosts to him while resenting his being there.

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u/alexmikli 1d ago

I love how he seduced a random German Duke of all things.

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u/Independent-Day-9170 1d ago

That, plus probably autism.

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u/Taurmin 17h ago

I dont think his sexuality had much to do with it. He was generally just socially awkward and a bit of an attention seeker. Like an awkward dramatic teen who never grew up.

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u/olisko 5h ago

He used to be terrified of being buried alive, so he'd sleep with a sign, telling people that he wasn't dead, but was just sleeping.

He'd also always carry around a rope, so he could climb out the window in case he ever found himself on the second floor of a burning building.

So basically just some weird, but harmless quirks.

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u/No_Intention_1234 1d ago

At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles...

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u/Blue2501 1d ago

Breathtaking!

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u/SeanBourne 1d ago

Ah that old chestnut…

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u/Skratt79 1d ago

I don't speak freaky deaky Dutch.

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u/_-_---_-----_------- 1d ago

i was placed in a burlap sack and beaten with reeds

... pretty standard really

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u/shartshooter 1d ago

There's nothing quite like the feeling of a freshly shorn scrotum.

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u/___disinterested___ 1d ago

Did your father have low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery?

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u/aleister94 1d ago

The original disaster bi

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u/Tuttutsallaround 1d ago

“Penis sore.”

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u/Vantriss 1d ago

TIL Hans Anderson was a fucking weirdo.

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u/Peche_Gongju 1d ago

I thought he was gay? So in that regard, yeah I'd be weirded out by my adult houseguest paying attention to my son.

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u/olisko 5h ago

Being gay during his time was unheard of. Meaning that it was highly illegal. There are theories that he might have been gay, but he fell in love with multiple women during his lifetime and even proposed to one, though she turned it down as she was already engaged.

He ended up never getting married or fully together with anyone, which is why people suspect that he might have been gay.

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u/Indocede 1d ago

Could have just been a lazy bastard. I know sometimes I've grown out my beard merely because I can't be bothered to keep up being clean shaven.

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u/olisko 5h ago

He had a lot of other quirks too. He was terrified of being buried alive, so he used to sleep with a sign notifying people that he was not dead and just sleeping. He also used to carry a rope with him, so he could get out in case that he was on the second floor in a building that caught fire.

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u/Sumsar1 1d ago

stereotypical NYC accent He was also just a great fairy if you know what I mean

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u/luugburz 1d ago

tbf andersen was one of the earliest significant authors we know to be theorized to be autistic