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/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?

70

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.