📺 It's like Netflix for history! Sign up to History Hit, the world's best history documentary service, and enjoy a discount on us: bit.ly/3vdL45g

Imagine 100 years from now, there will be a documentary on "How Phone and Social Media Addiction led to Depressed and Early Deaths of the Millenials", I can't even imagine old pictures of us with filters lol

I just wanted to point out that in your discussion around corsets you forgot to mention that woman wore PADS on their busts and hips to create the 'ideal shape' - in this way most people got the shape without endangering their health through tight lacing. In fact, there are many costume historians (Bernadette Banner for example) who have proved that women who tight-laced were very rare indeed.

The last line what Suzannah said "It makes me wonder what we're oblivious to today" is exactly what I've been thinking throughout the whole documentary.

I love this series because it’s just like, “check out how disgusting we used to be haha, they all died bruh”

It’s sad how I can watch stuff like this on my own but when my teachers assigns a video like this I can’t stand to watch it

corsetry is so much more complex and it's definitely worth looking into it through a fashion historian. It's a true art in how they are hand-stitched with whalebone to fit the curves of an individual's body, but it's often assumed that corsets were the thing to hurt people, not people tightlacing them, against the natural flow of their body. Many people talk about corsets as an oppressive commercial scheme, but the hatred and vilification of corsets was just as much about profit. Not to mention: beauty standards for women are constantly changing, tiny waists were definitely not always the norm and the desire.

Imagine how depressing it would be to be a 5 year old child working in a factory making toys you could never play with.

For a more accurate description and discussion of the effect of corsetry on the human body, I would recommend checking out Karolina Zebrowska and Bernadette Banner. Both are fashion historians and have done extensive research (with personal experience) into corsetry. Tightlacing (what has so frequently been misconstrued as "the only method of corsetry") is what we find so distressing today, but was not nearly as widespread as it is commonly made to seem

A moment of silence to remember all of those who perished just by trying to survive the normal life of the industrial era and gave us the luxuries of modern civilization.

"how much poison do you want?" Victorians: "Yes"

From what I've read, it is a myth that corsets were so dangerous. As the one woman said, the tight lacing was done by a minority of women. The majority of corset wearers wore them much looser. Today women wear spanx. High heels also are still worn.

No wonder infant mortality rate was so high. The real wonder is how anyone, at least anyone in England, survived to adulthood.

In college literature class we read "The Yellow Wallpaper" which told the story of a woman confined to a room due to her deteriorating mental health. It was covered with arsenic laced wallpaper. It was her demise rather than her mental health.

About 21:00 - corsetry wasn’t that extreme because they padded themselves out in the hips and shoulders instead of tight lacing. They knew the danger of tight lacing and only a small percentage of women actually did it. When worn normally, nothing anatomical changed internally. Also in most cases the corset would break before the wearer because most corset construction were not created for tight lacing. They weren’t torture they were bras! And they actually helped in places such as posture because they forced a better posture and evenly distributed weight throughout the entire mid section rather than putting all weight and pressure on the shoulders and spine such as modern bras

The historian, Dr. Kate, I loooooove the way she discusses history! It’s like she’s letting you in on the world biggest secret! She really knows how to keep the viewer captivated!

Just wanna say, that not everyone wore corsets this tight. Women do used to do sports such as tennis and climbing with them on. Tight lacing was a problem though.

I love how the experts specify that only the tight-laced corsets that a minority of women wore were the ones that caused problems, but the rest of the dialogue is structured to suggest all corsets did this /s. Women still had to live, a properly fitted and made corset isn't dangerous, and was just to support women's breasts, which were often enlarged by regular pregnancies, and the heavy skirts (which was briefly said by one of the experts IN THIS EPISODE). Bending over in a corset isn't that hard either, we just have tight hamstrings from sitting down so much and struggle to hinge at the waist.

I've seen a lot of horrible deaths and heard about toxins, bacteria, viral infections, but corsets are by far the most horrifying thing. Not only is it bad for one's physical form, it also triggers my body dysmorphia which is personally the worst sort of pain I can experience. But the thing is, this sort of thing still happens. I am someone who loves technology, who wants to see extensive technological and social progress, but the effects of idealism in social media such as Instagram in which young, impressionable people only look at professional or simply breathtaking photos of heavily altered celebrities or influencers, are simply horrifying. As independent as I like to be, primarily because I am a punk and do not follow any sort of trends (as I am simply uninterested and pursue only that which satisfies me), unfortunately this sort of idealism still has an effect on me, but not in terms of what I want to be but because of what other people want me to be. Due to psychological abuse that I went through when I was young, and still do, simply because of genetically being larger, I have developed body dysmorphia which I mentioned above. Many people who are anything but thin and gender conforming are perpetually victims of continuous abuse, and treating only those who manage to alter themselves to have a thin waist, a large ass, huge breasts, big muscles and flawless skin as the only ones who are valid, it exponentially hurts people. More and more children are being affected by these unethical expectations and we seriously need to start accepting people for who and what they are.

It's weird how easy it is for us to go: "Haha people back then were so stupid!", when 200 years from now people will look back at our current way of living and probably come to the very same conclusions about us.

I just imagine someone doing a similar type of documentary in one hundred years about us. “Every day items that brought you closer to death in the early 21st century: and it was in every kitchen.” Item being... sugar.

I never thought history could be so entertaining! Ive been binge watching these vids for 2 days 😶🤭

I remember visiting a wax museum in Blackpool and there was an exhibition on the top floor to do with diseases and medical curiosities. You had to be of certain age and not of a nervous person to enter, but there was a wax exhibit of a victorian lady propped upright in an open coffin with the tiniest waist you can ever imagine. A plague beside it described how tight corsets could lead to early deaths of Victorian ladies. That wax model literally haunted my dreams for years

This is amazing to me. I wonder how many people died from wallpaper. All these abandoned buildings and farm houses. Chateaus, castles. Explains a lot.

I always found the Victorian Age fascinating; but scary as well.

“The main problem was that they didn’t understand the dangers of what they were doing” ~ Victorian period in a nutshell

Corsets alone weren't deadly. In fact, the average waist size back then was 23" which many women today have naturally without tight lacing. And lets not forget that women were raised into it as well so their bodies were adapted to it in a way you couldn't obtain just by jumping into one like this video. Corsets are even often used today by doctors to help straighten the spine. What many people seem to forget is that the most deadly way of obtaining a small waist then was actually to have the floating ribs removed. I would take tight lacing any day over that

31:01 I love whoever wrote this ad because it is TRUE! It’s about their health not their appearance. I’m just very proud of whoever had the guts to stand up for what’s right. Kudos to you🙌🏽

this sometimes makes me wonder, "what if there's something similar to this in our modern world?" Say, additives in food, or maybe the products we use. What if one day in the far (or near) future, there's a video about us online, talking about it the way this video does now.

Imagine watching a documentary on how dangerous houses are-

The household magazines just reminds me how we have always just socially pressure each other to own the “trendy” thing.

I find the Victorian era fascinating but rather creepy at the same time.

A hauntingly educational investigative channel. Money, beauty, family, We want to be good, and look good and distinguish ourselves from the dirty, unwashed masses. Bottom line...ask questions, think for yourself and step outside of your culture by reflecting and going back over your reflections to find your prejudices and misconceptions. The scary thing is how little people have changed since Victorian times.

I love how this was on my recommended and I watched the whole thing at 1am then went on to do a full presentation of how the Victorians inadvertently were killing themselves and were ignoring basic roman findings for the sake of a green hue that was on-trend to my best friend gotta say was a wonderful hour of my life

This is absolutely fascinating!! I figured out the arsenic and lead, before they got to it. Interesting about the corsets, although i knew about maternity corsets. My great grandmother wore one in a formal portrait with her sisters, in 1902. She was 8 months pregnant with my grandmother at the time!

I like how obsessive materialism is just good in this documentary

Suzannah: “I feel close to fainting” Karolina and Bernadette: excuse me, what?

Back in the 1950's my grandmother warned me away from playing with an old green window blind. I doubt it was arsenic laden, but she had the knowledge passed down about green things, apparently.

I’m just watching for the welsh guy -- his explanation of a house explosion starting at 37:20 is just golden

00:46:15 Hey, just to let you know. The drawing is actually of a 23 year old Viennese woman, before and after getting sick from cholera in 1831. The drawing is in a book called The Sick Rose by Richard Barnett, which is a really cool book filled with drawings of diseases. Ifv you like to learn about historic medicine I would defiantly recommend it. Not trying to be rude just wanted to be helpful.

Wow! Very interesting. I love history. And, yes, this made me think of what we're oblivious to today.

That's really interesting, in my coloring in, I've been using felt pens, with metallic art pens and metallic gel pens to recreate the same asthenic as the brightly colored wallpapers they were showing.

I was a baby in the early 80s in the US. I actually remember my parents mentioning that they'd made sure not to get lead paint for the house, heh, so I guess that's around when things started changing.

I remember being taught a fantastic Victorian nursery rhyme. “Last night the kitchen boiler burst And Father cursed and cursed, But Mother, with a kinder feeling Scraped the housemaid off the ceiling.”

Superb and enthralling social history. I cannot thank you enough for this series. I hope that people realise that when we see things as foolish in retrospect, we should take into consideration what may be "hidden killers" today. Will future generations look back at mobile phones for example with dismay and shock? Today as then, financial interests may work hard to dismiss the idea that a profit making product is a "hidden killer".

it’s scary when you realize what consequences we are conditioning ourselves n loved ones to in our modern world

You’ve done a great job with these videos thanks for sharing !!

I love that they said a "Very small percentage of women would tight lace" and the entire take on corsets as a whole is "OMG THEY ARE KILLING THEMSELVES." If you wear the appropriate size and you don't lace tighter than you have to, you'll be fine.

I love the sounds of very old boiler system heating at night lol.. When I was young, traveling with my parents, we stayed in several historic buildings, hotels, mansions, etc. At first the noises scared me, but very quickly became soothing when I knew what it was from.

Hey, I just noticed at 34:05 when I was pausing to read the newspaper article ... it says that several people suffocated from gas, but one man and his child were saved by their dog, whose scratching at the door woke the man up just in time. Moral: Be good to animals. They might just save your life.

"I'm spending hours in the morning getting into my corset" This redhead girl got me fuming. You can get fully dressed as a Victorian woman in 10-12 minutes!

Man, I had to wear a back brace for about a year that was made out of hard plastic. It was no where near that tight and it was still wildly uncomfy. It legitimately hurt.

I've watched these a hundred times and I still find them interesting! I just adore the narrator.

Being from Spain I have always enjoyed British culture. I enjoy this documentary's history of Britain.

it feels like im watching a documentary, I love it

These shows always remind me of how actually lucky we are to be alive. Like so many people died from all kinds of gross and dangerous stuff all through history and we came from the survivors.

Thise Victorian homes were so beautiful. Such incredibly beautiful decor. Heck I'd put up with a few of those hidden dangers to live like that. Besides, today's homes are just as full of hidden dangers, perhaps even more than they were back then.

I had a teacher in high school that would joke about how it seemed people died so easily in the past. These hidden killers in the homes makes that make sense

I absolutely love these docs !! Thank you

Your talking about it being shocking that lead paint wasn't banned till 1970. I live in the USA I bought a house in 2008. While living there my 4 year old tested positive for lead. Turned out that all the white crown moulding in the house had lead paint. It took me over a year to find out.

My grandmother was born in 1897 in New York City. She hated corsets. Women who didn’t wear them were considered loose. My grandmother was very slender and small busted. The corset would ride up and poke her under arms which made her very uncomfortable. She told me the purpose of the corset was so if a man was so bold as to put his arm around your waist he would only feel the bone or metal stays. When her father died, her mother had died when she was very young, she was in her mid-20s. She came home from the funeral and threw all of the corsets in the trash. She switched To wearing camisoles. She lived to be 100 years old.

Besides regaling us with the nastiness of Victorian home life, Suzannah Lipscomb is the loveliest and most-charming of all the documentary narrators.

Humans came a long way. The comfort we have now that we take for granted is mind boggling. I feel sorry to say this but the experience of the people who came before us paved the way of making our lives now to be safe.

What I wish I would learn in history: Also I literally learn more history in my reading class than history

Only just discovered this channel. Fabulous well made content. Who needs TV , Sky and all that other so called "Reality" tv Absolute History. Liked and subscribed ... Thanks

This is the kind of video that makes you relieved that you’re living today.

They kinda mentioned this very briefly, but very few people actually tight laced their corsets. It was people being extreme kinda like those women who get plastic surgery to look like a Barbie. Most women who wore corsets were fairly comfortable, and laced them only to keep them on. Also most of the time it wasn't men forcing them to wear corsets, women wanted this. There's many funny Victorian cartoons of men making fun of women's fashion, as extreme and silly.

As a Yankee I’m FASCINATED by these documentaries

I was watching a home makeover show (from England 2021). It's called, "60 Minute Makeovers" and another where 3 homes are up to be sold. Recommendations are made on how to get the homes sold. All the English homes have wallpaper. That's a tradition from Victorian England that has never went away. Every single house redecorated included wallpaper updates and changes. I haven't seen wallpaper since my mom redecorated in the mid 1970's. In America we preferred lead in our paint. Arsenic wallpaper or lead paint chips? It was a headache to apply (for us) back then. In Victorian England it was deadly. I wonder if the wallpaper manufacturers knew this was a danger?

I can’t find anything about other countries, but in Canada we banned arsenic pressure treated wood in playgrounds in 1993. I was about 10, and I remember it making the news (was a petition thing I think). We still all remember the green beams 😅.

You know corsets weren't actually deadly. Only the practice of Tight Lace. Corsets were just like bras. Nothing more.

Corsets have health benefits for certain conditions, and can help in several ways. They help me avoid passing out, but I can’t bear them in warmer weather. True tight-lacing was done rarely, most women wore them in practical comfort.

Seeing things like this just confuse me on how we managed to survive this long 😂

I kinda feel like it needs to be said that when talking about corsets, they had stated that the danger of it was because of tightlacing. They didn't say just wearing one was bad.

This video made me feel like I travelled back in time.

Not all corsets worn was only worn for the sake of beauty. Some were worn to help lift weights. Like sick children up a flight of stairs with a bathroom on the next floor where the child's bedroom was. That kind of corset was instead called a vest like the kind you see being worn by Snow White in the Seven Dwarfs. Or like the kind of vests sometimes being worn by the Mrs. Von Trap character near the end of the movie too called, "The Sound of Music."

Remember that quote from Elizabeth Swann from the Prites of the Caribbean? "Women in London must have learned not to breathe". Didn't believe it back then but now, I'm absolutely stumped

"We don't want people thinking our products are bad. Who cares if there is any proof that it is killing people, Keep selling!!" Big companies never change do they...

Watching stuff like this, it's amazing we've come this far tbh

I learn more listening to these while drawing then what I do during school

I knew about lead in paint but the arsenic in wallpaper I didn't know. And so much arsenic could be in that one room. There's still a lead pipe coming into my house for water, and found brick chiseled out when I replaced some loose plaster so the sink must have been on the side wall at one time. There's a 1920's house I have read about and open to the public and want to visit in Glasgow

Love watching documentary like this

This is my favourite series of ALL. TIME.

My grandparents were born in the 1880s. I listened to all the stories about gas heating and cooking, wall paper and frightening explosions. My Nana always wore a corset to look her proper best. It is wonderful so many people survived all the hazards.

I never knew people were so defensive of corsets.

Wow these documentaries are great!

Corsets were actually not that bad, people in a certain period were just stupid enough to do everything that was trendy, unregardingly of the pains. They saw that they could do it, and so they did. Corsets can be very helpful for your back and for sitting upright, you just have to do it right, not too tight and with an undergarment UNDER the corset just like its support to be worn, then it is perfectly safe. Remember, it's supposed to support, not to change. Many things are dangerous when handled wrong.

"It makes me wonder what we're oblivious to today" - great final words.

Actually in all bright colored wallpaper contained arsenic. It was the mold that grew that killed you. The paste was food for the mold. Arsenic is still used in cosmetics. I find that interesting.

In 500 years, instead of this, there will be a hologram showing millennials dropping their phones on their faces while in bed.

watching these documentries: reliving my life as a four year old

I've worn corsets for cosplay before, and let me tell you, you will absolutely know when you've got it too tight.

People then didn't consider arsenic as a dangerous substance. It had been used as a treatment for syphilis for a very long time.

I adore this series.

Wow so interesting! I love this series. Keep producing more!

To be fair, those patterns are to die for.

After watching several of these hidden killers videos I think I can safely say that nothing the Victorians did was safe

It wasn't until 1978 in the USA that lead paint was banned, and lead pipes were made until 1982

Arsenic!!! That’s insane!!!! I wonder if it smelled like almonds? (On the crime episodes on TV, they suspect arsenic poisoning if they smell almonds during autopsy.)

RE Her last line: "It makes me wonder what we're oblivious to today?" Well, only recently have we seen people falling ill because of vaping, and I've never heard about the carcinogenic effects of pot smoking. It's ridiculous to assume, as some people do, that even after the deaths of millions from cigarette smoking, that inhaling some other crap into your lungs must be OK.