Monday 24 August 2015

8 Crazy travel accessories of the past

These days, when you travel all you need is your smartphone with some apps and your travel accessories are sorted, but back in the day travel was only done by the rich and the travel accessories were pretty crazy.

Here are some of the things travelers would bring along with them that would probably raise an eyebrow or two…

Pomanders – Pomanders were what ladies carried around to protect themselves from the horrible air diseases in the middle ages. People knew little about bacteria and viruses then so they assumed an orange with cloves stuck in it would ward off the Black Death.


Hat Boxes – Sometimes it’s really hard to decide what hat to wear. If you’re a Victorian lady you probably had to carry around a different hat for every day of the week.

Steamer Trunks – Huge trunks were all the rage when people had servants to carry everything around for them. If it wasn’t for the baggage limits, you’d be doing the same.

Anything Made out of Bone – Before we realized that we could make plastic, humans had to make everything from bonafide bone, such as hair brushes, toothbrushes and compacts.

Smelling Salts – Smelling salts help revive people when they are unconscious. People used to pass out when they went on really long journeys, so smelling salts were apparently the best bet instead of just taking a selfie of their unconscious body.


Portable Urinals – You may complain about the small toilet that was on your flight, but just be grateful you didn’t have to carry around a portable urinal.

A Man – Do you think people carried around all these travel accessories by themselves? Nope. Sometimes it was a butler or a servant, but mostly a slave would be brought along to do it for you.

Sedan Chairs – Sedan chairs were strictly for the incredibly lazy travelers. While they were getting carried around in an ornamental box these travelers could eat and do whatever they pleased.


Modern travel is full of comforts; you can even pay for extra legroom. But back in the old days, the rich folk needed to bring along their crazy travel accessories.

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