20 Of History’s Most Bizarre Status Symbols That People Actually Forked Out Money On

From pet squirrels to hired hermits, status symbols through the ages have taken some truly bizarre forms. For instance, did you know that blackened teeth, facial scars and deliberately deformed feet were all once regarded as highly desirable? But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. So, read on to find out about 20 of the craziest status symbols that people have coveted over the centuries.

20. Pet squirrels – U.S., 18th century and later

Benjamin Franklin is best-known for his important role in the establishment of the United States of America. But it seems he found time in his busy Founding-Father schedule to write the odd poem. About squirrels. Yes, he certainly wrote at least one ode – in 1722 – to a sadly departed squirrel called Mungo. This was at a time when some Americans had decided that it was a good idea to keep the bushy tailed rodents as pets.

The squirrels in question were mostly of the gray variety, although red and even flying types were also kept as pets. They lived in the homes of the fashionable and wealthy – sometimes kept in check by a golden chain. And Franklin’s poem? In a letter accompanying Mungo’s epitaph he wrote, “Few squirrels were better accomplished, for he had a good education, had traveled far, and seen much of the world.” What a rodent!

19. Gout – ancient Greece

Gout is a rather unpleasant condition often involving a painful and unsightly swelling of the lower extremities. So as an affliction, it seems an unlikely candidate as a status symbol. But it’s the lifestyle factors which can cause the gout that give it a certain kind of cachet. Because one of the best ways to get it is to over-indulge in rich foods and luxury liquor.

Around 2,500 years ago, the famous Greek medical man Hippocrates called it “the arthritis of the rich.” Modern medicine does indeed recognize gout as a form of arthritis. So there you have it. It seems the rich will grab on to almost anything to reinforce their status and wealth. And that even includes a condition that you’d think anyone would avoid at all costs.