Napoleon Did Some Truly Bizarre Things...
In a Nutshell
Napoleon had eccentric personal habits including disguising himself to interview citizens about his rule, using 60 bottles of cologne monthly by bathing in it, and pinching people hard when in a good mood. He cheated at cards, couldn't stand open doors, was tone-deaf yet hummed constantly, and once fled from thousands of domesticated rabbits during a hunt. His hemorrhoids and opium use impaired him at Waterloo, while his romantic life involved writing a tragic novella and sending multiple marriage proposals in one week.
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Napoleon Bonaparte conquered most of Europe by age 35. He crowned himself emperor and rewrote France's legal code. He is one of the most studied military commanders in history. Napoleon had a hobby of dressing up as a commoner, walking around Paris, and asking random people what they thought of Napoleon. He would put on plain clothes, sometimes a fake beard, and wander the streets eavesdropping and interviewing citizens about himself. He regularly asked, "What do you think of the emperor?" People would praise him, complain, or call him a tyrant while he stood in disguise listening to insults. His guards hated this practice as it was a security nightmare, but Napoleon believed it kept him connected to regular people. Historians consider this a massive security risk.
Napoleon had a strange way of showing affection by pinching people hard. According to his valet, Louis Constant Wairy, the harder Napoleon pinched, the better his mood was. He pinched ears, noses, and cheeks until they turned blue. He even pinched babies' chins so hard their mothers had to pull them away. This was painful, not playful. His friends learned to avoid him when he was in a good mood because that was when the pinching was worse.
Napoleon used 60 bottles of cologne per month, which is two bottles a day. He bathed in cologne by pouring entire bottles of eau de cologne over his head and body after a regular bath. His servants described it as a cologne shower. He believed it improved his health and even drank it sometimes. The cologne made him smell so strongly that people could tell he was coming from three rooms away. Josephine, his first wife, complained in letters that the scent gave her headaches.
In 1795, a 26-year-old Napoleon wrote a 17-page romantic novella called Clisson et Eugénie between military campaigns. The story is about a soldier named Clisson who falls in love with Eugénie. Clisson is portrayed as brilliant but misunderstood, Eugénie is beautiful, they fall in love, she betrays him, and he dies tragically in battle. The manuscript still exists and scholars have read it.
Napoleon loved playing cards and was a notorious cheater. He cheated to win because his ego could not handle losing. He cheated at casual card games with his own officers. His generals knew he cheated but let him win anyway.
Napoleon could not stand open doors. If a door was open in a room he was in, he would stop talking mid-sentence and stare at it until someone closed it. His servants learned to close every door immediately. His aides would walk ahead of him closing doors. Historians debate whether this was security paranoia or a control issue.
Napoleon was completely tone-deaf. He loved music but could not sing or hum a tune. He had a compulsive habit of humming when nervous or deep in thought, but his humming was described as most unmusical. It was impossible to tell what tune he was trying to execute. He hummed constantly during meetings, off key and random notes.
The Battle of Waterloo occurred on June 18th, 1815. In the days before the battle, Napoleon was in severe pain from hemorrhoids and could not sit on his horse properly. He was given opium for the pain which made him groggy and delayed his decision-making. One of history's most famous battles was decided in part by butt pain and prescription drugs.
Napoleon had zero patience for boring conversations. If he lost interest while someone was talking, he would walk away mid-sentence with no warning or apology.
In 1807, Napoleon's chief of staff organized a rabbit hunt to celebrate a treaty. Instead of catching wild rabbits, he accidentally bought thousands of domesticated rabbits. When released, the rabbits thought it was feeding time and charged at Napoleon, climbing his legs and swarming him. He had to retreat to his carriage while his officers tried to fight off the friendly rabbits.
In 1796, Napoleon sent marriage proposals to at least three different women in the same week. His logic was efficiency since he needed a wife and did not care which one. Whoever replied first would be chosen. Josephine replied first and they married. She later said she only replied because she thought the proposal was so bizarre it had to be a joke.
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