These Weird and Funny Victorian New Year’s Cards Prove People Have Always Been Weird

We like to think we've cornered the market on being quirky, funny, and downright bizarre—like humor only became a thing in the age of memes. And sure, we've come a long way in terms of cat gifs and Photoshop battles, but let's not pretend people 200 years ago were all serious and boring. If anything, the Victorians had their own brand of weird, and it's on full display in these bizarre New Year's cards from the late 1800s.

Apparently, the Victorians thought nothing said "Happy New Year!" like frogs riding lobsters, children wrestling oversized insects, or pigs doing… well, whatever pigs do. These cards are proof that people have always been wonderfully strange, and our modern-day memes might just be a continuation of a long-standing tradition of human absurdity. So, let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that weirdness isn't new—it's timeless.

01
Hunting for a better year

via Vintage Everyday
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02
Somehow... the dinosaurs returned

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03
And we think we had a bad year

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04
That's enough Victorian internet for today

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05
I don't get it. Was it a leap year?

via Vintage Everyday
06
Greetings from the devil

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07
Happy new year, Hoping a bear eats you!

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08
Making soup out of the previous year. Somehow relatable

via Vintage Everyday
09
Nothing says happy new year like woodland creatures roasting a rat

via Vintage Everyday
10
Oh look, more rats!

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11
Seems like they had a rat problem back then

via Vintage Everyday
12
Oh look, it's me

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13
This one feeds the past year to a spider-sun. alrighty then

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14
wow they really hated 1889

via Vintage Everyday
15
Carving Out New Year Wishes

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16
Resolutions Are Like Bubbles

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17
Kicking The Old Year Into Oblivion

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18
OMG, this is like one of them wholesome memes your grandma sends you on Facebook

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19
Baby New Year Making An Entrance

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20
It's a baby on a butterfly

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21
I don't know about the cussing

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22
Is that god or the grim reaper?

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23
Oh look, cats!

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24
Did the kids hatch out of the egg or did the chick?

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25
Just naked babies drinking Champagne

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26
1889 sleeping with the fishes

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27
They seem up to no good

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28
Maybe 2020 wasn't as bad as 1889

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