What were some strange habits of Napoleon Bonaparte?
Though very interesting, previous answers didn’t focus on the « strange habits » of Napoleon.Napoleon did have strange habits, however.Here are some examples:• When Napoleon was talking outisde, he would systematically and repeatedly hit the ground with his riding crop.• When talking to someone while walking, he would grab that person’s arm and lean on it.• Whenever he went to bed, he would undress swiftly, throwing his clothes and accessories around the room with absolute indifference. Even his watch would be thrown around, which often resulted in breakage. He was described by his servants and aids as being in such a hurry to go to sleep that he would undress while walking towards his bed, almost tearing his clothes off and letting them falls on the floor.• When he was dealing with documents, he would let them fall on the floor after he was done with them.• He would throw books in the hearth if he was bored with them. That was not a theatrical gesture. He would do it when he was alone too. He would also throw books through the window of his car when he didn’t like them.• He liked to smell tobacco. He would not snuff. He just liked the smell of tobacco. He always had several small « tabatières » (tobacco boxes) around the room. He would take one while talking, smell from it for a moment, then throw the tobacco on the floor. Another strange habit of his was to say « hem » while smelling the tobacco, which sounded a bit like « hein? » (« what did you say? ») and would lead guests or subordinates to repeat what they had just said. To which Napoleon would unpleasantly say « I understood what you said, no need to repeat. »• He liked to « saucer » his dishes (use a piece of bread to wipe the remaining sauce off the plate). He would then wipe his hands with the tablecloth. He didn’t use napkins.• When seated on a leather or fabric chair, he would use his small knife to stab and cut the seat. Regardless of the quality or value of the chair.• He would stir camp fires with his feet, poking them with the tip of his boots, ruining them in the process.• He loved green beans but never ate any because he was too afraid to eat one that still had its string attached. He hated the strings because it felt like eating hair and he found it unbearingly disgusting.