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The Astronomer’s Drunk Moose And Other Unusual Pets In History

Humanity’s love for animals has led to some strange pets being kept over the years

Andrew Martin
5 min readNov 17, 2021

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Animals have been the near constant companion of humans throughout history. Although pets have traditionally taken the form of dogs, cats and a few other typical species, there have always been outliers. While not recommended, some people have gone well outside the bounds of what are considered acceptable animals and made them into some of the strangest pets in history. Consider the following:

The Astronomer’s Drunken Elk: Tycho Brahe was fascinating in his own right. Living from 1546–1601, the Danish astronomer was wealthy from his noble birth and only saw his wealth increase during his life. It has been estimated that at his high point, he possessed approximately 1% of all the wealth in Denmark. Although he didn’t really ever need to work a day in his life, he threw himself into astronomy, finding a significant degree of success. He discovered a supernova and was known for his meticulous observations that he recorded in essays and in his findings.

Brahe was also impetuous; sometimes to his detriment. In 1566, he lost a portion of his nose in a sword fight duel with his cousin after a drunken argument between the two over who was better at math spilled…

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Andrew Martin
Andrew Martin

Written by Andrew Martin

Dabbler in soccer, history, investing & writing. Master’s degree in baseball history. Passionate about history, diversity, culture, sports, film and investing .

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