- Being a brutal despot often goes hand in hand with being one strange person.
It takes a special kind of person to have the mindset to become the dictator of a nation. In that sense, you could say all dictators are a little weird.
However, many (if not most) dictators past and present have at least one behavior, interest, quirk, or straight-up obsession that they regularly indulge in. And why not — when you hold the ultimate power, you can do whatever you want.
Now, some of these quirks may seem a little lighthearted to you, considering the people we’re talking about, but we’re not listing them to excuse anything these autocrats have done. If anything, they show that the people on this list were just humans with human peculiarities, which makes the atrocities they committed seem all the more horrendous.
Here are seven strange areas of interest of some of the world’s most notorious dictators.
1. Fidel Castro Was Obsessed with Dairy
If you ever wanted to get in the good books of Cuba’s ruler Fidel Castro, you probably should’ve started by offering him ice cream. Or any dairy product, for that matter.
Castro had a lifelong interest in dairy production that bordered on an obsession. He believed a strong dairy industry equaled a strong country and enacted multiple (failed) attempts at boosting milk production in Cuba.
That said, he also immensely enjoyed eating dairy products, especially ice cream. According to those close to him, he could consume 20 scoops of ice cream after meals, which led to the CIA trying to assassinate him by poisoning his treats.
Once, Castro got upset when a French ambassador refused to admit Cuban cheese was better than French. Yet, the ambassador placated Castro by stating French cheese is simply like Cuban cigars — the best in its class.
2. Idi Amin Ate Excessive Amounts of Oranges
Idi Amin was a strange, strange man. The one-time ruler of Uganda was genuinely unhinged, considering he requested Elizabeth II grant him the throne of Great Britain and reportedly regularly ate human flesh.
But it wasn’t just people Amin consumed. He also ate oranges.
Lots and lots of oranges.
The man could eat up to 40 oranges a day. It wasn’t the vitamin C he was after, though — Amin believed oranges were a natural aphrodisiac that would keep him virile.
Considering how many children he fathered, maybe he was onto something. Then again, he was also a cannibal, so maybe don’t take his culinary advice.
3. Kim Jong-Il Was a Kidnapping Movie Lover
In case you’re too young to remember, before Kim Jong-Un, North Korea was ruled by his father, Kim Jong-Il. And Daddy Kim really loved cinema.
He reportedly owned an extensive movie collection, consisting of more than 20,000 titles on VHS and DVD. However, his obsession with cinema was also a sore spot for him.
You see, North Korea’s movie industry is… Well, it’s not the greatest. And that really annoyed Kim Jong-Il, especially in the ‘60s when South Korean movies were raking in international awards.
So, Kim came up with a plan fitting of a deranged dictator. He kidnapped South Korea’s top actress and movie director and forced them to make movie after movie for years until the two finally escaped.
4. Saddam Hussein Wrote Patriotic Romance Novels
You wouldn’t expect Iraq’s ex-dictator Saddam Hussein to have a soft heart. Look at the novels he wrote, though, and you’d be surprised.
When not oppressing his real and perceived opponents, Hussein liked to write novels. He’s written several books, most of them some types of romance stories with strong female main characters.
That said, Hussein wasn’t exactly a feminist icon. Most of his stories are allegorical, with the female lead representing Iraq or the country’s traditional values that are besieged by foreign influences under the guise of brutish suitors.
The novels were published under the pseudonym of “He Who Wrote It.” Guess Hussein didn’t want anyone to know he had a sentimental side.
5. Napoleon Spanked the Monkey Before Battle
Going into battle is stressful, no matter if you’re a rank-and-file soldier or the general leading the army. How can you deal with such enormous mental strain?
Well, if you asked Napoleon, you should have some “me time.” The French general-turned-emperor was known to masturbate before battle to settle his nerves.
Hey, if it works…
Now, this may well be just a rumor. But even if it’s not true, it involves Napoleon’s penis, which has a bizarre backstory all of its own.
6. Stalin Was Very Good at Drinking Games
Josef Stalin, the head of the Soviet Union during World War II and the early Cold War, was something of a gourmand. He enjoyed lavish meals cooked by his personal chef (Putin’s grandfather, by the way).
Those meals naturally involved vodka, since this was Russia after all. Stalin often entertained his guests by playing various drinking games with them.
Well, “entertained” is perhaps the wrong word, as the people had no choice but to play. And that worked well for Stalin because the dictator with the second most iconic mustache in history could drink anyone under the table.
Case in point, Yugoslavia’s dictator Tito once hurled all over his suit while drinking with Stalin, while his future successor Nikita Khrushchev wet his bed in a drunken stupor. Stalin’s drinking games were less about having fun and more about showing he was the boss — both in politics and in holding your liquor.
7. Hitler Was Extremely Flatulent
Hitler stinks. Literally.
The Fuehrer of Nazi Germany had a very sensitive tummy that would get easily irritated. At best, his stomach would rumble loudly during meetings. At worst, he couldn’t help but constantly rip smelly farts.
His stomach problems probably stemmed partly from his vegetarian diet. Being a WWII-era German vegetarian, he ate a lot of beans, cabbage, and other musical fruits that made him toot.
Nonetheless, being surrounded at all times by a cloud of stink was embarrassing for the dictator, so his doctor had him on a regime of 28 medications to help his stomach. Plot twist, all the pills just made him more flatulent.
At least the smell must have made it easy for any guards to know when to stand at attention. “Can you smell that, Hans? Ze Fuehrer is coming!”