Octagon Houses for a Better You: A 19th-Century FadHow a quack science tried to reshape our homes and minds.

From the show

Historically Bad Advice

Discover how a phrenologist's bizarre theory convinced 19th-century Americans that living in an octagon-shaped house would improve their character. Orson Squire Fowler's pseudoscience claimed the eight-sided design was more natural, leading to better health and moral development. This architectural fad, rooted in the belief that external forms could shape inner virtue, reveals how easily baseless ideas can capture the public imagination.