the 1900 Island. four families live like 1900 Welsh for one month

[Demovictory9]

one family has 5 kids to feed... the family almost starves to death. given a bit of food to start and small garden but husbands have to fish enough to provide food.

https://www.pbs.org/video/101-cwb7sg/



available on acorn TV, not sure where else. 4 episodes. was filmed in 2019

[FirstLight]

1. fascinating...

I think I have seen either at least one episode of this or something similar...

wild

[Demovictory9]

2. there are many of these shows: 1900 house, 1940s house, frontier house, victorian slum house,

colonial house, etc.

[Warpy]

9. Frontier House was the most interesting

because it showed the stark difference between the experience of the sexes. At the time the frontier was described as "heaven for men and dogs, hell for women and horses." None of the participants had heard that but the women were all thrilled to leave.

In fact, most of the period houses and farms sucked for women just from the workload, never mind the social isolation, constant pregnancies and loss of children from illnesses.

[Demovictory9]

10. The Manor house one was very interesting also... couple got to be lady and lord of the manor

while biggest group of volunteers were downstairs servants living in misery.

"Lady and Lord" enjoyed their fake roles a bit too much and spoke positively of the caste system. As i recall, they were medical doctors in real life.

[Demovictory9]

11. yes, I remember the Frontier women volunteers being bored. at the end, they weren't

even really participating. Just sitting around the house in a funk. The men were enjoying their time on the range - playing cowboys

[Warpy]

12. They weren't sitting around, they were worked like rented mules

feeding people 3 meals a day, hauling water, keeping the fire going, trying to keep the place clean, doing laundry (which was a 3 day job), tending the dairy animals and chickens, working in the garden, and dropping everything to help the men do the big jobs like hay harvests. Plus, they did it all in a corset. They were in a funk because they were exhausted and on a treadmill that never stopped or gave them much of a break.

They also didn't do the half of it, like the nasty job of making soap or salves or household medicines.

Men, on the other hand, were out and about and doing jobs that had a beginning and an end and provided some satisfaction when they were finished. It was a very different experience than the one women had and the men just didn't get it. It's why two of the couples ended up divorced, it threw a lot of problems into stark relief.

[patricia92243]

3. These type shows always say the same thing "I was bored out

of my mind."

We are accustomed to having our mind busy and stimulated.

[Demovictory9]

4. yes, I have noticed that, this group wasn't bored.

others I've seen... people sit around in a funk waiting for it to end. THis group seemed to enjoy.

Beautiful welsh island that they had to themselves. I could imagine spending a holiday there.

[3catwoman3]

5. Some years ago, there was a similar series, also on PBS. Victorian...

...House was the initial time frame. The first episode showed the family being taught all the things they would need to know, like how to make your own soap, how to do the laundry, and so forth.

It was interesting, but when the show got to the part about how to make what was used for menstrual protection back then, my immediate thought was, “Oh, hell no! I’m not going anywhere that I could not take tampons.”

The chosen family had 5 kids, 4 of whom were daughters. The eldest daughter wisely (IMO) decided she wanted no part of this adventure.

[Demovictory9]

8. one series, the women chose to keep their modern hygiene... they only had a few dresses

and didnt want any accidents. one mentioned that was her reason for using tampons.

Modern people, we have have zillions of clothes. this show gave the people the number of outfits a person would have in the past... just a few dresses to wear.

1900 island showed the manual labor involved in washing clothes.

[FirstLight]

6. question: are these folks paid for this "adventure" or are they just crazy?

It would take a strange type of person to do this IMO. Maybe academics who want the immersive experience, but just regular soccer mom types?


What kind of demographic would be down for this? I wanna go read all their bio's now... lol

[Demovictory9]

7. some are nostalgic for the past. 1900 house, at least one family had lived off the grid