Sent Your Christmas Cards Yet?

The good folks over at Mental Floss are taking a look at some rather bizarre season's greetings from the 19th century, and let me tell you, if you thought today's pop culture was weird, things were not much better over a century ago.

Some of the things people were sending each other include the above shot of Father Christmas, circa 1879 (who's about to receive a concussion, not to mention a serious case of hypothermia), a disembodied dog head from 1899 (delivering a message of goodwill, as decapitated dogs often do), and of course, the traditional holiday staple of a mouse riding a lobster (while wishing the recipient Peace, Joy, Health, and Happiness all in French) from 1880.

My personal favorite is an undated Australian holiday card, in which a cute little child is... about to be attacked by an emu.

Ah, the good old days...were weird.