For most, college is a wild place full of exploration, but people are simply baffled that some of the elite colleges have their freshmen pose for nude photos.
Yeah…that’s a no from me, dude. If I paid all that money and got the grades to get into an elite college, maybe it would be a little much for me to take my clothes off and pose for pictures freshman year.
But unfortunately, some freshmen at some of the United States’ elite colleges had to do just that.
This practice was already common at Ivy League universities between the 1940s and 1970s.
Freshmen at Ivy League colleges across the country were expected to pose nude. (Getty Stock Image)
So what was the reason? Well, supposedly it was to study posture and body types. They were also supposedly used to measure the prevalence and severity of rickets, scoliosis and lordosis in the population.
Yep, all freshmen at these schools had to pose naked for black and white photos, with everyone standing upright from the front, back, and side perspectives.
The photographs were ultimately taken by eugenicist WH Sheldon, who believed there was a connection between body shape and intelligence and other traits.
Sheldon’s work has since been dismissed by most scientists and simply labelled as quackery, but the photos remain.
This means that there is a nude photo of some of the most famous people from the 40s to the 70s somewhere.
As early as 1995, the Smithsonian Institute acquired the photos and made them invisible to the public.
People on social media can hardly believe this happened to students. (Getty Stock Image)
Among those who would have undergone the ritual were former President George Bush and Hillary Clinton.
Now this story is fascinating in itself, but people on social media just can’t believe this ever happened.
On the Reddit forum “Today I learned,” users admitted that they found the whole thing both hilarious and shocking.
“We have to take completely naked photos of all of you… to check your attitude,” wrote one person in disbelief.
“Did they have to be naked? Scoliosis, lordosis and rickets can be easily identified even with underwear on,” added another.
“I’m just wondering WHY THE HELL colleges even do this. I honestly can’t even imagine what excuse they would have, let alone a reason,” wrote a third.
“Has anyone ever had the uncomfortable feeling that fifty thousand off-color joke comments are preventing real discussion?” added one concerned user amidst all the jokes.
