5. Napoleon’s obsession with licorice turned his teeth black, and he even demanded his favorite treat on his death bed
Almost all portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte show the military genius looking resplendent in his military dress. None, however, show him with black teeth. As his valet, Louis Constant Wairy, recalled, the Emperor would wash, shave, dress and then ask to be handed “his handkerchief, his snuffbox, and a little shell box filled with licorice flavored with aniseed and cut very fine”. Before he started his day, then, Napoleon’s teeth would have been stained black.
Several of Napoleon’s contemporaries noted how he relied on licorice to keep him free from coughs and colds. But more than this, he used it to calm his nerves in battle. In fact, he would never fight a war without some licorice in his pocket. What’s more, Napoleon even asked for licorice on his deathbed. As his last valet, Joseph Marchand, recalled: “He asked me for a small bottle and some licorice, poured a small quantity, and told me to fill it with water, adding that in the future he wished to have no other beverage but that.”