Addiction is never an easy illness to overcome, especially when you're hooked on something less-than-common. Just ask Jessica Simpson, Queen Elizabeth, Bill Gates and all the other fine folks who battled bizarre addictions of their own.
From Mila Kunis' World of Warcraft obsession to the woman who famously ate her husband's ashes, here are 17 people who suffered from some seriously strange addictions.
1
Bee Stings
“A woman became addicted to bee stings. It started as an occasional sting to relieve pain from arthritis, but it ‘spiraled into a full-blown addiction’ at 15 stings a day and about 50,000 times total since she started.”
2
Irish Sausages
“TIL about David Harding who was addicted to Irish sausages, eating up to 13 Irish sausages a day and often desperately searching for more. Noting ‘I genuinely cannot bear the thought of living without sausages,’ he sought counseling to deal with his addiction.”
3
Working
“Work Addiction [is] where people feel compelled to work because of the high they receive from working.”
4
Nicotine Gum
“Jessica Simpson became addicted to nicotine gum but has never smoked, she was given the gum by accident.”
5
Minesweeper
“Bill Gates was so addicted to Minesweeper, he used to sneak into a colleague's office after work to play.”
6
Chess
“A village in India is addicted to chess after one man taught everyone how to play 50 years ago to stop excessive alcohol use and gambling which has now all declined to almost nothing.”
7
Telling Jokes
“A person with damage to the right brain hemisphere can develope a ‘joke addiction’, a compulsive need to constantly make jokes.”
8
Cocaine-Laced Gum
“Queen Victoria was addicted to cocaine infused chewing gum.”
9
Eating Clay Masks
Natasha, who appeared on “My Strange Addiction” back in 2013, was so hooked on eating clay face masks that she allegedly ate as much as one jar of the cosmetic each day.
10
Eating Glass
Stand up comedian Josh got candid about his addiction to eating glass in TLC’s “My Strange Addiction. “When I bite into the glass I just get like, a warm feeling, kind of get a little bit tingly,” he explained.
11
Lip Balm
While often a salve for parched lips, chapstick can be outright addictive, just ask a self-described “Lip Balm Addict” who reached out to The Guardian’s “Ask Ugly” advice column for help.
“I am never not within arm’s reach of a lip balm,” they wrote. “I’ve got balm “stations” – one in my bag, one near my bed, one in my desk at work, one in my car. I’ve ensured that I will never be without lip balm should I need it.”
12
Cuddling
“Couples that cuddle can become addicted to one another. Symptoms of withdraw can occur when apart as a result of the hormone oxytocin, ‘the cuddling drug.’”
13
Chocolate
“James Hetfield of Metallica went to rehab in 2001 [partially] because he was addicted to chocolate.”
14
Eating Ashes
A Tennessee woman named Cassie was once so addicted to eating her late husband’s ashes that she learned to like their less-than-stellar taste. ““That is my husband, and I didn’t want to wipe him away. So, I just licked him off my fingers. And here I am, almost two months later, and I cannot stop. I am eating my husband," she explained during her episode of “My Strange Addiction.” “It tastes like rotten eggs, sand and sandpaper. But I have grown to love that taste. What started off as not wanting to get rid of him has now progressed into eating him."
15
World of Warcraft
“Mila Kunis was so addicted to World of Warcraft that she forced herself to quit playing because she spent too much time on it.”
