Women Armed With Household Weapons: The 1900 Chicago Tribune List

In 1900, the Chicago Tribune published an extraordinary article cataloguing the weapons women used most often in self-defence, from broom handles and rolling pins to soup tureens and hat pins. More than just a curiosity, it’s a fascinating glimpse into women’s resourcefulness, gender roles, and the cultural assumptions of the early 20th century.

A Window Into Women’s Self-Defence History

The article, published on 16 September 1900, was titled “Women Armed With Favorite Weapons.” Drawn from police court records, it listed 20 household objects most frequently reported as weapons in domestic disputes and street altercations involving women.

The tone, however, was far from neutral. Women weren’t praised for their resilience; they were instead described as being driven by “hysteria” rather than bravery. To modern readers, this dismissive framing is telling — showing just how little agency was granted to women in the public imagination. Yet when we strip away the period bias, what remains is a remarkable record of ingenuity in self-defence.

(For another example of how the press shaped perceptions, see our article on Emmett Till and the role of media in justice.)

Everyday Items Turned Into Weapons

With professional self-defence tools unavailable, women relied on whatever was close at hand.

• Broom handles topped the list with 186 reports, said to be used with a “sweeping side stroke that can only be ducked, not side-stepped.”

• Kitchen knives followed with 102 reports, with French knives singled out as especially intimidating.

• Stove-lid lifters — hot, heavy, jagged tools — were compared to primitive clubs.

• Rolling pins were considered “a woman’s own weapon” and often excused in court.

Dishes and cups also featured heavily. The Tribune likened hot coffee in a teacup to a “hand grenade,” and one anecdote recalled a soup tureen and half a gallon of broth hurled directly at a husband’s chest.

(Objects of daily life have always been reimagined in surprising ways — much like in our piece on Emma Willard’s Temple of Time, where everyday imagery became tools of learning.)

The Infamous Hat Pin

No household object gained notoriety like the hat pin. Women used them not just against predatory men, but sometimes even against police officers. The article recalled the case of Mary Rilley, who jabbed a sergeant with hers.

By the 1910s, hat pins were so widely recognised as weapons that some American cities passed laws restricting their length. In Chicago, women loudly protested such measures, declaring that a long hat pin was their only defence when walking alone at night.

(Public spaces and protest have long been entwined with women’s voices — much like the debates we explored in the history of Speakers’ Corner.)

Humiliation, Ingenuity, and Real Danger

Not every weapon caused serious harm. Mopsticks (33 reports) were called “humiliating agents,” while hair brushes and mirrors (48 reports) were said to leave bruises, and perhaps seven years’ bad luck.

The article states that "hysteria" rather than "bravery" empowers a woman to defend herself

Others were undeniably dangerous. Revolvers appeared in 31 reports, though women were ridiculed for poor aim even as the paper admitted they could empty all six chambers at speed. Flat irons, curling irons, and scissors could do serious damage.

Then there were the quirky entries: books (which “fly apart like a Japanese fan”), potato mashers (three reports, leaving “bits of warm potato in the eyes”), and nursing bottles (a single case where a husband ended up drenched and silenced).

The Chicago Tribune’s 1900 List

Here’s how the Chicago Tribune ranked the 20 most common weapons women used in 1900, according to police records:

Rank	Weapon	Reports	Notes
1	Broom handles	186	“Sweeping side stroke that can only be ducked.”
2	Knives	102	French kitchen knives especially feared.
3	Stove-lid lifters	79	Heavy, jagged, and often hot.
4	Rolling pins	76	“A woman’s own weapon,” rarely punished in court.
5	Plates & dishes	72	Hot coffee called a “hand grenade.”
6	Hat pins	55	Later regulated by city ordinances.
7	Hair brushes & mirrors	48	Feared more for humiliation than harm.
8	Mopsticks	33	“Humiliating agents.”
9	Revolvers	31	Quick to fire all six shots.
10	Flat irons	29	Cast iron; effective in disputes.
11	Curling irons	12	Hot, dagger-like strikes.
12	Umbrellas & parasols	11	Some women trained with them.
13	Shoes & slippers	9	French heels dangerous, but mocked.
14	Scissors	8	“Ugly wounds” and disinfecting advice given.
15	Forks	6	Rare but obvious improvised weapon.
16	Books	4	Described as “flying apart like a fan.”
17	Potato mashers	3	Left “bits of warm potato in the eyes.”
18	Riding whips	3	Mostly used against other women.
19	Lamps	1	Thrown in hopes of fire insurance payout.
20	Nursing bottles	1	A husband left soaked, case dismissed.

A Reflection of Gender Norms

The article’s closing remarks were backhanded at best:

“If women are not discriminating fighters at all times, they are at least versatile in their choice of weapons.”

To its author, this was tongue-in-cheek. But to us, it reveals something more powerful: women in 1900 were not passive. Denied legal equality and mocked in the press, they nonetheless found ways to protect themselves with the tools at hand.

Conclusion

The Chicago Tribune’s 1900 survey of women’s “favourite weapons” reads like satire, but it stands today as a piece of women’s social history. It captures both the limitations and the resilience of women’s lives at the turn of the century, showing how domestic objects became tools of survival.

Whether with broom handles, hat pins, or teacups of hot coffee, women in 1900 proved they were far from helpless.

---

Sources

• Chicago Tribune, September 16, 1900, Women Armed With Favorite Weapons (public domain)

• Peterson, Audrey C. “Brain Fever in Nineteenth-Century Literature: Fact and Fiction.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 1984.

• Wood County Reporter, March 1910 (hat pin laws and protests)

---