The Pathology and Anatomy Museum in Vienna houses a peculiar exhibit - the 'plica polonica', or so-called 'Polish quill'. This is an ancient medical-hygienic phenomenon consisting of a permanent entanglement of the hair into a hard, clumped bundle, glued together by sebum and exudate secretion, often as a result of lice and lack of care.

For centuries, the hair was a source of superstition: it was believed that cutting it off could cause illness, loss of sight or reason, so many peasants grew it on purpose as protection against evil forces. There were also cases of the deliberate creation of quills - similar to modern dreadlocks - especially in Mazovia and Polesia.

This phenomenon was considered typically Polish in old Prussia and was called "Weichselzopf", or "braid from the Vistula". It was not until the 19th century that physicians such as Józef Dietl and Alexander Antoni Le Brun began to combat this superstition, proving that the pigtail was not a disease, but the result of neglected hygiene.

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