TIL As late as the 17th century, nannies would jack off their young boy charges to put them to sleep easier.

We have had this one before, and I believe the source was actually dubious, historically. I will see what more I can find.

Edit: The source is called "The Tyranny of Pleasure," written by Jean Claude Guillebaud and Keith Torjoc in 1999. Within that book is the sentence:

"In the 17th century, no one saw anything wrong in the nannies' practice of masturbating little boys to help them sleep."

(page: http://imgur.com/HVZtE)

However, there is no citation for that statement. So, what are they basing it on?

Here is the Google Book link. You can search for 'nannies' there, it's on page 22. But, even the source given has no source for their assertion.

Which, given the strangeness of the claim being made, especially now that it's made it onto Wikipedia, you'd think there'd be a basis for it. Maybe they have a basis, but the source doesn't provide it.