It's rather common apparently in Europe though, even expected in some countries, like Germany.
On the subject of "crazy things about job-hunting in Europe," I recently learned that in France, it's expected that you hand-write your cover letter, and HR departments employ people who supposedly can figure out a person's personality and work ethic based on their handwriting.
It used to be (depending on the job) common in the UK. Companies stopped asking for it when they realised they were leaving themselves open to discrimination claims.
In Germany, it's still common to provide photographs to your application. Many persons are quite successful to grasp a person's character by just looking at a photo. So depending on your character, it could be either a benefit or a disadvantage to provide a photo.
I've taken a bunch of photos for friends for use in their applications. And it's always the same: if they are shy and introverted, they do look like this in pictures. Same applies to extroverted characters.
It's rather common apparently in Europe though, even expected in some countries, like Germany.
On the subject of "crazy things about job-hunting in Europe," I recently learned that in France, it's expected that you hand-write your cover letter, and HR departments employ people who supposedly can figure out a person's personality and work ethic based on their handwriting.