Category:
Hygiene

Laundry Shaming

image

This would be so great if it happened today. Can you imagine the ruckus on social media if some darling tyke came home with an accusatory advertisement pinned to its clothes?

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 30, 2015 - Comments (2)
Category: Family, Hygiene, Advertising, 1930s

Follies of the Madmen #248



Stops spies from sweating during torture.

Posted By: Paul - Mon May 11, 2015 - Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, Spies and Intelligence Services, 1940s

Follies of the Madmen #244



"Oral bad breath" as opposed to what other orifice?

Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 18, 2015 - Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, 1960s

B.O. Gone—Romance Comes!


Source: Radio Mirror magazine, April 1934.

See here and here for other examples posted on WU of the ad industry's campaign to scare everyone into buying products to get rid of unwanted body odor.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 07, 2015 - Comments (8)
Category: Hygiene, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, Advertising, 1930s

Shampooed Hair Art

Photographer Cheuk Lun Lo has drawn inspiration from shampoo, creating a photo series in which he focuses on heads of hair all lathered up and twisted into various shapes. More info at Designboom.





Posted By: Alex - Tue Feb 03, 2015 - Comments (7)
Category: Art, Hygiene, Photography and Photographers, Hair and Hairstyling

The War Against Kissing

Back in 1911, Imogene Rechtin led a campaign against kissing, as leader of the World's Health Organization (which, to clarify, had nothing to do with the UN's World Health Organization, founded in 1948). Her followers wore buttons that read, "Kiss Not." One newspaper at the time remarked, "Judging by the facial features of the presidentess of the cult appearing in the public prints, she is immune without wearing the button."


Cincinnati, Feb. 18 — The World's Health Organization is waging a bitter war against kissing, arguing that the practice is a menace to health. The president of the organization, Mrs. Imogene Rechtin, says that, for instance, the germs of consumption are spread by kissing. The organization has had buttons with the words "Kiss not" imprinted therein, which signify that the wearer is a member of the organization and absolutely refuses to impress his lips against another's. Mrs. Rechtin says: "The work of the World's Health Organization is to show the people that the health of our nation demands that we protect ourselves. Do not kiss sick people. In the case of smallpox the disease shows quickly after infection has taken place, but in consumption it does not, therefore do not kiss any one. You are not sure by looking at a person whether he has consumption or not. He may not know it himself. Sometimes he is able to attend to his regular duties till the last. If with the expenditure of $30,000,000, as was spent last year to conquer consumption, to say nothing of the heartaches for the loved ones gone forever, we could say we are now rid of the disease then the crusade against it would die a natural death, but with all this expenditure we are still in the midst of it. We must be more active, more earnest, go to the source of the supply and stop passing the disease from one to another with our mouths." The pledge of the organization reads as follows: "In order to encourage good health and lessen the spread of consumption I desire to join the World's Health Organization and hereby pledge myself to discourage the custom of kissing on the lips whenever it is in my power."

Posted By: Alex - Mon Feb 02, 2015 - Comments (11)
Category: Hygiene, 1910s

Follies of the Madmen #240



"I'm so dumb I can't even pronounce 'aluminum!'"

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 24, 2015 - Comments (12)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, 1960s, Brain Damage

Radium Spray Liquid Cleaner

From 1909. Can't find much info about this other than the ad itself, so hard to know if it actually had radium in it, or if they were just using the word because it was the buzzword of the day.


via University of Washington Libraries

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 23, 2015 - Comments (7)
Category: Hygiene, 1900s

White Goat Toilet Paper Machine

This was in the news a few years ago. But it was new to me, so perhaps new to you also.

It's a machine, called White Goat, that transforms office paper into toilet paper, in only 30 minutes. Unfortunately, at $100,000, it's not exactly cost effective. But it would have to boost employee morale to know they were wiping their behinds with company reports and the boss's memos. [via techcrunch]



Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 16, 2014 - Comments (17)
Category: Hygiene, Excrement

Shun the Mustache Kiss!

We're now three weeks into Movember. So this seems like timely advice from the Washington Post - Apr 28, 1912.





Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 25, 2014 - Comments (3)
Category: Hygiene, Experiments, 1910s, Hair and Hairstyling

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Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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