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HISTORY
HISTORY OF HYGIENE Revisiting the Past: This Is What Hygiene Was Like in Colonial America Original article: https://www.pinkpossible.com/trending/colonial-america-syn/ Peter Burgess COMMENTARY Peter Burgess | |||||||||
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Revisiting the Past: This Is What Hygiene Was Like in Colonial America
By Nolan Sandome - 5/10/23
This article appeared in Cleverclassic and has been published here with permission.
We often take our access to good plumbing and a vast selection of cleaning products for granted, not knowing that they were nonexistent during the colonial era. The absence of these hygiene tools made America very unclean, as one English traveler remarked, “filthy, bordering on the beastly”. Today, we’ll be heading back to the colonial era to see their views on personal hygiene.
A Basin of Water and a Wet Cloth
Since plumbing didn’t exist during the colonial era, full-body baths were not expected from the colonials. The only people that ever received such a luxury were children, and it wasn’t given to clean them, instead, to harden them.
A Basin of Water and a Wet Cloth
As for adults, they usually bathed by wiping the dirt off their bare skin with a cloth dipped into a pail of water. It’s similar to how you’d wipe stains off your shelf.
Outhouses
This fact might be obvious, but during the colonial era, houses had outhouses nearby, and chamber privy pots indoors for excretion. Unfortunately, these chambers were emptied by throwing their content out the window whenever it was full.
Outhouses
Sadly, these human waste found its way into streams, lakes, and rivers, resulting in the contamination of drinking water and spreading of diseases. This lack of an efficient disposal system led to the death of many colonials.
Ear and Teeth Cleaning Tool
Archaeologists recently uncovered a silver earpick that dates back to the 17th century which was most likely used to clean the ear, nails, teeth, and many other body parts.
Ear and Teeth Cleaning Tool
You might think that this tool has only one useful part; however, it comes with several points for various tasks. The primary end is a scooping tool, while other smaller sections can be used to clean several parts of the body like the fingernails and teeth.
Powdered Wigs
Photos and paintings of the colonial era often depict men from the upper class with white wigs. Well, history reveals that these headpieces have quite a story.
Powdered Wigs
Lice infestation was a common problem in the colonial era, and the best solution was to shave your hair and cover the baldness with a wig made from animal fur. However, these Wigs also attracted lice and other insects because of the pomade and products used to treat them. It was a literal war on bugs.
Soap for the Dishes and Laundry
Unlike today, bathing soaps were a luxury possessed only by wealthy colonials. The only detergent available to commoners was Lye soup – made from a mixture of animal fat, ash, and lye.
Soap for the Dishes and Laundry
Unfortunately, this soap was too harsh for regular bathing and too expensive to waste that only the dishes and the dirtiest laundry – underwear, diapers, and aprons – were qualified for washing. This attitude shouldn’t be surprising since the colonials didn’t care much about hygiene.
Shaving Was Exclusive to Men
The majority of men weren’t interested in trimming hair from any part of their body until the late 18th century. During that time, barbers were primarily men of color who only rendered services to individuals of the same gender.
Shaving Was Exclusive to Men
As for women, there is no evidence revealing that they shaved. The possibility of women shaving by themselves is low since they risk having a bloodbath if the procedure is done incorrectly.
Settlers Complained About “Vermins”
Upon visiting Jamestown, Captain John Smith instantly became disappointed with the environment because it was infested with what he describes as “noisy creatures” – mostly flies, mosquitos, lice, and cockroaches.
Settlers Complained About “Vermins”
The colonists also battled with lice and fleas as they were a daily discovery on garments. Some missionaries like George Henry Loskiel complained about a massive bug that’s locally dubbed “living ashes” because it’s bite stings like a hot coal.
Dysentery Was Common
As I mentioned previously, there was no proper sanitation, and outhouses were often near water sources. Therefore, disease was the norm of the day throughout the colonies. Children and adults regularly developed illnesses like cholera, dysentery, and typhoid fever.
Dysentery Was Common
This problem was so significant that it made an appearance in one of the biggest moments in history; nearly two-thirds of George Washington’s army perished of typhoid, dysentery, influenza, and other infectious diseases.
Female Body Odor
As previously stated, opinions regarding hygiene was not uninform during the colonial era, so people cleaned themselves in whatever way they pleased. Nevertheless, doctors advised women to wash regularly to avoid diseases that might affect their reproductive organs.
Female Body Odor
Unfortunately, society didn’t share the same views with the doctors as many – including founding father Thomas Jefferson, who encouraged women (especially his daughter) to defend themselves against men by being offensive to the nose.
Families Bathed in the Same Tub of Water
While bathing wasn’t a daily routine during the colonial era, colonials took some time within the week or month to wash thoroughly. This process required colonists to draw water from the well, warm it with fire, and transfer it to a portable bathtub made of wood.
Families Bathed in the Same Tub of Water
After all that was done, the family each took turns bathing in the same tub of water. This method wasn’t done by every single American, but it’s a practice that was very common.
Everyone Took the Same Number of Baths
Personal Hygiene wasn’t a big deal during the colonial era, so people – irrespective of their social status – took the same number of baths per year. However, wealthy people wore more oversized robes and had fragrances which contributed to masking whatever body odor they might possess.
Everyone Took the Same Number of Baths
On the other hand, poor people couldn’t afford multiple clothes and fragrances, causing them to smell less pleasant that individuals in the upper class. However, this wasn’t a problem since no one was expected to smell rosey.
Toilet Clothes
During the 18th century, the majority of women wore massive gowns with a lot of hoops or bustles. This outfit was challenging to take off; therefore, undressing to use the toilet wasn’t an option.
Toilet Clothes
Fortunately, their knickers – underwear – had a split crotch area, allowing the women to hover over the pit latrine or bowl and ease themselves down instead of undressing completely. Obviously, the women had to be careful while executing this procedure to prevent themselves from making a mess.
Once a Month Wash
Due to religious influence, a woman’s hair was considered to be her “crowning glory”, therefore, the longer and healthier it looked, the better.
Once a Month Wash
However, their method for keeping the hair healthy involved washing it only once a month – twice, if one has overly oily hair. This routine was used to preserve the hair’s natural oil as detergents often left the hair and scalp dry. This dryness was due to the detergent being made with a harsh substance called “Lye”.
People Preferred to Mask Their Body Odor
Since bathing wasn’t a popular component of the colonial era, people considered alternative methods to go about their day without smelling terrible.
People Preferred to Mask Their Body Odor
For prestigious women, the best option was to buy either cologne or perfume; while the less wealthy ones opted for cheap scented powder, which also absorbed moisture. For men, the most common solution was bay rum; a unique smell that’s the result of combining spices and perfume with rum.
No Toothbrushes
The toothbrush is an invention that occurred during the mid 18th century, and before that time, people cleaned their teeth using all sorts of methods.
No Toothbrushes
Some included rinsing the mouth thoroughly with water to remove food particles and saliva, rubbing the teeth with a damp cloth, or driving an herbal chewing stick around the teeth to clean the dirt and get reasonably fresh breath. Although these methods were fairly sufficient to clean the teeth, it wasn’t as effective as today’s toothbrush.
Fatal Water
During the colonial era, it was a common belief that exposing one’s skin to excessive water can be fatal because the water will seep into the skin and drown the individual from within. For this reason, people either submerged themselves in water briefly or wore clothes during the process.
Fatal Water
Fortunately, this ridiculous belief ended during the mid 18th century as the Enlightenment period revealed the health benefits of exposing bare skin to both water and sunlight; thereby creating a new perspective on the topic of hygiene.
Bathhouses Weren’t Primarily for Bathing
By the mid 18th century, bathhouses were already a part of the citizens’ daily lives; however, they weren’t created for bathing. Instead, they were a type of medicinal cure and a creative way for wealthy individuals to relax during a tedious day.
Bathhouses Weren’t Primarily for Bathing
In fact, the royal governor of the Colony of Virginia often used bathhouses to cool off on hot days during the 1770s. Most of these bath chambers were similar to the ones used by the Romans a few centuries ago.
Underwear Cleaned the Body?
Amongst the many beliefs regarding hygiene during the colonial era, the idea that one’s underwear was the agent that cleaned the body was prevalent. Several commoners and wealthy individuals held their underwear in high regards, thinking that it absorbed their body’s impurities.
Underwear Cleaned the Body?
For this reason, people displayed a little part of their linen underwear so that others could see their moral purity. The concept that moral uprightness was measured by one’s attire can also be seen in the clergymen who wore a white color.
Clean Bed Linens
We can admit that the colonial era wasn’t as blissful as it seemed in Disney’s animated movie, Pocahontas, but it gets even weirder further down this list.
Clean Bed Linens
During the 1600s, Puritans thought that the neatness of their bed linens was tied directly to their body’s cleanliness. In fact, the majority considered going to bed without taking off one’s clothes to be unhygienic and immoral. In other words, you’d have to sleep in the nude just to having clean bedsheets.
The Native People’s Oral Health
While the Europeans who came over had poor oral hygiene, the Native people kept their teeth healthy through various methods. These include rubbing charcoal on the teeth, chewing minty herbs for fresh breath, brushing with a chewing stick, and many more.
Native People’s Oral Health
In addition to their poor oral health, the Europeans had a diet that was incredibly detrimental to their teeth. One of the major culprits was their irresponsible consumption of sugar in their tea.
The Native Americans’ Personal Hygiene
Native Americans knew that bathing the entire body is an effective way to stay healthy and protect against diseases. Therefore, they washed openly in streams & rivers and used leaves and other crude methods to scrub themselves clean.
The Native Americans’ Personal Hygiene
Additionally, they disagreed with the colonials regarding hygiene methods, especially the handkerchief. They saw the item as a disgusting accessory since the idea of carrying your mucus around was unsettling.
European Diseases Wiped Out the Natives
History suggests that European diseases were responsible for killing off 90 percent of the Native people living in coastal New England. These diseases multiplied due to the poor bathing habits of the colonials.
European Diseases Wiped Out the Natives
Unfortunately, the disease continued to kill millions of Native Americans for decades after 1620 when the Pilgrims arrived. This historical fact is proof of what poor hygiene and bad sanitation can do if it occurs on a large scale.
Water Was Barely Associated With Cleanliness
It might be impossible to imagine, but Louis XIV is said to have only taken three baths in his entire lifetime. This fact isn’t a surprise since we already established that bathing wasn’t a common practice in the 17th century.
Water Was Barely Associated With Cleanliness
People often washed their hands face, and feet, but rarely submerged themselves into the water. In fact, it was a common belief that undressing completely and submerging oneself into the water was both unhealthy and immodest.
Persuading the Colonials to Wash
The Colonials didn’t produce a pleasant smell due to their poor personal Hygiene. This odor was so repulsive to the Native Americans that they tried persuading them to wash frequently. Obviously, this effort yielded zero results.
Persuading the Colonials to Wash
This fact was recorded in a 1965 biography written by a Mayflower pilgrim who recently arrived in Plymouth. If only the colonials had listened to the Native Americans, they would have saved themselves the continuous ailments and deaths.
Syphilis Was a Prevalent Disease
During the 1400s, the Spaniards arrived on the shore of the new world and unconsciously brought Syphilis as well. It didn’t take long for the disease to spread throughout the camp due to their lack of personal hygiene. But, it didn’t end there.
Syphilis Was a Prevalent Disease
The disease evolved into an epidemic, and since doctors couldn’t do much at that time, it remained the 4th leading cause of death until world War II.
Native Americans Had Healthier Teeth
Since Native Americans had excellent oral health care routines, they had better and healthier teeth than the Europeans whose teeth were stained and corroded.
Native Americans Had Healthier Teeth
Their teeth were so healthy that they could be traded for money to wealthy colonials – like George Washington – who needed a new set of dentures. Speaking of Washington, the rumors regarding his wooden teeth are false; his teeth consisted of gold, metal, and other non-organic materials.
Poor Conditions Resulted in Medical Progress
Poor Conditions Resulted in Medical Progress
Due to the increased spread of diseases, doctors had to invent faster and more effective methods to cure patients. Additionally, surgeons became more efficient – due to the war – as there was no shortage of patients to test and refine new methods.
Infants Weren’t Bathed for Cleanliness
Modern-day hospitals consider it compulsory to bathe newborn babies for cleanliness and the prevention of potential bacterial growth. However, things were slightly different for mothers in the colonial era.
Infants Weren’t Bathed for Cleanliness
Although mothers in the colonial era bathed their children regularly, their aim wasn’t to clean the child but to “harden” them against future diseases and other ailments. In other words, they thought bathing their children worked like a vaccine or a form of immunization.
Women Couldn’t Shave
As previously mentioned, shaving in the colonial era was the job of professional barbers who were also men of color, and no one dared to shave for fear of having a bloodbath. This unfortunate fact made shaving – for women – almost impossible, resulting in them trimming their hair by plucking them off.
Women Couldn’t Shave
They also used depilatory creams made of limestone and arsenic to remove hair from unwanted places. While some women just left the hair to grow continually, which wasn’t a problem since they were always fully clothed.
The Cure for Baldness
Similar to today, men from the colonial era sought many ways to save their gradually balding heads. One standard method was to rub a mixture of chicken poop and potassium on the head to stimulate hair growth. Talk about desperation!
The Cure for Baldness
Rest assured, the method was grossly ineffective, and you can tell by the bald patches on the heads of many men throughout history – like William Shakespeare. One can’t help but wonder how long it took before they realized its ineffectiveness.
Strange Cough Remedies
Before the continuous flow of patients that caused the development of medicine, doctors tried to cure coughs with a concoction containing one pound of sugar and one pound of active snails. Not snail slime, but living, breathing snails.
Strange Cough Remedies
They believed that the slime would coat the walls of the throat; therefore, curing the cough completely. But similar to the previous remedy involving chicken poop and potassium, this strange method was ineffective as well.
Crocodile Dung as a Contraceptive
Among the many mythical birth control methods, crocodile excrement ranks high on the list. It involved fertile women molding the reptile’s dung and inserting it into their baby maker to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Crocodile Dung as a Contraceptive
This laughable method was a common practice among young women and married mothers in search of ways to prevent fertilization. Fortunately, medicine stepped into the picture and opened people’s eyes, causing the procedure to gradually become irrelevant.
Makeshift Sanitary Pads
Women are undeniably a special creation and they need to receive extra special care monthly. Unfortunately, since sanitary products are a modern invention, women in the colonial era had to make their tampons and pads with materials in their immediate environment.
Makeshift Sanitary Pads
Methods included absorbing the discharge with a folded cloth or pulling out moss from the forest floor to act as an artificial sanitary pad. Obviously, this practice didn’t yield beautiful results as it resulted in infections and bacteria growth.
Sickening Beauty
During the 18th century, the primary component that society used to measure a woman’s beauty was the paleness of her skin. This isn’t a strange criteria, since it’s still prevalent in places like Korea.
Sickening Beauty
However, the problem with this standard was that it led women to purchase and apply chalk powder to make their face appear whiter, while others went as far as ingesting chalk, which did make them pale, but only because they were sick.
Rotting Teeth Was a Symbol of Wealth
Since sugar was a luxury available to individuals of the upper class, they suffered the consequences of having sugar-rotted teeth. Keep in mind that this rot was also the result of their excessive herbal tea and poor oral hygiene.
Rotting Teeth Was a Symbol of Wealth
While this was an unhealthy oral condition, it was considered to be a symbol of wealth as many also faked having the disease to look wealthy. They could do so by coloring their teeth brown or washing them continuously with lye soup.
Unscientific Birth Control
From using body odor as a defense mechanism against men, to inserting crocodile dung as a form of contraceptive, we can conclude that the colonial era wasn’t a blissful time for women. One of their unscientific contraceptives featured a brew made of questionable ingredients.
Unscientific Birth Control
This mixture includes a Canadian tea that was brewed from the genitals of male beavers. No one knows the science behind this concoction, but we can all agree that it makes our stomachs churn.
Poor Hygiene = Sin
While doctors were conflicted on personal hygiene, religion chipped in to offer its ideology on the subject. It claimed that uncleanliness was directly linked to sin and the devil.
Poor Hygiene = Sin
This opinion seems to be an excerpt from the Bible where the Israelites had to wash before appearing before the almighty. Unfortunately, this claim had some moral implications, causing people to limit their association with individuals who bathed less frequently.
George Washington’s Filthy Soldiers
During the Revolutionary War, George Washington knew that personal hygiene was essential to preventing the spread of diseases, so he ordered his men to wash regularly. However, these commands fell on deaf ears as the soldiers ignored them because they were a hassle to obey.
George Washington’s Filthy Soldiers
Fortunately, George Washington was able to maintain camp cleanliness with the help of “camp followers” – women who assisted the soldiers with cooking, cleaning, and other essential services.
Anyone Could Pull a Tooth Out
Since there were no American dentists during the colonial era, removing a toothache would require you to visit a skilled adult such as the blacksmith, barber, apothecary, or surgeon.
Anyone Could Pull a Tooth Out
The unique tool these individuals used for teeth removal consisted of natural remedies like alcohol, figs, and opium to numb the aching tooth or extract it. Obviously, these procedures were dangerous and often led to the teeth becoming infected for several months, even years.
George Washington Bought Teeth
It’s no surprise to see George Washington appear multiple times in this list since he was a significant figure during the Colonial era. It might be impossible to imagine, but according to George Washington’s ledger, he paid six pounds and two shillings to “Negros for nine Teeth on Acct of Dr Lemoin”.
George Washington Bought Teeth
While this act might seem gruesome and revolting, it was a common practice among poor folks who traded their healthy teeth in exchange for money. History records that Washington struggled with his teeth throughout his life.
30 Ads From the Past That Could Never Be Advertised Today
By Susie Green –
Your Kind Aren’t Welcome Here
Today, society is a lot more inclusive of different types of people, even though it still has a long way to go. Today, the notion that people have different body types is actually acknowledged, even though it isn’t always accepted.
Your Kind Aren’t Welcome Here
Back in the day, not so much. Targeting the physical insecurities of people whose bodies fell outside of society’s strict standards was quite common at the time. Advertisers routinely played on people’s insecurities in order to sell questionable products.
Completely Unnecessary Accent
Speaking of inclusivity, the modern era is also more accepting of the fact that people have different accents or speak different languages. This ad went so far as to try and write text in a way that emulated an accent, likely not for a good reason.
Completely Unnecessary Accent
Aside from the racist implication that all Puerto Ricans sound like this when speaking English, it just seems unnecessary. Is a customer going to be more likely to buy your product because you went out of your way to alter the text in this fashion?
Two for the Price of One
Some ads in the past were so good at being bad they even managed to be offensive in multiple ways! This Navy recruitment ad not only implies that being a man is better than being a woman (societally speaking it probably was, let’s be honest), but that you also aren’t a real man if you aren’t willing to join the Navy.
Two for the Price of One
Thankfully, the military has since come to realize that there is a lot of potential in groups of people that were once considered undesirable for service.
Kind of Looks Like a Threat
The good news is that not all ads from the past are offensive. Some of them are just weirdly creepy! Take this ad about pork and beans, for instance. There aren’t any enticing words of sale on display, but there is this creepy kid who looks like he’ll hurt you if you don’t buy the product.
Kind of Looks Like a Threat
We like to think that advertisers would think twice about including such a scary-looking child in their ads. We’re sure they realized that having such a creepy mascot wouldn’t work wonders for business.
Cool Story Yawiga, But Why?
It’s not that all ads from the past are socially unacceptable, but some of them just didn’t make any sense. Past ads had a strange tendency to tie completely unrelated things together. For instance, this ad for the GameBoy Color.
Cool Story Yawiga, But Why?
Why is this Yawiga Kanawi guy singing the praises of its graphics? Not that Yawiga doesn’t have the right to enjoy video games if he wants to, but it feels like they were just shoehorning in an ethnic minority, doesn’t it?
How Soon Is Too Soon?
As science has evolved, we see how advertisers from the past may have spread erroneous information through their ads. This ad, for example, tried to convince parents that soda is good for kids. Not just alright to consume, but actively beneficial to their development.
How Soon Is Too Soon?
Of course, you couldn’t push an ad like this one today, not in the least because the information it is spreading is actually false. While advertisements today aren’t always completely, there is far more accountability when it comes to an ad’s content.
Even if You Can’t Use It
Ads like this one fall into the realm of just being utterly strange. Most ads try to sell their product by targeting an audience who could benefit from the product itself. This one decided it was going to instead cater to people who can’t even use the product in the first place.
Even if You Can’t Use It
We’re all for inclusivity, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that a product has to cater to everyone, because not everyone can or will use it. It’s just a strange advertising technique.
The Miracle Magic of Cola
Coca-Cola may just be an immensely popular brand of soda today, but in the past, ads praised it for being some sort of magical substance that could cure almost any problem. In fact, it was considered a “tonic” at one point, being likened to actual medicine that could really treat problems.
The Miracle Magic of Cola
These days you probably wouldn’t see an ad for soda claiming to cure physical and mental ills like this. Today, thankfully, we know that while soda can be delicious, it does not possess any medical benefits.
Can the Chef Save Your Marriage?
It’s easy enough to see just how poorly-treated women were with the types of ads that were floating around. This one oh so casually reminds everyone that women belong in the kitchen with the sole role of cooking for their men.
Can the Chef Save Your Marriage?
The now antiquated notion would certainly never be seen in an ad today. A lot of women still cook for their families, but it should be seen as something to be grateful for, not something to take for granted and just assume as the woman’s obligation.
The Way the World Used to Be
Unfortunately, a lot of ads from the past are pretty offensive to women, because it really was a man’s world back then. While there is still obvious discrimination against women, we like to think ads today wouldn’t be able to get away with ads as blatantly offensive as this.
The Way the World Used to Be
A woman being displayed in an obviously subservient position would get a company “canceled” in no time today. Thankfully, advertisers have generally put an end to offensive ads like this one.
Well That’s a Little Insulting
This is not the first, nor the last time, that there will be an offensive advertisement on this list. Unfortunately, there were just a lot of ads like that in the past. This one is oddly enough going out of its way to imply that people who don’t use this company’s deodorant are dumb.
Well That’s a Little Insulting
Well, maybe it’s not an implication so much as an outright statement. One way or another, you wouldn’t see an ad today that literally calls people stupid for not using their product.
Girl-Sized Pens
This ad may actually be a bit of a misnomer because unfortunately, you can still find ads like this today – there is still an industry of pointlessly- gendered products. Because, you know, heaven forbid a woman use the same size pen as a man.
Girl-Sized Pens
Sure, there’s no denying that men tend to have larger hands than women on average, but we’ve yet to see that play a huge role in how people write. It’s a little crazy, the things companies considered as a good idea back in the day.
Seems Like a Pretty Dangerous Message
The past sure had a lot of ads involving babies and dangerous or unhealthy objects. Maybe people just didn’t care about the safety of their children as much back in the day. That’s probably not true, but do you think you would ever see an ad today that includes a baby with a razor?
Seems Like a Pretty Dangerous Message
People nowadays seem more aware of the fact that babies are very accident-prone and you certainly don’t want them to get their hands on anything that could be remotely dangerous to them.
Where’s a Man When You Need One?
Because it’s from the era of “women belong in the kitchen,” it’s implied that the woman is the one doing all of the cooking on a regular basis. It’s also implying, however, that women couldn’t open cooking products before. Kind of a mixed message, isn’t it?
Where’s a Man When You Need One?
Surely, there are some lids and caps that require assistance from someone stronger from time to time, but the notion that a woman was incapable of opening a ketchup bottle prior to this design is both ludicrous and insulting. Unfortunately, such ads were pretty commonplace.
Say Goodbye to Depression
Therapy wasn’t exactly a common practice back in the day, so the cures for mental issues like depression often lay somewhere in the realm of the ridiculous. As seen with some other ads on this list, you could claim almost anything you wanted about your product back then.
Say Goodbye to Depression
Turns out that serious mental health issues like depression require a little more nuanced approach than just pouring a glass of a questionable substance.
A Failed Attempt at Inclusivity
Some ads in the past did actually try to be inclusive, but the way they went about it was often quite undesirable. This ad is a perfect example of a company trying to be inclusive to people of sizes greater than the fashion industry standard at the time.
A Failed Attempt at Inclusivity
Unfortunately, they identified said people by calling them “chubbies,” which kind of ruins the whole thing. It’s hard to make someone feel included if you are insulting them while offering that inclusion.
Haunting Hot Dogs
We don’t know what it was about ads back then, but the way they drew people sometimes was truly mind-boggling. How were people at the ballgame not bothered by this creepy ad? Or did they all just choose to ignore it lest it haunts their nightmares?
Haunting Hot Dogs
Seriously, if you make eye contact with any of the people on this poster, they may just steal your soul. It’s a good thing that the people in charge of advertisements these days finally determined what looks good and what is incredibly creepy and unsettling.
Probably Not What a Little Girl Wants to Hear
There’s technically nothing wrong with eating horsemeat. There are many animals that would be perfectly fine to eat, but society likes the animal in question, so they just don’t do it. Our issue with this ad isn’t so much the product being advertised, but the way it is being advertised.
Probably Not What a Little Girl Wants to Hear
We’re just saying, ponies tend to be a favorite animal of little girls, and we can’t imagine them being happy to eat their favorite animal. Everyone likes to know what they are eating and everyone has preferences.
Blinded by the Light
Back in the day, advertisers didn’t care to back up their claims with science or studies. There were many things considered “good” for babies that we wouldn’t dream of advocating today. For instance, we know today that holding your baby under a sun lamp is probably a bad idea.
Blinded by the Light
It’s a little odd anyway, since babies back then probably got plenty of sunlight all the time, seeing as how society was more active outdoors as a whole back then. Either way, you probably won’t see ads of this nature these days.
The More You Know
Speaking of science being inaccurate in the past, there was a time when DDT, an infamous pesticide, was considered very good for everyone, plants and humans alike. Ads all over the place were advocating the incredible benefits of DDT, unaware of how harmful the chemicals really were.
The More You Know
We suppose we can’t blame advertisement agencies though, because even scientists took several decades to realize that DDT was actually extremely dangerous. You definitely won’t see any ads praising DDT these days.
The Curves of Youth
Society has always been obsessed with beauty, and you will still see many ads today pushing for men and women alike to conform to society’s vision of beauty. But the types of products advertised these days tend to be a bit more reasonable than this thing here.
The Curves of Youth
We’re not sure how much actual science went into the strange contraption displayed in this ad, but you’d be hard-pressed to find something that looks so medieval in a modern ad. You could definitely find plenty of other gimmicky tools and products though.
This Ad Belongs in the Past
Women belonging in the kitchen by default is an antiquated notion for sure, but unfortunately, it was very widespread back in the day. So widespread that it was normal to mention such a notion in public and even place it on ads like this one.
This Ad Belongs in the Past
Needless to say, there would be much-justified outrage if an ad like this came out today, so it’s very unlikely that you would ever see one. It’s just too bad that there are still people out there who believe this kind of ridiculous nonsense.
Not as Subtle as They Think
It may not be immediately apparent why this old ad is troubling, but you just have to spend a bit of time analyzing it to see the problem. The implication that women are bad drivers who can’t handle normal size cars and thus need simpler, easier-to-operate cars isn’t that subtle if you ask us.
Not as Subtle as They Think
Some people might say that we’re reaching, but the fact that this ad doesn’t even show the car in question makes it obvious that they are focusing on the nervous female driver as their selling point.
Everything Expected of a Woman at the Time
If you wanted a double whammy of an ad from the troubling past, check this one out. There’s certainly not too much to get confused about here, since the ad (we’re not even sure what it is promoting) outright states that a woman is expected to be a maid while also being conventionally physically attractive.
Everything Expected of a Woman at the Time
Not that there’s anything wrong with cleaning or with exercise, but that’s really the type of thing that should be a person’s choice, rather than something that society is constantly pushing as their obligation.
Is This a Honeypot Trap?
The longer you look at this ad, the worse it gets overall. From the idea that a leap year means one extra day for a girl to nab a man, to the idea that marriage is a prison in which you trap someone, and finally, the notion that you have to trick and lure someone into that trap.
Is This a Honeypot Trap?
We wish we could say that all of these ideas are antiquated and never seen, but unfortunately, there are still a lot of people today who really do think these types of things about marriage.
Friendly Reminder of Your Place
This ad goes out of its way to remind women about who’s in charge of their lives — whilst also trying to sell pants for some reason. We understand that they are talking about pants so a hook that has to do with pants seems fitting, but this still seems like a completely unnecessary way to sell them.
Friendly Reminder of Your Place
You almost certainly wouldn’t see an ad like this one in the modern era, not so subtly pushing for people to fit into certain demeaning molds.
The Perfect Reason to Buy a Washer and Dryer?
Some of these old ads just really focused on the concept of women as home keepers and little else. This ad makes it pretty clear that the main reason you would want to buy a washer and dryer is for your wife.
The Perfect Reason to Buy a Washer and Dryer?
We do actually understand that men often had to work pretty tough jobs back in the day, but still, the implication that cleaning clothes is a woman’s job and that a washer and dryer exists only to benefit her is a little insulting regardless.
Oh, What a Burden
The further back you go in the history of ads, the more uncomfortable things get. This ad is far enough in the past to actually use the phrase “the white man’s burden.” We probably don’t need to tell anyone why that would be unacceptable today.
Oh, What a Burden
And that’s to say nothing about the incredibly racist and offensive notion that soap or even the idea of cleanliness is something that white people have to spread to other races and cultures. Unfortunately, there were many offensive ads like this.
Nothing Beats a Beating
The debate over physical punishment of children still rages on today, but there’s no denying that in the past, even what passed as physical punishment was a lot different. Corporal punishment was so normal that ads even referenced it when trying to sell products!
Nothing Beats a Beating
Needless to say, an ad that so casually talks about beating children would definitely not fly today. Besides, you really have to ask yourself — of all the ways you could advertise tea, is this really the most relevant way to do it?
This Might Be an Exception, Guys
You know those ads that force you to ask whether or not someone even took a second look at it before it was approved? This is definitely one of those ads. Of all the things you could wrap up in it, a baby is probably the worst possible option.
This Might Be an Exception, Guys
There’s not a chance you see a baby inside of a plastic bag or something in an ad today unless it was specifically calling out that such a thing was bad.
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