Numbered Towels for Hygiene

Somehow this reminds me of the set of seven panties with the days of the week embroidered on them.

I could not find such a product still commercially available, but I did find a DIY version.



Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Domestic, Hygiene, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1960s

Death by Deodorant

Paige Daughtry, 12, is the most recent young person to die from overuse of deodorant. She reportedly used Right Guard deodorant like "it was going out of fashion." She was liberally spraying herself with the stuff in her parent's rented caravan, while the family was on holiday. She sprayed so much that it caused her to pass out, and she couldn't be revived.

As bizarre as it may sound to die from overuse of deodorant, this isn't the first time it's happened. If I had a kid, I don't think I'd let them use the spray stuff. It's toxic. I'd tell them to use solid deodorant, because that kind can't kill you.

Some of the other cases:

1998: 16-year-old Jonathan Capewell from Oldham. He was "a normal, healthy teenager who was not indulging in any form of substance abuse. He was simply overcome by excessive use of anti-perspirants."

2008: 12-year-old Daniel Hurley was "always putting gel on his hair and spraying deodorant." He was found collapsed in a bathroom after having sprayed "copious" amounts of Lynx Vice spray.

2015: 16-year-old Thomas Townsend of Kent was found collapsed, surrounded by 42 cans of deodorant. His mother said, "He would not take showers but would stand there with a deodorant and spray half the can on him."

Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - Comments (6)
Category: Death, Hygiene, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods

Shave the Corpse

Another phrase that would be a great name for a band.

According to the Charles Addams blog, this ad was originally published in January 1912 in Casket and Sunnyside ("The foremost journal of the funeral profession since 1871").

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jul 07, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Death, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1910s

Follies of the Madmen #277

Consider the iconography: woman who forgot to rinse off all the soap bubbles from her bath provokes love and/or lust among male subway riders.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 17, 2016 - Comments (8)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1950s, Men, Women

Follies of the Madmen #264

That young couple is stopping not to admire the tablecloth but to gawk and laugh at the grade-school-dropout, simpleton-style hat worn by Dad.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 10, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Family, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, Headgear, 1950s

Monkey Brand Soap

In the days before Mr. Clean, there was Monkey Brand. Though it seems an odd choice for whatever ad man thought this up to figure that people would associate a grinning monkey with clean dishes.


Source: Sketch Magazine, April 1908

Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 21, 2015 - Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1900s

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

Follies of the Madmen #235

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 19, 2014 - Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1960s, Europe, Cars

Dr. Bouchaud’s Flesh-Reducing Soap

"Will absorb all fatty tissues from any part of the body." I wonder if Dr. Bouchaud was related in any way to Dr. Anton Phibes?


From The Australian Home Journal, June 1926 [via Vintage Ads]

Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 29, 2014 - Comments (7)
Category: Advertising, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1920s

Kaiser Wilhelm Toilet Paper

I knew that it's popular to put politician's faces on toilet paper (for instance, Amazon sells Obama toilet paper as well as Mitt Romney toilet paper), but I didn't realize that these kind of novelty products were being sold even back in World War I. [via Daily Mail]

Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 11, 2014 - Comments (12)
Category: Bathrooms, Baths, Showers and Other Cleansing Methods, 1910s