Hygiene
Minipoo
Minipoo Dry Shampoo was sold from the 1940s until the 1960s. I'm assuming that 'poo' must not have had the same slang meaning back in the 1940s? Otherwise why would a manufacturer choose a name suggesting a small bowel movement?I came across a newspaper column from 1980 commenting on the strangeness of the name. So at least by then the name had started to sound odd to people.
Muncie Evening Press - Mar 19, 1980
I found the Minipoo images at the National Museum of American History website. The very first comment there, posted in 2015, was from a woman, Dolores Mitchell Byrne, claiming to have been the model on the label. I googled her name and found that a woman of the same name won the title of "Miss Subways" back in January 1961. (Paul has posted about this unusual beauty contest here.) She's got a different hairstyle, but I think it's her, the Minipoo model. You can see a more recent photo of her at BrooklynPaper.com.
Dolores Mitchell Byrne, aka 'Miss Subways' - via Facebook
Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 17, 2017 -
Comments (12)
Category: Hygiene, Excrement, Hair and Hairstyling, Slang
Follies of the Madmen #323
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 14, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, Excrement, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1930s
16 Old Ladies Locked in the Lavatory
The artist.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Aug 13, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Humor, Hygiene, Excrement, Music, 1940s
Annie Oakley’s Dandruff Shampoo
Story of its invention here.
Source of second ad.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 06, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Body, Hair and Hairstyling, Head, Hygiene, Advertising, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, Twentieth Century
Follies of the Madmen #317
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jun 03, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, 1960s
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
Follies of the Madmen #310
Mocking the ignorance of your desired customer: always a good move!
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Apr 09, 2017 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Hygiene, 1930s
Death by Deodorant
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
Nullo Deodorant
Still available today.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 02, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Body, Hygiene, 1950s
Downunder Lipstick Glue
Glue for the lips "downunder."More info: NY Post, Forbes, Patent Office
Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 23, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Hygiene, Body Fluids, Blood, Genitals
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction books such as Elephants on Acid. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |