LYSOL

When I was writing yesterday's entry, I looked up the history of Lysol.  I found it quite interesting, to say the least.

Who would have guessed that Lysol ads would have been featured in a Smithsonian Institution exhibition?  Let me not get ahead of myself.  Here's what I found out.

Lysol was introduced in 1889 by a German doctor as an antiseptic disinfectant.  It helped put an end to the cholera epidemic of that year and twenty years later a Spanish flue outbreak as well.  On the downside, drinking Lysol became the number one method of suicide in Australia in 1911.

By 1920, the manufacturers ran out of epidemics to eradicate and put their minds to other uses for their products.  Viola!  Why not a feminine hygiene douche?  Ads were developed that claimed the diluted product would prevent infections and vaginal odors.  Further, if used at the right time, could be effective in birth control or to prevent infection during the birthing process.  OMG!  Maybe that explains my face.

It is these ads that brought it to the Smithsonian.  They are "hilarious and shocking".  Unbelievable!  Be a good wife and look them up for yourself.
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