WEIRD stuff from the golden era

[Cricket]

Pulling out pregnant women's teeth *shudders*

My husband and I just found out we were pregnant this week. This idea made my morning sickness return. lol

 

[Miss Scarlet]

Did they do that?!

Eek they did. When you're pregnant sometimes your teeth become loose and in the old days (not sure exactly what decades) dentists would just pull them out. That's how my grandma lost her teeth. It really is yucky.

 

[KittyT]

Hey, they weren't *that* bad -- when you snapped your rotten little brother with one, he *stayed* snapped.

And they were a huge improvement compared to the previously used alternative.

 

[Miss Scarlet]

My husband and I just found out we were pregnant this week. This idea made my morning sickness return. lol

Congratulations!!!! Gosh I'm getting quite broody myself. I'm so sorry to make your morning sickness return. Woopsy . All the best xxx

 

[vitanola]

But at the moment there is no clear evidence that DDT does indeed cause cancer. We only think it might cause cancer, and as far as I know the symptoms of large, short-term exposure are not long term.

I am not saying that DDT is totally harmless, but that when used properly the risk of harm is extremely small. When you compare that miniscule risk with the very real and very large risk of malaria in the 40s I would take the risk of DDT any day.

Malaria?

DDT was also, of course, effective against the insects that spread Typhus (a deadly bacterial disease transmitted by body lice) Yellow Fever, Horse Sickness, Carrion's Disease, Granuolytic Anaplasmosis, Kunjin, Viral Encephalitis, Plague, and many, many other dangerous infections, which were largely eradicated in the days of DDT. Now some are making strong come-backs, witness West Nile Virus.

DDT was also the only truly infallible destroyer of the dreaded Bed Bug, which is now being rapidly re-introduced to the USA.

I suspect that in a few years we shall all once again be sleeping on metal bed-steads.

In its day, DDT semed almost too good to be true, and was terribly over-used. More's the pity, for today even carefully regulated use is impossible here in the 'states.

 

[1961MJS]

DDT was also the only truly infallible destroyer of the dreaded Bed Bug, which is now being rapidly re-introduced to the USA.

I suspect that in a few years we shall all once again be sleeping on metal bed-steads.

Hi

A guy I work with has a relative in LA. He works for the cell phone companies working on the towers. He won't stay in hotels anymore, he brought bed bugs back to his house twice already. They have to freeze them out using liquid nitrogen or something like that. Sounded weird to me.

Later

 

[Cricket]

Congratulations!!!! Gosh I'm getting quite broody myself. I'm so sorry to make your morning sickness return. Woopsy . All the best xxx

lol After I continued to read other posts about it I found myself feeling all my teeth with my tongue to make sure everything was in top shape. I am proud to say that I am good to go. lol

 

[Mr Vim]

DDT, we had to douse our uniforms in that before going to Iraq... no funny side effects thus far.

Oh and I had to take Malaria pills, couldn't donate blood for a year.

Ah, the times I had in the service.

 

[Jedburgh OSS]

You decide if this is weird; I thought so...

I was at an antique mall in Frederick, Maryland recently looking through old magazines. In the June 15, 1942 issue of Life (Vinegar Joe Stilwell on the cover) the photographic essay is on "Negroes at War." A few pages after the end of the article there was an ad for some product with a white man in black face saying something like Stepin Fetchit would have. Ironic if not weird.

 

[tuppence]

Not as serious as DDT
But there seemed to be a craze (in Australia anyway) of styling a babies hair into a mohawk....Maybe to make them look like kewpies. I know it was happening in the 40's

 

[MPicciotto]

Help wanted classifieds in the newspaper specifying "White" or "Colored" occupations.

Uranium or Vaseline glass. Do an eBay search and look at some of the sellers pics under blacklight...

Matt

 

[enigmata-wood]

streamlining

Styling even stationary objects to look like they can go real fast with bullet profiles and tramlining.

 

[Atomic Age]

Help wanted classifieds in the newspaper specifying "White" or "Colored" occupations.

Uranium or Vaseline glass. Do an eBay search and look at some of the sellers pics under blacklight...

Matt

There was also "help wanted male" or "Help wanted female"

Doug

 

[LizzieMaine]

There was also "help wanted male" or "Help wanted female"

Doug

This wasn't just a Golden Era thing -- I can remember seeing those classifications in ads well into the 1980s. It was especially common for health-care job listings -- "Elderly Woman seeks female nurse/companion," things like that.

 

[Joie DeVive]

Eek they did. When you're pregnant sometimes your teeth become loose and in the old days (not sure exactly what decades) dentists would just pull them out. That's how my grandma lost her teeth. It really is yucky.

This was back before prenatal vitamins. If a woman didn't have adequate nutrition, the body will rob itself of nutrients, and often a weakened body will have loose teeth. It was said that a woman would lose a tooth per child or something like that. I suppose they pulled them thinking they were helping the woman, but in all likelihood, some of them might have firmed up after the drain on the body passed. Of course that would be weaning, so she might have lost them anyway....

 

[Shangas]

What always seemed weird to me, was the notion that hiding under your desk with your head between your knees was the best protection during an Air Raid!

Are you thinking of the 1950s "Duck and Cover" advertisements? It was supposed to protect against a nuclear blast...only...it didn't.

And I suspect that it would've been equally useless against a conventional bomb-blast.

 

[MPicciotto]

How about the "Miracle Chemical"s like FREON from the DuPont company. Previously refridgerants fell into three categories. 1. Flammable 2. Toxic and 3. Both Then came FREON. The wonder chemical. Niether toxic nor flammable. Supposedly it was first demonstrated with a salesman or representative of DuPont inhaling a lungful and blowing out a candle with it.

Matt

 

[HadleyH]

Never came across something like this before! 1930s ostrich wearing a throat warmer!:fing28:

 

[MPicciotto]

Ostrich with a throat warmer... DING I think we have a winner!

Matt

 

[Miss Scarlet]

This was back before prenatal vitamins. If a woman didn't have adequate nutrition, the body will rob itself of nutrients, and often a weakened body will have loose teeth. It was said that a woman would lose a tooth per child or something like that. I suppose they pulled them thinking they were helping the woman, but in all likelihood, some of them might have firmed up after the drain on the body passed. Of course that would be weaning, so she might have lost them anyway....

In England if you're pregnant you get free dental care because of the whole loose teeth thing. I've not known any pregnant women to have taken prenatal vitamins. I hope we're not all malnourished in England.