Vintage Products That Might Kill You

Over at BuzzFeed, I just came across this hysterical and disturbing post by Donna D., also known as Mildly Amused on Tumblr and Twitter. She unearthed 15 vintage magazine and newspaper advertisements, book texts, and bottle labels recommending products that could be downright deadly if used wrong—or, in some cases, at all.

My favorites include the sack for carrying your dog outside the car, and the “chlorides” apparently you were supposed to sprinkle across your rug before your baby crawled across it. Don’t miss the absurd ads for beer and tobacco, the antique heroin bottle, and the creative firefighting equipment. Perhaps most creepy is the ad for “Undark,” which lists all the things that were coated with the radioactive substance, including watches and clocks, elevator buttons, bedroom slippers, house numbers, compasses, and auto gauges. Beware though: More than a third of these put babies in disastrous scenarios. It’s quite a damper on nostalgia.

Look for us on BuzzFeed now, if you do that sort of thing!