History of Sorts

I know the W.H.O keeps changing their minds on what is and isn’t healthy, but throughout the years there have been ad campaigns claiming that things were healthy which we now can safely assume that they weren’t

The above poster an ad for an asbestos pad for the dining table. We know now that asbestos powder can cause cancer when ingested or breathed in.

This is one example that presents terrible advice for modern viewers, but good advice for people at the time. While modern alkaline batteries are toxic and should not be burned, through the late 1950s, most people used zinc batteries that burned harmlessly in a fire.

A 1930s ad promoting the false idea that bad skin is caused by internal toxins and can only be cured by ingesting yeast.

An 1800s advertisement for stramonium cigarettes used to treat asthma. We now of course know that inhaling smoke can intensify the symptoms of asthma.

Coca-Cola ad that tells readers to give their children the drink at a young age.

Ad for a tonic wine that is claimed to cure depression

A children’s painting book that encourages the use of lead paint. The ingestion of lead paint b children has been found, in recent decades, to cause many developmental diseases.

Ad for a milk of magnesia that promotes it as a cure for “feeling like you’re smoking too much.”

Advertisement portraying vitamin-filled donuts as healthy

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