Last Updated on April 28, 2025 by Colby Droscher
Smoking baby powder, glow-in-the-dark watches painted with radium, and lawn darts sharp enough to pierce a skull—some vintage products look more like plot devices from a horror flick than everyday household staples. The 15 items ahead prove that “safety first” wasn’t always the vibe.
1. Asbestos
Once hailed as a miracle material for fireproofing and insulation, asbestos was used in homes, schools, and even clothing. It took decades before the world realized its tiny fibers, when inhaled, could cause fatal lung diseases like mesothelioma.
2. Lead paint
Used for its bright colors and durability, lead-based paint coated walls in homes and schools for years. Parents had no idea that chipping paint could lead to developmental delays and neurological damage in children.
3. Radium watches
Glow-in-the-dark watches once seemed like futuristic gadgets, thanks to radium paint. Factory workers, mostly young women, were encouraged to lick their brushes for precision; many later suffered from radiation poisoning and jaw necrosis.
4. Mercury thermometers
Mercury was once considered the standard for accurate temperature readings, even in children’s thermometers. If one broke, few realized that the silvery liquid was a toxic neurotoxin that could vaporize and linger in the air.
5. Smoking for health
Cigarettes were once marketed as a health product, with doctors appearing in ads endorsing certain brands.
6. Lye-Based hair relaxers
Marketed as miracle smoothers, early relaxers used sodium hydroxide, a corrosive agent. Scalp burns and hair loss were common side effects that weren’t talked about enough.
7. Lead toys for kids
Painted toy soldiers and colorful dolls were often coated in lead paint, making them vibrant but toxic. Children chewing or sucking on these toys were unknowingly ingesting dangerous levels of lead.
8. Tapeworm diet pills
Believe it or not, some people intentionally swallowed tapeworms in pill form to lose weight. The risks were extreme: malnutrition, internal damage, and in some cases, death.
9. Leaded gasoline
For decades, cars ran on gasoline laced with tetraethyl lead, which improved engine performance. That convenience came at a cost; airborne lead contaminated entire cities and damaged children’s developing brains.
10. Baby powder with talc
Used for generations, talc-based powders kept babies dry but often contained asbestos impurities. Long-term use has been linked to ovarian cancer and respiratory issues.
11. Belladonna in teething remedies
Belladonna, also known as deadly nightshade, was once used in teething tablets. It calmed babies, but sometimes too well, causing breathing issues and seizures.
12. Shoe-fitting X-rays
In the early to mid-1900s, shoe stores used X-ray machines to measure foot size. Children would play with these machines, unaware of the radiation exposure to their bones.
13. Ammonia and bleach cleaners
Individually effective, when mixed, they form a toxic gas. Early household cleaning guides often recommended combining cleaners, without warning of the dangerous chemical reaction.
14. Knockout drops
This sedative (chloral hydrate) was used as a sleeping aid and even in children’s medicine.
15. Saccharin in diet products
Once the go-to artificial sweetener, saccharin was linked to cancer in lab rats. It remained on shelves for years before safety labels became mandatory.
Want more jaw-dropping throwbacks? Check out our 20 Forgotten Inventions That Were Way Ahead of Their Time, revisit the era’s odd rules with 20 Outdated Laws Still on the Books, or tour the decade’s lifestyle quirks in 20 Things You’d Instantly Recognize If You Grew Up in the 60s.
