UNBELIEVABLE: Fascinating vintage products - Caught on Camera

The past was really a different time, and these ads reflect that pretty well. Among other things that would surprise us today, magazines and TV were rampant with smoking and cigarette ads. Back in the day, people really didn’t think that smoking was that bad for your health. In fact, thousands of doctors endorsed smoking.

“Camel” had a whole ad campaign where “physicians” would tell people that smoking was good for you and very, very cool. Unlike products that were endorsed by celebrities, athletes, and other famous people, the “Camel” ads would feature generic “doctors” who were really actors.

Real physicians could risk losing their license if they endorsed smoking. Nevertheless, the American Medical Association didn’t condemn the campaigns, since they portrayed doctors ina favorable light and there were years of collaboration with the cigarette industry.

Another brand that we’re quite familiar with today that had questionable advertising strategies is Lysol. Back in the day, the disinfectant company was inviting women to use their product as a contraceptive. In fact, in their ads, they marketed it as a feminine hygiene product, as the ads read: “I use Lysol always for douching.”

Today, the thought of using such a product would make any woman’s skin crawl, but even more so because, back in the day, Lysol used to contain cresol, a phenol compound that causes inflammation, burning, and even loss of life. “By 1911 doctors had recorded 193 Lysol poisonings and five [passings] from uterine irrigation. Despite reports to the contrary, Lysol was aggressively marketed to women as safe and gentle,” according to Mother Jones.

Panda parents, how do you deal with a teething baby or an infant who just won’t stop crying? Well, back in the day, there was this product, Mrs. Winslow’s soothing syrup. It sounds pretty innocent, doesn’t it? Yet, the main ingredient certainly wasn’t: it contained 65mg of morphine per ounce.

If that weren’t enough, the manufacturers also put a dash of alcohol in there, just to make sure that the teething baby doesn’t grind its parents’ gears. The product contributed to infant mortality, mostly because around 1.5 million parents would buy it annually, until it was condemned by the American Medical Association in 1911.

The craziness doesn’t end there. In the first half of the 20th century, people were obsessed with using radioactive materials in medicine and beauty. One such miracle elixir was Radithor, which essentially was radioactive water — a toxic solution of radium dissolved in water. Yet, the miracle cure did nothing else but poison the poor souls who consumed it.

One man, Ebenezer McBurney Byers, took three times the prescribed dose and, after three years of use, had his teeth fall out, his jaw removed, and holes form in his brain and skull. In 1932, he finally passed from radium poisoning.

Today, 7Up is one of the most popular sodas in the world, especially in the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. But in 1929 (then called Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda), it contained lithium citrate. To those unfamiliar with pharmacology, that’s a medicine prescribed for patients with Bipolar Disorder, depression, and those who have manic episodes to stabilize their mood. Such a soft drink definitely wouldn’t fly today.

Which one of these ads was the wildest in your opinion, Pandas? Did any of them shock you, or have you seen enough vintage advertisements that nothing shocks you anymore? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! And if you’d like to see more unhinged ads, check out these funny marketplace listings and these hilarious advertising fails.