Mother, I feel so happy and contented when your lady parts are fresh.

This 1926 advertisement would be odd under any circumstances, since it links a mother’s feminine hygiene to the degree of happiness her children will experience. But it seems even more unusual because the feminine hygiene product being sold is Lysol disinfectant. Yup, the stuff we today use today to disinfect toilets and sinks. Maybe everyone else is familiar with the history of this product, but I had no idea that Lysol was used as a douche. And while this ad doesn’t endorse it, a post-ciotal cleansing with Lysol was used for several decades as a birth control method. Ladies, please don’t try any of this at home. An excerpt from the ad copy:

“Just being a mother is a job with twenty-four hour shifts seven days a week.  There are some mothers who succeed so well in this difficult task that their children are happy and contented, proud of their homes, always glad to be there and to bring home their friends.

It is a magic quality in motherhood that works this spell. Always you find in these households a woman who has the charm, gentleness, poise, and a certain untiring vitality which comes from knowing how to take care of herself.

This effective antiseptic is three times stronger than the leading carbolic acid, yet it is so carefully blended that in proper proportion it cannot irritate or harm the most sensitive tissues. Absolutely safe, it provides a perfect protection against infection, and its gentle deodorant qualities are a safeguard of feminine daintiness.”