Super, applicator TamPak, 1973 - See look-a-like Tampex
Japanese tampon with finger cots
Tampax tampon from the early 1930s - Main Tampax patent - Ad from 1936 - World War II Tampax sign - Go to early commercial tampons page.
See a real American douche set from the 1920s.
See also Australian douche ad (ca. 1900) - Fresca douche powder (U.S.A.) (date ?) - Kotique douche liquid ad, 1974 (U.S.A.) - Liasan (1) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Liasan (2) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1948 (U.S.A.) - Marvel douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Midol menstrual pain pill ad, 1938 (U.S.A.) - Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) - Mum deodorant cream ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Myzone menstrual pain pill, 1952 (Australia) - Pristeen genital spray ad, 1969 (U.S.A.) - Spalt pain tablets, 1936 (Germany) - Sterizol douche liquid ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Vionell genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs (Germany) - Zonite douche ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
Vaginal hygiene in The Intimate Side of a Woman's Life, by Leona W. Chalmers (1937, Pioneer Publications, Inc., Radio City, New York), with photo of American bulb syringe from the 1960s or 1970s.
***The Perils of Vaginal Douching*** (essay by Luci Capo Rome) - the odor page
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepage MUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | menarche booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor | olor | pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | puberty booklets for girls and parents | religion | Religión y menstruación | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants & panties directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

MUSEUM OF MENSTRUATION AND WOMEN'S HEALTH

TamPak menstrual tampons, no applicator, Turkey, 1973
Tampons

Never have I seen tampons visibly vary in size like these. (But see L&F tampons.) Maybe the company intended to give women a choice depending on the amount of flow. Somehow I doubt it - it looks haphazard.

Tampax is famous for having invented the tampon with applicator; these have none. But see the "super" version of TamPak!

Tambrands kindly donated the box as part of a large gift from its archives.

The length of the tampons varies from 1" to about 1.325" (2.54 - 3.5 cm); they're 0.5" (1.3 cm) in diameter. The almost even inch measurements (the string, too) suggests that inches were used in the manufacture, not the metric system. Odd. Maybe the machine came from America. But the uneven sides and different lengths mean - what?
Yes, the string is yellow.
The arrow points to black material - dirt? - and a piece of the string that were in the sealed cellophane-like package. The right drawing shows how the string nestles in a depression in one end before it's pulled before use. The string stretches 6.5" (about 16.5 cm).
 
 

Next page: instructions - box (first page) - Super, applicator TamPak, 1973 - Tampax tampon from the early 1930s - Main Tampax patent - Ad from 1936 - World War II Tampax sign - Japanese tampon with finger cots

© 1998 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any of the work on
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