See sponges meant to be used as spermicides.
Read about Contraception and Religion - see a douche actually meant for cleaning the vagina - read about douching and why
you shouldn't
Read about Contraception and Religion - see a douche actually meant for cleaning the vagina - read about douching and why
you shouldn't
More Midol: Midol ad, 1938
See Midol newspaper ads, 1911-1961
See its competitor from Kotex, Kurb.
See Midols ads from newspapers, 1911-1961.
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 ad, 1938 - Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) - Mum deodorant cream ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Myzone menstrual pain pills ad, 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 liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
The Perils of Vaginal Douching (essay by Luci Capo Rome) - the odor page
More Midol: Midol booklet (selections), 1959, and Midol ad, 1938
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.

 

It's Too Late to Call Your Congressman About the Proposed Tampon Safety and Research Act! Congress Had More Important ;-) Things To Do! Here's How and Why for Next Time.


Happy New Year! And It'll Be This Time Next Week Before I Properly Update This Site

That's because friends living 10 kilometers upriver from Heidelberg, Germany, invited me to spend the holidays with them, and I just got back two days ago. I haven't even looked at my e-mail for the past 10 days, as some mailers undoubtedly know.

In the 70s I lived seven years in that beautiful area, and it was nice to root through familiar bookstores - I bought a collection of essays by Stefan Zweig, my favorite biographer in German, and Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull, Thomas Mann's hilarious novel of a confidence man - and drink decent coffee, the first I'd had in the 2.5 years since I last visited these friends.

Why can't you get a good cup of coffee in the States? I've been drinking tea for a couple of years now, to avoid coffee, and for the health benefits.

And now, if you are not sitting down, please take your seat.

While in Germany, I left eight cats - count 'em, I said eight - in my house. Yes, of course they are my cats!

Wacko? Hey, who started the Museum of Menstruation?

I wanted to put my aggressive cat, tomcat Minnie Padd, into a kennel before I left, but the ear-splitting barking from the caged dogs there changed my mind. The poor guy could not have kept his sanity for five minutes, and anything that could happen at home would not approach that for suffering.

A friend visited regularly to clean the litter boxes, top up the food and water and tickle the tykes under the chin, and, amazingly, the menagerie prospered, meowing as one while I opened the door late New Year's night. OK, OK, they looked up from sleeping positions before dozing off again. Which is OK.

But now it's time to introduce the MUSEUM STAFF MUMBERS, um, members - my cats. All have endowed chairs except Minnie, who has the endowed corner of the living-room couch:

(Tomcat) Prof. Mack C. Padd. Senior Cat and Chief Tomcat and The Distinguished Service Institutional Wallace C. Meyer Memorial Pouncer at the Museum of Menstruation. Read more, with photo!

(Tomcat) Prof. Minnie Padd. Deputy Senior Cat and The Distinguished Service Institutional Albert Lasker Memorial Pouncer at the Museum of Menstruation. Read more!

(Tomcat) Asst. Prof. Pam T. Padd. Assistant Deputy Senior Cat and The Distinguished Service Institutional fax and Fibs Early Commercial Tampon Memorial Part-Time Pouncer at the Museum of Menstruation. Some MUM site visitors will remember reading that Pam disappeared about eight months ago. He reappeared at the museum doors this fall, much bigger, pounding on the glass and loudly meowing. Although he has never explained his absence, he is again a full-time MUM staffer and beloved by our interns, especially Fibs, who's sweet on the big palooka (below). Read more!

Interns: Last August a black feral cat moved her five kittens to under a bush in my back yard. Just weeks later I welcomed the tabby tots (plus a black one) aboard! They are willing to learn the ropes of museum security in exchange for exotic cat foods and a place to sleep - or so I assume.

It will instruct and surprise you - hmm, maybe not - to learn that four of them bear names of extinct American tampons that appeared in the 1930s:

(Tamcat) Meds Senior Kitten and Chief Tamcat [she died of cancer in 2007]

(Tamcat) fax [she's missing in 2007]

(Tamcat) Fibs [rhinotracheaitis killed her in December 2009.]

(Tomcat) Wix [my next-door neighbor poisoned him in 2008 after cutting the throat of his cat buddy.]

(Tamcat) Zeenie-Weenie (Not, unfortunately, the name of a tampon.) Zeenie's (or Zeena) real name is Maxine, after Senior Cat Max (Mack C., above); both are black, as is Zeenie's mother. I type this News page with the index finger of my left hand because Zeenie lies on my lap and I'm scratching her with my right. I know no more affectionate cat.
[In Dec. 2009, Zenna died three weeks after her sister Fibs, also of rhinotracheaitis. She was the last survivor of the litter.]

Readers with an ax to grind will object to tomcats occupying all the senior positions - hey, I'm a male, too! - and that all but one of the interns are female. I assure you that, with increased experience, the tams will advance according to their ability, which I know is considerable.

And senior staff cannot, um, fool around - you know what I mean! - with the young ladies because everyone in the joint (except me, that is) has been neutered. That sounds awful, doesn't it?

Next week I promise to have matters most menstrual for you.

Meow! - er, Ciao!

PREVIOUS NEWS

© 1999 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or
distribute any of the work on this Web site in
any manner or medium without written permission of the
author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
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 pills ad, 1952 (Australia) - Pristeen genital spray ad, 1969 (U.S.A.) - Spalt pain tablets, 1936 (Germany) - Vionell genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs (Germany) - Zonite douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
The Perils of Vaginal Douching (essay by Luci Capo Rome) - the odor page