Amazing as it seems, the original use for Lysol was as a feminine hygiene product. From a Mother Jones Article: According to historian Andrea Tone, "feminine hygiene" was a euphemism. Birth control was illegal in the U.S. until 1965 (for married couples) and 1972 (for single people). These Lysol ads are actually for contraception. The campaign made Lysol the best-selling method of contraception during the Great Depression. Were you aware that Lysol was originally used to prevent pregnancy?

Lysol was incredibly corrosive to the body, in fact, it's recipe was significantly more dangerous than the one used today. Hundreds of people died from exposure to Lysol, including women who were using it to prevent pregnancy. It was also, to add insult to injury, wholly ineffective as a contraceptive. Have you heard this before?

Lysol—an antiseptic soap whose pre-1953 formula contained cresol, a phenol compound reported in some cases to cause inflammation, burning, and even death. By 1911 doctors had recorded 193 Lysol poisonings and five deaths from uterine irrigation. Despite reports to the contrary, Lysol was aggressively marketed to women as safe and gentle. Once cresol was replaced with ortho-hydroxydiphenyl in the formula, Lysol was pushed as a germicide good for cleaning toilet bowls and treating ringworm, and Lehn & Fink's, the company that made the disinfectant, continued to market it as safeguard for women's "dainty feminine allure." Are you glad that women today have safe birth control options and no longer have to use corrosive floor cleaner to prevent pregnancy?