#1 Treatment Using Cocaine
100 years ago, people did not treat this substance as harmful. On the contrary, it was available in pharmacies and sold without a prescription to cure coughs and toothaches. Cocaine was also recommended as a sedative for children.
#2 Sending Children Through Mail
It sounds like a joke, but at the beginning of the 20th century, Americans had the opportunity to send their children by mail in a legal manner. It cost about 15 cents if their kid weighed no more than a standard parcel.
#3 Outdoor baby cages
I know it sounds crazy but outdoor baby cages were a thing in 1930s. With the help of these constructions kids were able to breathe fresh air while their mothers performed household duties. Seems unbelievable, but these cages were considered safe.
#4 Garden hermit
The rich past in the past weren’t just fond of money and fame. They also believed in different things, including their obsession with having a personal hermit. This guy would live in their gardens and behave like a hermit. As expected, he would not get haircut or take a bath. For the oligarchs, it was simply a past time and a “live decoration”.
#5 Radioactive toys
In the 1950s, radiation was treated as a relatively safe thing. “Atomic” toys such as the mini-lab shown in the picture were really popular. The set for the experiments included real polonium and uranium in small amounts.
#6 Human zoos
So, you really think zoos were for animals? It’s true today, but once, their animals were human beings. Apparently, though, these humans came from Asia and Africa. Shameful entertainment existed for countless years.
#7 “Amusement excursions” to mental hospitals
Patients of psychiatric hospitals were treated awfully in the past: they were rarely fed, though relatives paid for patients’ accommodation.
#8 Body parts collection
Being a collector is a fascinating thing to do, but if you’re a collector of human body parts, that’s where things go south. In the past, this was revered as a legit hobby. People would build their own pathoanatomical rooms at their homes. Soldiers would take home the skull of their enemies and had them displayed on their walls
#9 Smoking during pregnancy due to doctor’s prescription
Smoking is limited in many ways today. But 70 years ago, American doctors recommended their pregnant patients to smoke to get rid of constipation. So a woman who had just given birth to a baby was not forbidden to smoke in the hospital.