# I've heard it has many uses... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 24, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443 "2005-08-24T16:44:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/41 "2005-08-25T14:10:10Z")
Imagine finding out that your wife has been seeing Mr. Clean behind your back… “I don’t know what it is guys, but every time she breaks out the cleaning supplies, I get turned on.” What kind of magazines were these ads in? Ladies home Journal, Redbook, or some other ladies mag? I doubt you would have seen them in Field & Stream. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/42 "2005-08-25T14:17:16Z")
I can see it now: :: **Tripler** mounts Triplette :: “Why honey, you’re so fresh . . . _and minty!_” Yeah, I love the part in the ad that says: > [@](#): > > You, too, can rely on “Lysol” to help protect your married happiness. . . keep you _desirable!_ :rolleyes: Tripler :: shudders :: ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/43 "2005-08-25T14:18:22Z")
[Ahem](http://www.westburyonline.com/ProductImages/bergen/389668.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/44 "2005-08-25T15:42:14Z")
Lysol as douche?!? It finally solves the mystery of why my widowed Grandma had that rusty can of Lysol from the 1960s (with the tin lid) in her bathroom. Living alone, I assumed she kept it there for guests; now I know it was a dormant pre-cursor to Summer’s Eve. I still can decide which is worse: boiling rags on the stovetop, using ammonium chloride aerosol as a feminine hygiene product or telling my Mom her humming electrical appliance on the night stand was used to massage away hysteria. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/45 "2005-08-25T20:49:52Z")
Well, Drano would be a bit too much, you simply have to strike a balance for moderation in these things. Anyone checked out old Clorox ads just in case? ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/46 "2005-08-25T21:36:10Z")
The Lysol in the OP, isn’t the same stuff they make now. It was much more concentrated. My mom would mix a tiny cap full with a gallon of water to disinfect the house whenever anyone got sick. I can’t even imagine how much it would have to be diluted for use as a douche. [Here’s what it looked like.](http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Lysol-Glass-Bottle-unopened_W0QQitemZ6203208662QQcategoryZ369QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/47 "2005-08-25T21:52:28Z")
> [@hillbilly queen](#): > > [Here’s what it looked like.](http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Lysol-Glass-Bottle-unopened_W0QQitemZ6203208662QQcategoryZ369QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) From the link: > [@](#): > > The rear label on the bottle reads: > DEEP CLEAN WITH > Lysol > BRAND DISINFECTANT > THE EASY WAY! > WALLS - FLOORS - KITCHENS - SICKROOMS > BABY’S ROOM - PORCELAIN - LINOLEUM > BATHROOMS - WOODWORK - FLOOR TILE > REFUSE PAILS - DIAPER PAILS I find it curious it does not also say, “And yer stinky chooch!” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/48 "2005-08-25T22:06:02Z")
Well, I suppose it COULD work as birth control… By drying your cooter out worse than an over-cooked Thanksgiving turkey! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/49 "2005-08-25T22:12:51Z")
I love this advertising tactic: take an issue that’s almost never really a problem, and then terrify everyone that their manifestation is possibly the worst. Human beings get smelly pits, breath and genikles, and sometimes they get a dry flaky scalp–but it ain’t the leprosy the ads make it out to be. C’mon. Like a smelly twat’s gonna keep a man away? I mean, sometimes, yeah, a twat gets sick or something and may smell like a dead skunk. But in those cases I’m pretty sure mamma would be thinking, “I should do something about this quick!” and not go planting on her guy’s face. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/50 "2005-08-25T23:01:09Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > ohmygod. Please tell me that is a twisted version of Photoshop and isn’t real… Nope… she’s all woman! … I think. Although I’d be a bit reticent to tell [this demure young thing](http://www.billdobbins.com/PUBLIC/art/hm_pics/Amanda_Dunbar-105.jpg) she’s stinky “down there”. I suspect a rugged ass kicking would ensure. ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/51 "2005-08-25T23:32:45Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I imagine a Lysol feminine hygine product might be necessary [for some women](http://home.comcast.net/~cpeek001/nice1.jpg). From that ad: "She must realize that there is a very common odor which she herself may not detect but **is so apparent to people around her**. (bolding mine) This woman has problems greater than Lysol can solve, I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/52 "2005-08-26T00:00:15Z")
> [@hillbilly queen](#): > > The Lysol in the OP, isn’t the same stuff they make now. It was much more concentrated. My mom would mix a tiny cap full with a gallon of water to disinfect the house whenever anyone got sick. I can’t even imagine how much it would have to be diluted for use as a douche. > > [Here’s what it looked like.](http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Lysol-Glass-Bottle-unopened_W0QQitemZ6203208662QQcategoryZ369QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) That is exactly the same Lysol they make now. Like I said, I keep a bottle in my kitchen at all times. It is indeed very concentrated. I mix a cap full of Lysol into a Windex sized bottle of water and a drop of Murphy’s Oil soap together to clean, well… just about everything in the house. ALMOST everything. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/53 "2005-08-26T00:22:26Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I suspect a rugged ass kicking would ensure. Either that or she’d shoot her chestaloupes at you. ---
**Author:** ![sangfroid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@sangfroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sangfroid)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/54 "2005-08-26T00:54:43Z")
> [@psycat90](#): > > That is exactly the same Lysol they make now. Like I said, I keep a bottle in my kitchen at all times. It is indeed very concentrated. I mix a cap full of Lysol into a Windex sized bottle of water and a drop of Murphy’s Oil soap together to clean, well… just about everything in the house. > > ALMOST everything. 😉 From this post… > [@](#): > > The Lysol in the OP, isn’t the same stuff they make now. It was much more concentrated. My mom would mix a tiny cap full with a gallon of water to disinfect the house whenever anyone got sick. I can’t even imagine how much it would have to be diluted for use as a douche. Ditto. We used to use this exact product to cleanse the dairy cooler in our grocery store back in the mid-eighties. We mixed it with extremely hot water in a bucket and swabbed the cooler and walls to sanitize and remove that nasty gunk that builds up after a few days. This was no minor task… gummy milk residue from leakage, broken eggs, etc… one shot of this stuff cut through that crap like nothing you ever seen. Everything looked and smelled ‘hospital fresh’ after the process. Douche…? ::shudder:: If she needs that kinda strength, _stay away_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443/55 "2005-08-26T02:08:13Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > I love this advertising tactic: take an issue that’s almost never really a problem, and then terrify everyone that their manifestation is possibly the worst. In the sixties, Philip K. Dick wrote a great book titled “The Simulacra,” which took this tactic to its logical technological extreme – tiny spambots that harrassed you with their whispering insinuations: > [@](#): > > A commercial, made by Theodorus Nitz, the worst house of all, had attached itself to his car. > > “Get off,” he warned it. But the commercial, well-adhered, began to crawl, buffeted by the wind, toward the door and the entrance crack. It would soon have squeezed in and would be haranguing him in the cranky, garbagey fashion of the Nitz advertisements. > > He could, as it came through the crack, kill it. It was alive, terribly mortal; the ad agencies, like nature, squandered hordes of them. > > The commercial, fly-sized, began to buzz out its message as soon as it managed to force entry. “Say! Haven’t you sometimes said to yourself, I’ll bet other people in restaurants can see me! And you’re puzzled as to what to do about this serious, baffling problem of being conspicuous, especially—” > > Chic crushed it with his foot. […] > > The commercial squeaked. ‘At any moment one may offend others, any hour of the day!’ And in his mind appeared the full-color image of a scene unfolding; a good-looking blackhaired man leaning towards a blonde, full-breasted girl in a bathing suit in order to kiss her. On the girl’s face the expression of rapture and submission all at once vanished, was replaced by repugnance. And the commercial shrilled, ‘He was not fully safe from offensive body odor! You see?’ > > That’s me, Kongrosian said to himself. I smell bad. He had, due to the commercial, acquired a phobic body odor; he had been contaminated through the commercial, and there was no way to rid of it. […] > > ‘I need an antidote,’ Kongrosian said, ‘for an abominable Theodorus Nitz offensive body odor commercial. You know the one which begins: “In moments of great intimacy with ones we love, especially then does the danger of offending become acute,” and so forth.’ He hated even to think about it; his body odor seemed to become more powerful when he did so, if such was possible. […] > > ‘Do people seem able to see right through your clothing?’ it squeaked at them, bat-like, as it slithered into concealment under the front seat. ‘In public, does your fly seem to be unzipped and do you need to glance down?’ > > It died into silence as the NP man driving venomously shot it with his pistol. ‘Jeez, I hate those things,’ he spat out with aversion. Now there’s a man who understood the mechanism of advertising. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-heard-it-has-many-uses/318443.md?page=2)