# Things that went out of style due to negative connotations (ex: the Hitler 'stache) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2007, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067 "2007-03-08T04:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/1 "2007-03-08T04:44:25Z")
What are some examples of styles, once popular, that vanished due to someone giving them a bad name? A good example of what I mean is in the title: the Hitler mustache. I’ve seen a good number of Americans in old photos, pre-WWII, with Hitler-style mustaches. I mean, even Charlie Chaplin had one. (Yes, I know, he wasn’t American.) Then comes Hitler, and boom - no self-respecting American would be caught dead sporting one. Same goes for the name “Adolf.” How many people do you see with that name? I don’t know about the name’s popularity in Germany, but I’d tend to think it also decreased. Are there other examples of things - dress styles, names, haircuts, whatever - which disappeared due to their being associated with unsavory people? ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/2 "2007-03-08T05:14:39Z")
Well, pretty much anything related to the Nazis applies. The swastika was once not uncommon as a decoration, as well as being a religious symbol for millions of people (which it still is). The “Nazi salute” goes back to Roman times, and used to be used in the US. Both are now indelibly associated with Nazism, at least in Western culture. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/3 "2007-03-08T08:21:55Z")
The red 'fro began, and simultaneously ended with [this man](http://www.nevadamagazine.com/Carrot.Top.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/4 "2007-03-08T08:59:17Z")
Well the HIV virus really killed this product. [(link to video)](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7935064058166993925) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/5 "2007-03-08T09:17:48Z")
[QUOTE=bigbabysweets2000] Well the HIV virus really killed this product. [(link to video)](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7935064058166993925) [/QUOTE] The Ayd’s Diet Plan was the first thing I thought of. The governor in Texas 30 years ago was Dolph Briscoe. I assume Dolph was short for Adolph, and he’s probably the only one I’me aware of. Of course, he was born before that whole Hitler thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/6 "2007-03-08T09:40:27Z")
[QUOTE=bigbabysweets2000] Well the HIV virus really killed this product. [(link to video)](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7935064058166993925) [/QUOTE] 😃 😃 😃 “Question: Why take diet pills when you can enjoy Ayds?” 😃 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/7 "2007-03-08T10:08:26Z")
“Do you know why wearing wigs fell out of fashion? Because too many of them ended up in baskets.” -Ludwig van Beethoven, paraphrased from _Immortal Beloved_ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/8 "2007-03-08T10:37:20Z")
[QUOTE=bigbabysweets2000] Well the HIV virus really killed this product. [(link to video)](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7935064058166993925) [/QUOTE] Man, that is one chilling video. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/9 "2007-03-08T10:49:53Z")
On a semi-serious note, I can honestly say I haven’t seen any “[nipple ornaments](http://www.cynical-c.com/archives/bloggraphics/janetcupcake.jpg)” since the Janet Jackson thing at the Super Bowl. The link is actually SFW, seeing how it’s just a cupcake. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/10 "2007-03-08T10:58:31Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] “Question: Why take diet pills when you can enjoy Ayds?” [/QUOTE] The real tragedy is the original name of the pills was GRYD, but changed because it wasn’t marketable enough. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/11 "2007-03-08T12:02:58Z")
•Dirigible travel. •The Space Shuttle. •Psychosurgery. (Well, not entirely accurate—the lobotomy craze was in decline because of the availability of new psychiatric drugs. But still…today, if you bring up the subject of using brain surgery to treat psychiatric disorders, most people’d just think of deluded quacks jamming ice picks into people’s eyesockets.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/12 "2007-03-08T13:35:02Z")
Thalidomide, even when it’s used by people who can never be pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewJRichards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@AndrewJRichards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewJRichards)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/13 "2007-03-08T13:46:19Z")
I’ve never met anyone named Judas. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/14 "2007-03-08T13:46:50Z")
1920’s-style “Death Rays”. Even when used to not cause death the grim connotation stuck. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/15 "2007-03-08T13:48:46Z")
If you count words, there are many. “Occupy” went out of style for centuries because of the sexual connotation\*. “Pussy” meaning “cat” is rarely used nowadays. Fewer men use the nickname “Dick.” \*If Shakespeare were flying in an airplane, and saw the “occupied” sign on the rest room, his first impression would be someone was joining the Mile High Club. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/16 "2007-03-08T14:12:01Z")
“Are you talking occupied country matters?” ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/17 "2007-03-08T14:13:16Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] The governor in Texas 30 years ago was Dolph Briscoe. I assume Dolph was short for Adolph, and he’s probably the only one I’me aware of. Of course, he was born before that whole Hitler thing. [/QUOTE] Dolph is also short for Rudolph, as in the reindeer and the New York politician. Also, there’s Swedish chemist and martial arts actor Dolph Lundgren. I kind of miss merry-go-rounds and see-saws and monkey gyms, which have had declining popularity due to playground injuries. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/18 "2007-03-08T14:18:18Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Thalidomide, even when it’s used by people who can never be pregnant. [/QUOTE] They gave my uncle Thalidomide last year, actually. Of course, he was a man and dying of brain cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/19 "2007-03-08T15:01:36Z")
[QUOTE=bigbabysweets2000] On a semi-serious note, I can honestly say I haven’t seen any “[nipple ornaments](http://www.cynical-c.com/archives/bloggraphics/janetcupcake.jpg)” since the Janet Jackson thing at the Super Bowl. The link is actually SFW, seeing how it’s just a cupcake. [/QUOTE] You did see the picture of the boob next to the cupcake, right? Really though, how many nipple shields did you see before Janet’s though? I doubt it really made a big difference in the piercing culture. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067/20 "2007-03-08T15:37:41Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] The real tragedy is the original name of the pills was GRYD, but changed because it wasn’t marketable enough. [/QUOTE] _snerk_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-went-out-of-style-due-to-negative-connotations-ex-the-hitler-stache/395067.md?page=2)