# What fads in history can you name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399 "2026-09-26T12:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/121 "2026-09-29T23:30:03Z")
I saw one that _I will NEVER forget._ 🤯 ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/122 "2026-09-29T23:40:43Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > And another i thought of: Wearing your belt buckle off center. This was apparently a thing back in the day (I believe common to Greasers); I learned about it here on the Dope. Some guitar players who play standing up do this. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/123 "2026-10-01T05:26:24Z")
In Japan, these things became really popular in the 90s. [![](https://www.qprc.jp/images/Card/Cardy-1.jpg) ](https://www.qprc.jp/images/Card/Cardy-1.jpg) They were about the size of a credit card, and the first ones were like this, with a tiny pencil and pen, and then it there were tiny sewing kits, cutter knives with other things, etc. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/124 "2026-10-02T02:07:06Z")
in the 19th century in Great Britain, women used mercury on their eyes **How Mercury Was Used** - **Eyelash and Eyebrow Treatments:** Beauty guides and recipes from the era (such as an 1874 article in _Harper’s Bazaar_) recommended rubbing ointments containing nitric oxide of mercury or bichloride of mercury along the edges of the eyelids to restore sparse eyelashes or stimulate growth. [[1](https://www.discovermagazine.com/deadly-beauty-the-poisons-used-in-makeup-through-the-ages-44253), [2](https://blog.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/dangerous-beauty-hazardous-chemicals-and-poisons-in-historic-cosmetics/)] - **Other Eye Cosmetics:** To get a “watery” or dilated eye look—which was fashionable at the time to mimic a fragile, consumptive (tuberculosis-like) appearance—women actually used **belladonna** (deadly nightshade) drops directly _in_ their eyes, which caused temporary blindness. Citrus juice or perfume was also sometimes dropped straight into the eyes for a similar watery effect. [[1](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-poisonous-beauty-advice-columns-of-victorian-england), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian-era_cosmetics), [3](https://mollybrown.org/beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-how-victorians-used-common-poisons-to-become-drop-dead-gorgeous/)] - **General Toxic Makeup:** Mercury, along with lead and arsenic, was also widely used in face whitening creams, washes, and skin-tinting powders ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/125 "2026-10-02T03:35:18Z")
I bet that made them mad as a hatter. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/126 "2026-10-02T06:17:19Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > - women actually used **belladonna** (deadly nightshade) drops directly _in_ their eyes, which caused temporary blindness And atropine (a chemical derived from belladonna) is still used today to dilate the pupils for eye exams. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399/127 "2026-10-02T07:03:46Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > - **belladonna** (deadly nightshade) drops directly _in_ their eyes, which caused temporary blindness. Dilated pupiles blurr the focus, you cannot read or stitch, nor should you drive a car\*. It looks like **[bokeh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh)**. But calling this blindness is exagerated. \* Yes, I am aware that the ladies did not use to drive cars back then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fads-in-history-can-you-name/1033399.md?page=6)