72 Ads From The Past That Would Be Banned Today

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“Rough on Rats” – Rat Poison

Tolerance

This ad from the 1880s, printed by Forbes Co. Boston, endorsed a poison made from arsenic and coal. While the product that was developed and marketed by the chemist Ephraim Wells effectively cleared out all types of vermin, the racism in this ad was also very clear.

The poison is known to kill rats, mice, ants, bed bugs, beetles, flies, and roaches, as well as gophers, jackrabbits, moles, and sparrows. However, aside from the common pests, the ad includes a picture of a Chinese man carrying a rat on each hand and seemingly about to eat one. The ad obviously exploits the urban legend that Chinese people consume rats.

The blatant racism doesn’t end there. The ad also says, “They must go,” referring not just to the vermin but the Chinese.