Scandals then, normal now

Popeye's Tattoos    (Fair Use)

Back before electricity, reading in bed could be fatal.  If your lights went out before the candle’s did, then a fire might have spread while you slept.

These days, reading in bed is no longer scandalous.  In fact, it is considered a soothing way to relax.  But other habits

that have normalized over time might be better off taboo.

With all the fuss about Kaepernick not standing for the National Anthem, you’d swear that the “Star Spangled Banner” is as old as Betsy Ross.  You’d be shocked to learn that it wasn’t even our anthem until 1931.  And standing before the game?  It was simply a way to get the vendor’s attention.

Although soda drinking has somewhat fallen out of favor, it is still quite popular.  But in 1911 the United States Food and Drug Administration “seized 40 barrels of Coca Cola,” claiming that it could cause college girls to become “wild nocturnal freaks.”  Had Coke remained so scandalous, these “freaks” might have felt a lot healthier during their nocturnal prowls.

As for getting inked, it was long associated with “sailors, prostitution and crime.”  Yet taboo tattoos seemed a lot more artistic than today’s botched-up backs.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/smart-living/24-things-that-were-considered-scandalous-100-years-ago-but-are-totally-normal-now/ss-AApCKOg?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=BHEA000 

Copyright August 22, 2017 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved