Life was simpler back in the '20s. No one shared the weather on the Internet, the Kardashian family was yet to have a taste the addictive elixir of fame, and you could wash away fat with a bar of soap.
The Daily Mail dug up some awesome ads from the 1920s for soaps and creams that, when applied directly to the body, could melt away double chins, jiggly arms, or, my personal fave, "ungainly ankles."
La-Mar reducing soap could spot-reduce flab from any part of the body without affecting other areas; La Parle Obesity soap positively reduced fat without diet or gymnastics; and Dr. Paul Bouchaud's body wash could make you slimmer the easy, natural way.
These guys from 90 years ago! I swear. They're hilarious. But. But but but but but but BUT.
In a hundred years, are people going to look back on our generation as the idiots who injected Botulism into their fucking faces? Will they laugh at our ads for La Mer moisturizing cream made from "sea kelp", promising to deliver "miraculous benefits", selling for $150? Will they sneer at our "high tech" attempts at reducing cellulite? Will they double-over when they read that cosmetic surgery is a billion-dollar industry?
As much as it seems obvious to us that a fat-reducing soap is ridiculous, I'm sure if we all took a step back, we'd see that many of the products we use today are along the same lines, even if they shout at us from the label that there's "scientific proof" they work.
Wanna stop wrinkles? Die young. Wanna lose weight? Diet and exercise.
As long as looking young and slim has been in vogue, so have the magical products that help us achieve this holy grail. But yesterday's obesity soap might be today's Truvia. You just never know.
What do you think?
Photo via London Media
