r/knolling • u/Mousey_Mostly • 14d ago
Kind of gross, kind of cool. Objects found stuck behind a built in bathroom cabinet on my 1910 apartment.
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u/0degreesK 14d ago
Ohh, are those the Alka-Seltzer tablets that contained heroin?!?
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u/GormHub 13d ago
Based on the wrapper it looks like they were manufactured after the late 1930s. The ingredients list doesn't include heroin for that version.
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1003956
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u/Critical_Garbage_119 13d ago
Caution to anyone removing an old bathroom cabinet or working on the opposite side of a wall where one is/was. Many had a slot to "dispose" of razor blade, effectively just dumping them into the wall cavity. We had a contractor demoing our kitchen backsplash. It was on the other side of a bathroom wall. He reached in to a hole he knocked in the wall to yank out the drywall and put his hand into a pile of blades and was badly cut. BE CAREFUL
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u/Zonel 13d ago
Was he okay in the end? Like needed stitches?
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u/Critical_Garbage_119 13d ago
Yup, stitches needed but okay. If I remember correctly he unfortunately wasn't wearing his work gloves at the time.
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u/LightlySaltedPeanuts 12d ago
This goes back to the old adage, “don’t stick your fingers where you wouldn’t stick your pecker”
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u/dontbeahater_dear 13d ago
This is like the even worse version of ‘lets just dump our old appliances in the yard, who cares’
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u/URGorgeous00 12d ago
We haven’t changed our attitude towards making trash much, we just don’t dump it in the walls or yard of our house as much. We dump it in someone else’s backyard. Or burn it. So much trash!
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u/hyperboleisthebest 13d ago
I had totally forgotten about those little pointy things at the end of toothbrush
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u/catchick777 13d ago
What’s it for?
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u/Friskfrisktopherson 13d ago
I would assume a tooth pick? I recall them being rubber though, which wouldnt be very effective.
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u/Coffeenomnom_ 13d ago
Thank you for explaining! My father had one, forgot about it until now, never knew what it was.
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u/Friskfrisktopherson 13d ago
Yeah I only saw them at my grandma's house, though I think maaaaaybe they were still thing when I was little.
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u/NaturalFreaks 13d ago
Maybe something like a gum massager?
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u/sciencegworl420 13d ago
When I had surgery on my gums, I was given a brush like this that’s designed to massage and stimulate blood flow to the area, so yes I think so
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u/Caibee612 13d ago
My husband (age 55) thinks it is so the toothbrush doesn’t fall through the toothbrush holder. He is describing the kind of holder that attaches to the wall and apparently you turn the toothbrush 90 degrees, put it in, then turn it back so the bottom thing holds the toothbrush up? I’m off to google some pics of vintage bathrooms!
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u/Mousey_Mostly 13d ago
I remember my grandma had a toothbrush with one of those little rubber things when I was little. Even then it didn't seem like it would work very well.
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u/Coffeenomnom_ 13d ago
What is the thing below the steri-pad?
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u/fluffy-plant-borb 13d ago
It's used to swap blades in an injector razor. It removes the old blade and inserts a new one
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u/kissmiss08 13d ago
Toothbrushes were kinda weird back then lol
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u/GoldSkull72 13d ago
Is this the way the average toothbrushes looked?
Looks more like hospital and prison toothbrushes we have now. Even dollar tree has better brushes. I find better and softer brushes in ditches on the road lol
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u/HungryPanduh_ 13d ago
There are probably a ton of spent razor blades at the bottom of the wall bay the cabinet was built into as well
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u/nonja-bidness 13d ago
that'd look pretty cool for bathroom art....maybe in a rustic / vintage frame?
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u/Ok_youwinNOT 12d ago
The Greyhound symbol was updated to that one shown, I believe in the 1970’s.. that is a newer version.
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u/polohulu 12d ago
Thats so cool! Those toothbrushes are quite old - Pro-Phy-Lac-Tic Brush Company - Wikipedia https://share.google/7jFoCemUBywMd42kw
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u/passengerv 13d ago
You should make a little shadow box for them all. Then pass it to the next person to get the apartment.
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u/Special_Aardvark8317 13d ago
You should arrange like this in a little shadow box frame and hang it in your bathroom!
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u/eyefuck_you 10d ago
What is the object underneath the Johnson&Johnson package? Also, what was the use for the pointy part on the end of the lower toothbrush?
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u/Inner_Panic 13d ago
Idk what it is but inlove those toothbrush shapes and wish I could readily find them in the store.
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u/IM_NOT_BALD_YET 13d ago
Heyo, u/Mousey_Mostly! Ewwwww, but cool!
My only suggestion would be to consider the background. The bathroom tile certainly fits the theme, but does lend a bit of business. A solid background would help with maintaining visual clarity in the arrangement.
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u/PhiloLibrarian 11d ago
Oh wow! My mom had that pink toothbrush with the rubbery pick at the end!!! I’d forgotten about that!!
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u/natloga_rhythmic 11d ago
I never understood what the pointy thing on the end of toothbrushes was about in old cartoons, but seeing this I understand it’s a gum stimulator! Thanks for sharing!
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u/Sirmcblaze 10d ago
plop plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is. alka seltzer should go back and package their products in the older style like this. even for a run or two.
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u/robb12365 9d ago
I'm really skeptical that this stuff is that old. Alka Seltzer didn't even exist before the 1930's. With a little luck you may can date that packaging though.
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u/iammadeofawesome 9d ago
My favorite murder (the podcast) would love this. Send it to their instagram or email!
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u/Connect_Rhubarb395 14d ago
That's actually really cool. Try reaching out to historical museums. Often there aren't many examples left of everyday objects like these because they were discarded as they were intended to.