It's funny. We were just discussing asbestos today. In school, it was used as a sort of clay - the teacher mixed it up with water and it could be formed into simple shapes. There was a huge box of the mix in the supply closet. Originally used for insulating pipes and such, it was some mix of powdered asbestos and a paste. I used to think it was so cool because of the way that it "flaked off" into little hairs. Ha.

Another fun one - Lysol spray (at least in the 70s) was pushed all the time. Spray it around your home! Try to get the tobacco stink out of everything! I found out later that the mystery smell-killing ingredient was formaldehyde. So instead of clearing the air, it was actually deadening our sense of smell.

Truly a golden age.