"Dry Cleaner". In a can, always available. Consisted mainly of Naphtha, a catch-all name which usually meant Benzine, which today is universally banned, pretty much. Walvet wallpaper cleaner. Came in a can, consistency like putty, squeezable, pliable, stank of hydrocarbons. Rubbed on a papered wall, it removed dirt and grime without water. How safe was it? Evolved into Play-Doh! "Cleo and Noah McVicker, owners of Kutol, a Cincinnati-based soap company developed the product -- completely by accident. Kroger grocery stores had asked them for a wallpaper cleaner in 1933 to help people remove soot from the walls, a common issue of the period caused by burning coal to heat homes. Noah developed a putty for this purpose, made mostly from flour, water and salt, which is a similar formula for what we now know as Play-Doh. The dough can be rolled across the soiled wall to lift up grime. (For antique or delicate papers, this technique is still used today!) Vanco Hand Cleaner. A can was always present on the wash-sink in the basement. It contained grit which effectively scrubbed out grime and grease from fingernails, etc. Absolute necessity for the car-workers. If unused for a long time, it went rancid (or something), and stank like hell! It's consistency was thick, about like Jello, gray in color. Used with water. Probably pretty safe, but who knew what solvent was in it? Mione Mfg. Co. made the stuff. Remember other stuff? Frank
Hair products: we used this stuff called Dippity-Do. It was a somewhat-slimy gelatinous goo in a wide-mouthed glass jar that you dipped a comb in and then combed it through wet hair before setting on curlers. When it dried, it left you with a head of curls that were impervious to rain, wind and direct nuclear hits on your head.
I believe it's still available. It's quite popular with certain ethnic skin and scalp because it helps the dryness. It DOES leave a mess though and is hard to clean up because it's goopy. I know this from my daughter since her fiance is Puerto Rican.
Candy Cigarettes and bubblegum cigars. I loved those when I was a kid. (Maybe why grew up and started smoking.....)
@Holly Saunders Maybe "globalization" was already at work when we were kids! Ajax cleanser was widely seen around the Chicago area; my wife thinks it's still around, maybe in brand only, but the color scheme seems the same. I know my Mother was aware, and called out now and then, that many of our everyday products were put out by foreign companies........Nestle, perhaps? Frank
Think it was more likely to be proctor and gamble..or similar... Nestle ( pronounced Nessels then ..and not Nest- ly..as it is now)>.. surely was just all about food and drink..or maybe I'm wrong!!
Colgate still owns the powdered cleanser and dishwashing liquid and are the only two Ajax products sold in the U.S. owned by Colgate. Everything else was sold to Phoenix products in 2005 so whatever else has the label of Ajax is owned by them. Nestle has their fingers in a lot of pies but other than owning 30% of L’Oreal, I think they stick pretty close to food, snack and water products.
Regarding my earlier post about Dippity-Do....my mother tells me that what I'm thinking about (the slimy stuff) was JO-CUR wave set. I think we used Dippity-Do later in my high school days.