Fun Facts about Tampons

In my search for interesting facts on anything menstrual, I came across a book “The Ladies’ Room Reader” by Alicia Alvrez. She presented a lot of historical and cultural information about being a woman. I found the following facts about Tampons. Some fascinating stuff!

Tampons versus Papyrus

Tampons are not a modern notion. Ancient Egyptian women had the idea in fifteenth century B.C. They used papyrus. The ancient Romans had ones made of wool, while the Japanese used paper. But somehow the idea got lost, as many ideas did, until quite recently.

Pads versus Diapers

The garment of choice for that time of the month in Europe and the United States until WWI was diapers made of linen. Then nurses in France discovered bandages worked better, and the idea soon spread.

Tampon in Water

It was a Denver doctor who had the idea for a modern tampon in 1931. He called his Tampax. He sold his idea to a company, which took the name and sold he items to druggists by having their salesmen pretend to be thirsty. When the salesman was given a glass of water, he would throw a tampon in to show its absorbency.

Viganial Pack

The name Tampax comes from the words tampon and vaginal pack.

Bad Tampons

Tampons were first introduced in the United States to controversy. They were considered bad by certain religious groups, which thought they would deflower young girls.

11,000 Tampons

The average woman uses 11,000 tampons in her reproductive lifetime.

Tampon Belt

If you came of age before the 1970’s, you already know this, but before that decade, a woman would wear a special belt and hook a very bulky sanitary pad onto it. When the thinner pads with adhesive strips were developed, women everywhere rejoiced.

Big Business

Manufacturers gets $1.7 billion of our money each year through our purchase of “personal products.”