Looks That Kill Quiz | Miscellaneous Health

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Of the following mixtures, which do you think upper class women in the 18th century would have used to achieve the pale skin appearance that was in fashion?

Answer: Lead and vinegar.

Anyone in the 18th century who wanted to have the pale skin appearance which was in fashion would apply a mixture of lead and vinegar to their skin. It would hide any flaws or imperfections they may have had. The lead based products unknowingly would slowly poison anyone who used them. Not to mention hair loss, gray hair, dried-out skin, severe abdominal pain and constipation.

I would have rather looked old!

2. Why did people of the middle ages soak flypaper in water?

Answer: To render the arsenic for a beauty treatment.

Believe it or not they would soak it in water to draw out the arsenic for cosmetic purposes. One cosmetics company advertised their product as, "Dr. Mc Kenzie's Improved Harmless Arsenic Complextion Wafers". Of course it caused balding, destroyed red blood cells and could lead to death, but what amazes me is that it was around until the 1920s.

3. In the days before Benzoyl Peroxide, what was sometimes used to treat blemishes?

Answer: Mercury.

Not only was it smoothed on the skin to treat blemishes, but it was used to treat syphilis as well. Mercury can cause birth defects, kidney damage, liver damage, fatigue, irritability, tremors, depression, a metallic taste in the mouth and death.

4. Which deadly nightshade were Italian women known to use to enhance their beauty?

Answer: Belladonna.

Belladonna would be made into eye drops and used to dilate the pupils, which supposedly made the eye more attractive. The side effects were costly; visual distortion, sensitivity to light and, if taken systematically, could kill very quickly.

The seed of the Rosary Pea contain abrin, a close relative of ricin, one of the most fatal toxins on earth.

Oleander is one of the most toxic of all commonly grown garden plants.

The Doll's Eyes plants' berries contain cardiogenic toxins, which can slow the heart rate.

5. Several cosmetics in the early twentieth century contained which newly discovered element?

Answer: Radium.

In the early years of the century, radioactive skin creams were popular. Radium was used in various skin creams. One product claimed "If placed on the face where the skin has become wrinkled or tired the radioactive forces immediately take effect on the nerves and tissues. A continuous steady current of energy flows into the skin, and before long the wrinkles will disappear". It was an advertisement in 1915 for Radium Chin Straps.

Marie Curie discovered polonium and radium, and was the first to research the use of radium on tumors.

6. Twenty hours of radiation exposure was once used in the battle for beauty and youthfulness to permanently remove what from the body?

Answer: Unwanted hair.

After Marie Curie's discovery, doctors actually encouraged the use of x-rays as a way to remove unwanted body hair. Of course, that was before we knew how deadly radiation exposure was, but that would be too late for some. It sometimes took as long as twenty hours of exposure to remove the unwanted hair in acute cases of hirsutism.

The side effects were hair loss, skin thickening, atrophy, ulcerations and death.

7. What "special" ingredient would ancient Egyptians often add to lipstick for very red lips?

Answer: Bromine Mannite.

Bromine, typically, is red at room temperature and will work to brighten lips, but it is incredibly toxic. In fact, it is so toxic that it is shipped in lead-lined steel drums today.

It was also used as a chemical weapon during WWI.

Repeated exposure would lead to skin burning and, over time, kidney failure and brain damage.

8. Applying eyelash extensions was a dangerous process in the nineteenth century. It required a steady hand and some sedation for the subject, or victim. Which of the following may they have used?

Answer: Cocaine.

I could not imagine allowing someone to put a needle that close to my eyes just for beauty's sake.

They would take a very fine needle and a long hair from the subject, then thoroughly cleanse the eye with cocaine and water to make it less painful. The needle would be inserted into the extreme edge of the eyelid between the epidermis and the lower border of the eyelid. The needle was then passed in and out of the edge of the lid leaving the hair thread in loops along the length of the eye.

9. On which part of the body would a man rub a mixture of strychnine and cantharidin?

Answer: The scalp.

Women are not the only ones who will try almost anything to fight aging. Men
would mix strychnine and cantharidin, (Spanish Fly) on their scalp to stimulate hair growth.

It may have worked, but the side effects seem to make it less desirable.
Horrible spasms and paralysis would appear shortly after use and, in the long term, even death would be the results. On the positive side, the mixture could act as an aphrodisiac.

10. In 1914 Eugene Rimmel began producing which first commercially formulated "non toxic" cosmetic?

Answer: Mascara.

In 4,000 B.C. the Egyptians began mixing malachite, galena, charcoal, honey and water to create mascara. Most of the ingredients were toxic, and created a host of side effects. In 1914 Eugene Rimmel created the first commercially formulated non-toxic mascara.

Source: Author chris1162

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor rossian before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Looks That Kill Trivia Quiz

Striving for beauty and youthfulness has led to many strange and often deadly results. Here are ten you just will not believe.

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