# Why was poison so popular in the 19th century



## hunter2000 (Apr 7, 2015)

Hi folks,Could any one please tell me why Poison was so popular back in the 19th century. My friend and I were discussing a dump that has produced some nice poison finds in the past and he asked me this question. I tried goggling it but just got the history of arsenic and a few other commonly used poisonous products used to help produce fabrics etc..Thanks for any help.Hunter2000


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## mctaggart67 (Apr 8, 2015)

It's not so much that poisons were popular, though the Victorians did rely on some pretty dangerous compounds as medicines, such as opiates. Rather, this was the era in which began regulation that called for the use of specialized bottles. We still have the regulatory apparatus, but it no longer calls for specialized bottles, except those required to have safety caps. Now you'll find different shaped bottles for poisons today, but those different shapes have more to do with branding and marketing than anything else. Our current regulations focus more on handling, storage and labelling of poisons. Just look around your house and garage. You'll likely find a lot of poisons, but probably no specialized poison bottles (again, safety caps and branded shapes notwithstanding). All the same, poisons are popular with us, too.


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