09/05/2026
π Fun Fact Friday!
People have been battling bedbugs for a VERY long time...
And it turns out, people in the 1800s actually figured out something pretty important about them:
Bedbugs LOVE to hide. πͺ³
Housekeeping advice recognized that during the day, bedbugs could disappear into the tiny cracks, holes, joints, and crevices of beds and furniture.
So instead of only cleaning what they could see, people were advised to take beds apart, thoroughly clean those hidden spaces, and even fill cracks with putty so the bugs had fewer places to hide.
Honestly?
Pretty smart. π
They had figured out an important part of the problem.
Unfortunately...
then someone brought out the mercury. π
An 1860 housekeeping book recommended mixing quicksilver, which is mercury, with egg whites, beating the mixture into a froth, and using a feather to paint it into the cracks and holes of the bedstead. π³
So they went from:
βBedbugs hide in tiny cracks. Let's eliminate their hiding places!β
to:
βYou know what this bedroom needs? Mercury and eggs.β
VERY quickly. π
Needless to say, this particular piece of historical housekeeping advice belongs firmly in the:
π« DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME category.
We'll give our Victorian predecessors credit for understanding their enemy...
but maybe not for choosing their weapons. π
π Remember, life gets messy... and your house can too.