03/27/2026
The “Good Ol’ Days” were never really good.
Whoah. Another strong statement right out of the gate. I’ll explain and the answer will be (hopefully) surprising.
I’m continuing my campaign of not doing sales pitches. They still make me want to hurl, and I’m still ok with that. If you need some admin help, email me.
To the statement at hand!
Younger generations seem like they’re always getting dumped on. Millennials (represent!) are a bunch of diamond trade & homeowning market killing nihilists, Gen Z is bemoaned as being soft and entitled, and Gen Alpha is criticized for their brain rot content and short attention spans. All three also seem to be reason consumerism is at an all-time high.
Kids these days.
Except not really. Though true, consumerism is at an all time high thanks to the internet allowing for easily accessible shopping platforms through targeted ads, Temu, and the TikTok shop, I’d argue they are not the cause of consumerism, rather a magnifying glass for something humans have always been doing: buying stuff that’s kind of dumb.
Case in point, the antimony cup.
A few things to preface: Antimony is a metalloid that has a heavy metal toxicity similar to arsenic. Antimony has also been used as far back as 3000BCE as an expectorant (ie it makes you vom).
Antimony was so popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it had its own accessories.
Temu could never!
..But if it did, would probably look like this:
🧪 Tired of the hassle of measuring toxins for your wine, water, or ale? Not anymore! The antimony cup does the work for you! It’s made out of (surprise!) antimony! Simply pour your beverage into the small silver cup (pictured) and let it do the work for you!
🤢 Ingest your now heavy metal-infused beverage and before long you’ll be puking your brains out! (Good thing it comes with a bowl to blow chunks into!)
🍷 The antimony cup is also great for efficiency! If you don't finish your drink fast enough, your stomach won’t be the only thing that gets purged--your life might as well!
💀 Talk about having a killer time!
📦 The antimony cup’s all in one design includes a nesting bowl for super convenient travel & storage!
🥼 Get yours before medical science realizes this is actually a bad idea!
--
All I can say is I’m glad the TikTok shop wasn’t around in the 1700s and I’m glad antimony cups aren’t around now.
Thanks to the Victoria and Albert Museum for the photos. I’ll have to book some tickets to see these in person (I won’t drink out of them, I promise).
Sources:
“Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything” by Lydia Kang, MD & Nate Pedersen
Bureau of Economic Analysis: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/consumer-spending #:~:text=Consumer%20Spending%20in%20the%20United,U.S.%20Bureau%20of%20Economic%20Analysis
National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK608003/
Victoria & Albert Museum in London: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O10985/antimonial-cup-with-unknown/
