A Lot Can Change in a Hundred Years

Today, the word asbestos strikes terror in the hearts of all, because we now know it causes two particularly nasty lung conditions: asbestosis and mesothelioma. The need to remove it from historic buildings often adds significantly to the cost of restoration projects, and its presence is regularly cited as the reason why groups like Habitat for Humanity refuse to rehab existing houses. 

A hundred years ago, though, people raved about asbestos. Introduced in the last quarter of the 19th-century, asbestos was hailed as a "wonderful fire-proof and highly useful substance." It was added to roof paint and house paint to provide heat insulation and fire resistance. It was used to insulate steam pipes, boilers, ovens, and other high-temperature products. This advertisement, which appeared in the Columbia Republican for March 9, 1915, shows how comfortable people were with asbestos back in the day, even putting it on their dining room tables.

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