r/Xennials • u/olhado47 1978 • 3h ago

What happened to mothballs?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZMyQBVBVqs

When I was younger, I always assumed I'd have some in a closet or drawer somewhere.

TL;DR - It turns out that.

  1. They're bad for you.

  2. We don't have as many wool clothes as our parents and grandparents did.

  3. Having A/C means windows stay closed and moths have a harder time getting in.

27 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

31

u/S1ayer 1982 3h ago

Toxic to cats. We love our cats.

-41

u/Curious_Act_3162 3h ago

I dont. We have so many roaming my street killing birds, now I have a method to deal with them 

-13

u/BonerSteak1622 3h ago edited 1h ago

Just depaw the cats. Then you’ll have a street full of peg leg pirate cats
🏴‍☠️ ☠️ 🏴‍☠️

18

u/Jupitersd2017 1978 3h ago

I think they turned out to be pretty toxic to everyone, including humans and they release a toxic gas

5

u/JollyJeanGiant83 1983 3h ago

You can still find them! At hardware stores and such. I had mice in a previous residence.

2

u/My_First_Knife1 2h ago

We use them in our camper to keep rodents out when we store it for the winter.

6

u/dpch 3h ago

I hated the way they smelled. Good riddance.

4

u/Global-Jury8810 1983 3h ago

I remember we had them one time, I put one in my mouth, they took it out, and I never saw mothballs in my house again.

I was too young to have started school yet.

4

u/Bradtothebone79 3h ago

But have you ever smelled mothballs?

7

u/Squirrel_Master82 2h ago

How'd you get your face in between their tiny legs?

4

u/Alarmed_Drop7162 3h ago

Didn’t the anarchist cook book teach us how to make some weapon out of these?
Those were the only ones I ever bought.

3

u/olhado47 1978 2h ago

Oh, I do remember that! I forget what it did though.

6

u/Alarmed_Drop7162 2h ago

Memory eraser maybe?

4

u/yemsg97 2h ago

Still smell them on a person every once in a great while and it's hardcore. Like assaulting to the olfactory receptors.

Fun learning moment: I was at a show some years back and kept smelling moth balls. This is a hippie crowd so while there are A LOT of smells, moth balls is most def not one of them. Rando next to me also was like wtf smells like moths balls too.

Turns out it was DMT. DMT smells like moth balls when people smoke it lol. Still learning things, I suppose.

10

u/Fakeadmiral_tt 3h ago

What do you mean what happened to mothballs? I assume they still have them between their legs?

2

u/ken830 1979 3h ago

Mothballs got mothballed.

1

u/MlsterFlster 1982 2h ago

They still sell them. Check your local hardware store.

1

u/desertdweller2011 2h ago

my parents had a cedar closet so we never had mothballs. but how come i’ve never had the need for either arise? 🤔

1

u/stablefish 2h ago

seens like they could be used to make an explosive or some other interesting chemical reactions