Updated 13 May; next scheduled update late afternoon, 19 May, but often updated throughout the week. Time flies. This web site is "odd, funny and well researched" - The New York Times This museum collection is "[U]nrivaled. . . . [T]he best material culture collection on menstruation in the world." - Menstruation: A Cultural History (Howie, Shail, eds.) This museum Web site is "a treasure trove of information." - Kotex, Kleenex, Huggies: Kimberly-Clark and the Consumer Revolution in American Business, by Thomas Heinrich and Bob Batchelor. Listen to MUM director Harry Finley carry on about men and menstruation, the MUM museum in his basement, toxic shock, etc., on the Keeper menstrual cup site. No, they didn't pay me. ABOUT MUM (MUseum of Menstruation): "May God close your horable museum." From a letter, with original spelling, to the Museum of Menstruation, from "Shocked, by women," mailed from Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.A. "Consider how Surg. Gen. Koop changed the country! . . . Carry on!" Judge Giles S. Rich (retired), United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Washington, D. C. (from a letter to me) "Odd, funny and well researched" - The New York Times Comments from TV, online and other media about this museum. Three listeners' comments (more) from my half-hour interview with Howard Stern (here): ° "Get a life, creep." ° "[I] am quite familiar with the obstacles to a frank and intelligent discussion of menstruation." (Nancy Freedman, author of Everything You Must Know About Tampons, 1981) ° "I was just listening to your interview with Howard Stern. You handled yourself very well with him. He lambastes just about anyone with a peculiar interest, but you had him very much in check. I was amazed!" Google declares this site "adult,"not something a family could look at together and withdraws the ads it had placed here for 8 years (December 2011). I need permission slips from Google employees' mothers before they peek at this site. NO FAKE SIGNATURES OR I'LL SEND YOU TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE!! "Stick to jock itch products, buddy." In a commentary about the museum and its creator in the defunct Sassy, an American magazine for teenage girls. "Terrifically diverse" - The Independent on Sunday (London, England) "It's fabulous that somebody out there is willing to . . . pull back the curtain." Mona Miller, national media relations director of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, discussing the museum in The Prince George's Journal, Maryland, U.S.A. "One of the best on the Internet" - Britannica.com  "Ecco perché Harry Finley ne sa più della tua Mamma" - Marie Claire magazine (Italian edition) "This gem of a website is a virtual repository for everything you ever wanted to know about women's periods." - New Scientist magazine (United Kingdom) "More interesting than you might think. . . . lively." The V Book: A Doctor's Guide to Complete Vulvovaginal Health, by Elizabeth G. Stewart, M.D., of Harvard medical school and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. More media on MUM The New York Times: This site is "odd, funny and well researched" Judge Giles S. Rich: "Consider how Surg. Gen. Koop changed the country! Carry on!" Below, the latest menstruation articles, news, with the history of menstrual products & culture.  ................................................................................................................................ My apologies! I got involved with deleting Google code from these pages and forgot I promised to update MUM. I won't forget next time. ........................................................................................ Additions to Words and expressions for menstruation: Sweden: Amerikafrämmat, Det månatliga, Grejjerna, Jag har mens, Jag kan inte bada, Lignonvecka (and read how pad use in her family changed through the generations under Jag har mens) USA: Regular ........................................................ Turkey not only imitated Tampax tampons but also American movies like The Wizard of Oz as a great Spiegel online series of movie posters shows. ....................................................... "Early Menopause Linked to Bone Fracture Risk" Read the New York Tiimes story. .............................................................................................. Ads for Assure panty liners, 1980s ......................................................................................... Evidence in a Mexican village that some women did not use anything to absorb menstrual discharge. (Scroll down to: Some e-mail supporting the idea that women used nothing, and other topics: In a Mexican village ......................................... A new contribution to Would you stop menstruating if you could? ............................................................................................. 3 ads for Sears menstrual pad belts, late 19th century ...................................................................... New book on menopause and mid-life The Tao of Turning Fifty: What Every Woman in Her Forties Needs to Know. The author writes, "There's a free excerpt on my website, also new. And my next project will be for young women." See some of her poems on the MUM poetry link page. www.jenniferboire.com ................................................................................................................. Right before the Mad Men decade the booze flows in this Kotex ad. .............................................................................................................. From Maureen Dowd's column in the New York Times, 18 March 2012: "Mormon feminists got upset this winter when they found that young women in some temples had not been allowed to do proxy baptisms while they were menstruating." ...................................................................... "'Brain Fog' of Menopause Confirmed" Read the story in ScienceDaily ......................................................................... Women develop menstrual cup for Kenya and later the world, win top prize 3 Danish students at the Copenhagen Business School won the grand prize of the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition of the University of Washington. (Announcement, story in a Danish newspaper site and Ruby Cup site.) The newspaper story recounts how Kenyan women who can't afford pads use mud, bark or a piece of cloth. They've had little or no information about menstruation from their mothers or other sources; sounds like stories I heard in the museum from Americans. Many miss school or work, lacking adequate protection. The cup will cost from $6-9 and last 10 years. The students are Maxie Matthiessen, Julie Weigaard Kjær og Veronica D´Souza. See 2 similar stories about pads in India (here and here). See some older cups. ........................................................................................ An e-mailer writes about Jewish menstrual practices. ...................................................................................... Busy, rich illustrator Jon Whitcomb paints Kotex ad, 1958 E-mail to MUM: Hi. Just wanted to let you know that we've launched a drive to collect tote bags with tampons/pads   to help women at the food pantries. More details here.  http://tote4pgh.com/special-drives/sister-supplies/ Thank you,  Sue -- *The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project* *"Helping our neighbors and our environment, one tote bag at a time." .............................................................................................................................. "Be a giggle" Fun-loving Kotex cartwheels for Soft Impressions menstrual pads, 1972 ....................................................................... "Scientists Use Stem Cells to Generate Human Eggs" (New York Times story) "The advance, if confirmed, might provide a new source of eggs for treating infertility, though scientists say it is far too early to tell if the work holds such promise." Aunt Flo humor Additions to Words and expressions for menstruation: India: Chums, MC, M Seal, ST Sears advertises 2 defunct tampons and the remaining champion, Tampax, in its late 1930s-early 1940s catalog. ................................................................................................................. From the Tampax donation: Ad for Pursettes lubricated tampon, November 1965 ........................................................... An addition to Words and expressions for menstruation: U.S.A.: It .................................................................... Abortion through the mail: Four 1933 American ads for (illegal} birth control .............................................................................................. An emailer writes about her useful mini pads: "In 1992 when I was in basic training with the US Navy. We had to do drills with fake rifles. Most of us women did not have a lot of muscle and padding on our shoulders to carry the fake rifles. So we used stick-on mini pads on our shoulders. It is funny that a someone with a man's name is mantaining [a clever slip of the finger] the site. Got a link to it from wisewomenhood.com" [This is your MUM, the man just mentioned: Years ago, when I developed a painful hand while working as a graphic designer, I wrapped panty pads around my pencils to enable my hand to better grasp them and reduce the pain. A woman co-worker asked me, "What's THAT?!" It confirmed her view that artists were, well, wacky. And a few years later I started this museum in my house. Point well taken!] ................................................................................................... "A smaller dose of the 'morning after' birth control pill may help to control fibroids in the uterus as well. That's the conclusion of two new studies. They were done in Europe, where the pill is awaiting approval. Fibroids are growths that can cause heavy bleeding, pain and fertility problems." Read the whole article from Harvard Medical School. ........................................................................... An e-mailer asked me to add what seems to be a good site: "hundreds of printable and online applications for retail stores, department stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, restaurants, shops,  etc." at http://www.job-applications.com .................................................................................................................. See Gregory Scaff's menstrual art at the MOCADC gallery (http://www.mocadc.org) in Washington, D.C. Reception at 6 pm, Friday, 3 February 2012. More Art of menstruation (and ancient art of menstruation). .......................................................... How is a menstrual pad like a grapefruit? Find out in 3 ads for the defunct Modess pad, 1970s. An addition to Words and expressions for menstruation: U.S.A.: Full stop ............................................................ Your MUM curator puts his 2 cents into an article, Perspective: The Lady Problem, on ADWEEK ................................................................................. A Kotex lamp chases shadows of doubt, even today. .................................................................. Womanstruation? Of course! ................................................... "Females May Be More Susceptible to Infection During Ovulation" Read the story. A Canadian menstrual pad holder and pad from the 1930s-40s ................................................................................................... Now that I don't have to worry about Google's retaliation - it's already booted your MUM and me out of its AdSense program for featuring menstruation and its naughty facts and words in all their g[l]ory and is putting me on the street - read Sandra Tsing Loh's "The Bitch is Back" in The Atlantic magazine online. It's about how menopause makes women normal, just as angry and lazy, etc., as men. Like me. The woman can write. "The Biology Behind Severe PMS" Read the story on ScienceDaily Man in India goes through (somewhat) what women do, invents cheap menstrual pad. See some other solutions for India here and here. 1850s American menstrual pad & belt ....................................................................... "The Little Red Book About Having Your Period" ("HET RODE BOEKJE OVER ONGESTELD ZIJN") By Renate van der Bas I translate a chapter from the just published Dutch book. Google just  declared this site "adult,"not something a family could look at together and not be embarrassed and withdrew the ads it had placed here for 8 years up to December 2011. So, I need permission slips from Google employees' mothers before these employees peek at this site. NO FAKE SIGNATURES OR I'LL SEND YOU TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE!! Author Renate van der Bas, above,  by the way, had harsh words about Google's action and American Puritanism. ................... A lubricated tampon lures girls into trying it Pursettes ad, 1975 What do Chinese women use? E-mail from Hong Kong A cat and dog show why Kleinert's Sani-Scants panties are better than wearing a belt in this 1950s ad. ................................................ Sanitary padding makes no hips into sticky, er, nice ones. Read about the prize-winning idea! Thanks to the contributor of many items to MUM! .................................................................................. Certain "Kotex Tampons Recalled Over Bacterial Contamination." "For a list of the specific lots that were recalled and the stores that received them, go to the Kimberly-Clark website." Full story. Some of you remember another tampon recall involving deaths and illness. ................... "Contraceptive Pill Associated With Increased Prostate Cancer Risk Worldwide, Study Finds" ......................................... Ad for New Freedom towel (sanitary napkin) and pantie set, U. K., 1973 ............................................ Oldest painted object in central Europe (Germany's Swabian Alps) found, about 15, 000 years old; possibly a menstrual calendar. See the red dots and read the story (in German) ...................... Ad for the Kotex puberty booklet "As One Girl To Another" probably early 1940s, U.S.A. "They're cute, mother-- a cotton nightie is primitive" #9 in a series of ads for Modess menstrual pads called Modernizing Mother, November 1929 ................................................................ "[I]t must be the earliest representation of childbirth in Western art" Piece of ceramic jar found in Italy, 2,700 years old, shows woman having baby; (look hard & long in the center, top to bottom). Read the story and see the image. ......................................................... Ad for Quest menstrual pad powder from Kotex, 1940s-1950s .......................................... Battle between father (placenta) and mother, and PP13, threatens the pregnant woman according to a new theory More in the fascinating story ................................................ Modess flexible tampons, ads, 1956 & 1958 ............................. Being fat preserves your mind after menopause? Read the encouraging finding. .................................................. French Meds tampons, 1969 ................................................................. Menstruation might reduce brain disease risk. Read the interesting story. ............................................. "Four Young Men Go In Search Of A Profit!" In 1957, the president of Kimberly-Clark (maker of Kotex) told his company history to the Newcomen Society.  ........................................................................... "Do Women's Voices Really Allow Men to Detect Ovulation? No, Says New Study" Read the article. .......................... Healthline.com recently launched a free interactive “Human Female Chest in 3D” tool. ....................................... Recent instructions for the Japanese Elldy tampon, which has finger protectors. I thank the Hispanic woman in Japan! ................ Two new Words and expressions for menstruation: Germany: Eine Strafe Gottes (A punishment of God) USA: It's Tuesday ................................ "Use of IUDs [intrauterine devices] May Cut Cervical Cancer Risk" Read the story. ............................. "Bruce Dan, Who Helped Link Toxic Shock and Tampons, Is Dead at 64" Read the New York Times story Read about a key player in the story. Rely tampon. ............................. Early Tampax tampon booklet for girls: it's natural[,] it's normal[,] it has a purpose . . . ................................ Birth control pills affect memory in interesting ways (Article) ................................................................ "Cycling: A Guide to Menstruation" by Laura Szumowski, finds some of its inspiration for its facts and drawings from this Web site (like here). But  a booklet on this page (I can't figure out which one!) also plays with the word cycle on its cover. Short and sweet. ............................... 4 new contributions to Would you stop menstruating if you could? ............................... Evax menstrual pads ad, 1972, from Chile NEW Words and expressions for menstruation: U.S.A.: Pip (see last part of the entry) The word seems to come only from Virginia. Beach reading: Effie by Suzanne Cooper It has it all, folks! Science marches on! Arcross tampons, 1960 Menstruation news CONTINUED Leer la versión en español por María García de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - El Punto Gräfenberg (Punto G) - Los riesgos de las duchas vaginales - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación - Sincronía menstrual y suspensión - Aspectos arquetípicos de los genitales femeninos CONTRIBUTE to Humor and Words and expressions for menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could? Some MUM site LINKS: MUM address & What does MUM mean? | E-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? Listen to him. Age at menarche (first menstruation), changes (secular trend) Amazing women! Art of menstruation (and awesome ancient art of menstruation) Art of Harry Finley, MUM's creator (you'll leave this MUM site) The (former) ACTUAL MUSEUM Artists (non-menstrual) Asbestos & menstrual products Belts, menstrual (to hold pads in place) Bidets Birth control douche & sponges Birth control drugs, old Birth control and religion Founder of MUM bio Bly , Nellie MUM board Books: menstruation & menopause (& reviews) Cats Company booklets for girls (mostly) directory Contraception and religion Contraceptive drugs, old Contraceptive douche & sponges Costumes Cups, menstrual and their ads | cup usage Dispensers, menstrual products Disposal bags for menstrual pads Douches, pain, sprays & their ads Essay directory Examination , gynecological (pelvic) (short history) Extraction, menstrual Facts-of-life booklets Famous women in menstrual hygiene ads FAQ | founder/director biography Feminine napkins, pads, towels & ads directory Former (physical) museum in my house Future of the museum Gynecological examination of a woman's pelvis (short history) Gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux Humor Huts Links Media coverage of MUM Menarche age (first menstruation), changes (secular trend) Menarche booklets for girls & parents Menotoxin, menstrual poison Menstrual napkins, pads, towels & their ads directory Mikvah ritual bath after menstruation for Orthodox Jews Miscellaneous : myths, menstrual wave, comic strips, advertising, etc. Museum's future as a public building open to all Museum (former physical menstruation) in my house Norwegian menstruation exhibit Odor & the origin of menstrual odor Olor Pads, towels, napkin & their ads directory Panties (women's underpants) & underwear directory Past American & European customs Patent medicine & ads Poetry directory Poison, menstrual (menotoxin) Products , a very few current Puberty booklets for girls and parents Religion | Religión y menstruación Remedies for menstrual discomfort, your Safety of products | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación Sanitary napkins, pads, towels & their ads directory Science Shame Slapping , menstrual Sponges Stop menstruating comments, your Synchrony Tampons & their ads directory | some early tampons Teen ads directory Towels, pads, napkins & their ads directory Tour the former museum in Harry Finley's house Underwear & panties directory Videos, films directory Words and expressions about menstruation Would you stop menstruating if you could? What did women do about menstruation in the past? Washable cloth pads © 2012 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any of the work on this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org Harry Finley is the founder and director, and he created, writes and maintains this site.