Romona, I drank from garden hoses in the 50s, too. They were made from natural rubber. They definitely smelled rubbery on a hot day, and the hoses gradually disintegrated like any natural product.
"hiway" is right. The dangerous polyvinyl chloride hoses that leach lead and other toxins (especially when heated by the sun) weren't even developed until the late 1950s, and took quite a while to achieve the market dominance they enjoy today.
Romona, I drank from garden hoses in the 50s, too. They were made from natural rubber. They definitely smelled rubbery on a hot day, and the hoses gradually disintegrated like any natural product.
"hiway" is right. The dangerous polyvinyl chloride hoses that leach lead and other toxins (especially when heated by the sun) weren't even developed until the late 1950s, and took quite a while to achieve the market dominance they enjoy today.