By YEET MAGAZINE | Updated 1408 GMT (2208 HKT) September 29, 2021

These widespread practices in the Wild West show how wild the times really were

Spittoons in the saloons

In the Old West, it was quite normal to spit. This is the reason why spittoons were common in the region at the time.

Many cowboys chewed tobacco, then coughed up bundles of brownish mucus into the spittoon. This habitual sputum was an ideal vector for the spread of unsympathetic diseases like tuberculosis and pneumonia. The spittoons were placed in the saloons on the floor along the counter at the level of the famous copper rail which must therefore be dripping with saliva.