What the Hell Was Up With 1920s Safety PSAs?

Ever fallen down a rabbit hole of vintage safety PSAs? No? Just me? Cool.

So, here's the thing: people in the early 1900s really wanted you to not die. Problem is, they also thought the best way to do that was nightmare fuel. I was browsing an antique shop last week (shoutout to Yonbon's thrift store), and I found this absolutely unhinged safety pamphlet from 1924. Title?

"WATCH YOUR STEP- THE DEAD CANNOT WALK BACK.”

Which is already a lot.

It's basically a warning about train tracks, but instead of just saying 'hey, look both ways', it's illustrated with a sequence of woodcuts showing a child literally getting pulped by a train. (Will not post that part because I like having a functional audience...) But the best (worst?) part is the grinning skeleton wearing the kid's clothes in the final panel, waving goodbye.

Like, why?

Did they think cartoon corpses were the way to stop people from being reckless? Or was this just early horror movie marketing in disguise? Because once you start looking, this stuff is everywhere.

OTHER INSANE SAFETY PSAs I FOUND:

"Little Timmy Didn't Look- Now the Spiders Have Him" (1932)- Found this one in a digital archive. No spiders in the actual PSA. Just a drawing of a kid staring blankly into space while covered in webbing. Presumably dead.

"Hold The Knife Right- or Someone Else Might" (1941)- A literal blood-splattered warning about kitchen safety. What's worse, the knife in the drawing is pointing at the reader.

"Fire Takes What It Wants" (store dated it 1956)- Not even safety advice, just a grim statement and a blurry photo of a burnt doll.

Why were they like this?? Was scaring people really the best strategy? Would love to hear if anyone else has found weird PSAs like this. Hit me up if you have one!