I think I remember hearing methanol got most of its bad rep (over IPA) because it was commonly produced with the ethanol when moonshine was made by inexperienced people. During prohibition, people would go to these inexperienced distillers because of the low cost (or even try doing it themselves) and get sick.

It is also used to “denature” (make unfit for consumption) ethanol for industrial use to be exempt from alcohol taxes. Bittering agents are more common now though, especially when the product is consumer facing and the residue left by the agent isn’t important.