Articles about old-time patent medicine.
Many people say it’s a myth that Coca-Cola once contained cocaine, or that the cocaine was only there by accident. In this 3-part article, I’m going to take a deep dive into not only Coca-Cola history, but the early history of the U.S. soda pop industry in general. In this article, I will cover questions … Read more
Hamlin’s Wizard oil, launched in 1861, was a famous patent medicine of the late 1800s and early 1900s meant to be used as a liniment. According to the ad shown here, it was a remedy of rheumatism, neuralgia, toothache, headache, diphtheria, sore throat, lame back, sprains, bruises, corns, cramps, colic, diarrhea, and all pain and … Read more
Most of us use bleach quite often to either clean and sanitize our homes or to whiten our whites. Household bleach is actually sodium hypochlorite but the basis is chlorine. Chlorine is a bactericidal AND a virucide. In other words, it will effectively kill many bacteria and viruses. So, can you blame the patent medicine industry … Read more
If you have a fireplace and have ever had to clean it out, you are familiar with creosote. As well, if you’ve ever taken a walk on the tracks, and noted the sticky black coating on the railroad ties, you’ve discovered creosote. It is a by-product of the burning of wood or coal, which leaves … Read more
Although Bayer, or Freidr. Bayer & Co. of Elberfeld, Germany, had already created its first aspirin product by 1894, the company decided to hold off on moving forward with it in favor of another product: heroin. The company introduced their heroin product in the Autumn of 1898. It was a hydrochloric salt of heroin, soluble … Read more
Blood poison was often used during the 1800’s and into the early 1900’s as a general wastebasket diagnosis to explain many common non-serious and serious conditions. Although blood poison, in those days, could mean the same thing as an infection of the blood introduced through a wound, it was just as often a way of … Read more