Bromo-Seltzer is a brand of antacid formulated to relieve pain occurring together with heartburn, upset stomach, or acid indigestion. It originally contained sodium bromide and acetanilide, both toxic substances which were eventually removed. Its current formulation contains the pain reliever aspirin and two reactive chemicals – sodium bicarbonate and citric acid –which creates effervescence when mixed with water. Sodium bicarbonate is an antacid.
Bromo-Seltzer was invented in 1888 by Isaac E. Emerson and produced by the Emerson Drug Company of Baltimore, Maryland. It was sold in the United States in the form of effervescent granules that were mixed with water before ingestion. [1] The product took its name from a component of the original formula, sodium bromide; each dose contained 3.2 mEq/teaspoon of it. Bromides are a class of tranquilizers that were withdrawn from the U.S. market in 1975 due to their toxicity. Their sedative effect probably accounted for Bromo-Seltzer's popularity as a hangover remedy. Early formulas also used acetanilide as the analgesic ingredient; it is now known to be toxic. [2] Acetanilide was replaced with its metabolite acetaminophen, and its current formulation uses aspirin, sodium bicarbonate, and citric acid, the latter two of which provide the carbonation.
Bromo-Seltzer's main offices and factory were located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, at the corner of West Lombard and South Eutaw streets. [3] The factory's most notable feature was the Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower, built in 1911, whose four clock faces are ringed by letters spelling out the product name. The tower was patterned on the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tower originally held a 51-foot (16m) representation of a Bromo-Seltzer bottle at its top, glowing blue and rotating on a vertical axis. The sign weighed 20 tons (18.1 tonnes), included 314 incandescent light bulbs, and was topped with a crown. The sign was removed in 1936 because of structural concerns. [1]
Emerson, who traveled widely, said the fizz reminded him of the bubbling action of Mount Bromo, a volcano in Java. [4]
Bromo-Seltzer is mentioned in several films and TV shows, including The Crooked Circle (1932), Bed of Roses (1933), Topper (1937), Wonder Man (1945), Somewhere in the Night (1946), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), [5] the 1998 The Simpsons episode "Bart Carny", and in Golden Girls (Season 4, Episode 1).
It is mentioned in John Steinbeck's 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath .
Drugstore Bromo-Seltzer dispensers are mentioned in Georges Simenon's 1949 detective novel Maigret chez le coroner that takes place in Arizona.
It is mentioned in several songs, including "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" by Rodgers and Hart, "Adelaide's Lament" in the musical Guys and Dolls , and "Pachuco Cadaver" by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. In Spike Jones' version of Laura, the chorus chants "Bromo-Seltzer, Bromo-Seltzer..." to evoke the sound of a chugging train.
An antacid is a substance which neutralizes stomach acidity and is used to relieve heartburn, indigestion, or an upset stomach. Some antacids have been used in the treatment of constipation and diarrhea. Marketed antacids contain salts of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, or sodium. Some preparations contain a combination of two salts, such as magnesium carbonate and aluminum hydroxide.
Salicylic acid is an organic compound with the formula HOC6H4COOH. A colorless (or, white), bitter-tasting solid, it is a precursor to and a metabolite of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). It is a plant hormone, and has been listed by the EPA Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory as an experimental teratogen. The name is from Latin salix for willow tree, from which it was initially identified and derived. It is an ingredient in some anti-acne products. Salts and esters of salicylic acid are known as salicylates.
Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation (Na+) and a bicarbonate anion (HCO3−). Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder. It has a slightly salty, alkaline taste resembling that of washing soda (sodium carbonate). The natural mineral form is nahcolite, although it is more commonly found as a component of the mineral trona.
Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent quality. Common forms include sparkling natural mineral water, club soda, and commercially produced sparkling water.
Potassium bromide (KBr) is a salt, widely used as an anticonvulsant and a sedative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with over-the-counter use extending to 1975 in the US. Its action is due to the bromide ion. Potassium bromide is used as a veterinary drug, in antiepileptic medication for dogs.
A patent medicine is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders and symptoms, as opposed to a prescription drug that could be obtained only through a pharmacist, usually with a doctor's prescription, and whose composition was openly disclosed. Many over-the-counter medicines were once ethical drugs obtainable only by prescription, and thus are not patent medicines.
Trisodium citrate has the molecular formula Na3C6H5O7. It is sometimes referred to simply as "sodium citrate", though sodium citrate can refer to any of the three sodium salts of citric acid. It possesses a saline, mildly tart flavor, and is a mild alkali.
Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever owned by Bayer since 1978. First marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company of Elkhart, Indiana, United States, Alka-Seltzer contains three active ingredients: aspirin (ASA), sodium bicarbonate, and anhydrous citric acid. The aspirin is a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory, the sodium bicarbonate is an antacid, and the citric acid reacts with the sodium bicarbonate and water to form effervescence.
Sodium bromide is an inorganic compound with the formula NaBr. It is a high-melting white, crystalline solid that resembles sodium chloride. It is a widely used source of the bromide ion and has many applications.
A bromide ion is the negatively charged form (Br−) of the element bromine, a member of the halogens group on the periodic table. Most bromides are colorless. Bromides have many practical roles, being found in anticonvulsants, flame-retardant materials, and cell stains. Although uncommon, chronic toxicity from bromide can result in bromism, a syndrome with multiple neurological symptoms. Bromide toxicity can also cause a type of skin eruption, see potassium bromide. The bromide ion has an ionic radius of 196 pm.
A bath bomb or bath fizzie is a toiletry item used in the bath. It was invented and patented in 1989 by Mo Constantine, co-founder of Lush Cosmetics. It is a compacted mixture of wet and dry ingredients molded into any of several shapes and then dried. Bath water effervesces at the surface of a bath bomb immersed within it, with attendant dispersion of such ingredients as essential oil, moisturizer, fragrance, or colorant.
Fizzies were tablets that created a "carbonated" soft drink when added to water.
The Emerson Tower is a 15-story, 88 m (289 ft) clock tower erected in 1907–1911 at 21 South Eutaw Street, at the northeast corner of Eutaw and West Lombard Streets in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. It was the tallest building in the city from 1911 to 1923, until supplanted by the Citizens National Bank building at the southeast corner of Light and Redwood (German) Streets. It was designed by local architect Joseph Evans Sperry (1854–1930) for Isaac Edward Emerson (1859–1931), who invented the Bromo-Seltzer headache remedy.
Eutaw Street is a major street in Baltimore, Maryland, mostly within the downtown area. Outside of downtown, it is mostly known as Eutaw Place.
Aspirin, an organic compound that does not occur in nature, was first synthesised in 1899.
Seidlitz powders is the generic name under which a commonly known laxative and digestion regulator was marketed and sold by numerous manufacturers under names such as "Rexall Seidlitz Powders", particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
One Calvert Plaza, formerly the Continental Trust Company Building, is a historic 16-story, 76 m (249 ft) skyscraper in Baltimore, Maryland. The Beaux-Arts, early modern office building was constructed with steel structural members clad with terra cotta fireproofing and tile-arch floors. Its namesake was chartered in 1898 and instrumental in merging several Baltimore light and gas companies into one citywide system. It was constructed in 1900–1901 to designs prepared by D.H. Burnham and Company of Chicago and is a survivor of the Great Baltimore Fire of February 1904, that destroyed more than 100 acres (40 ha) in the present downtown financial district. When it was built in 1901, it was then the tallest building in Baltimore, and it kept that title until being surpassed by the iconic Bromo-Seltzer Tower of the Emerson Drug Company on the northeast corner of West Lombard and South Eutaw Streets on the downtown west side. Led by Capt. Isaac Edward Emerson, (1859–1931), the inventor of the stomach remedy and antacid, "Bromo-Seltzer" in 1911.
Salicylate poisoning, also known as aspirin poisoning, is the acute or chronic poisoning with a salicylate such as aspirin. The classic symptoms are ringing in the ears, nausea, abdominal pain, and a fast breathing rate. Early on, these may be subtle, while larger doses may result in fever. Complications can include swelling of the brain or lungs, seizures, low blood sugar, or cardiac arrest.
Captain Isaac Edward Emerson (1859–1931) was a wealthy American businessman, socialite, and seaman. He is most notable for having created the headache remedy Bromo-Seltzer upon which his great wealth was based and the reason he was known as the "Bromo-Seltzer King".
Antikamnia Chemical Company (1890–1930), named after its patent medicine Antikamnia, was an American pharmaceutical company based in St. Louis that manufactured supposed cures for pains with the main ingredient being acetanilid, which was known to be toxic in high doses or in sensitive individuals. They produced a range of products with mixtures of therapeutic chemicals including both quinine and heroin. Unlike quack cures of the time, they contained potent chemicals but these were not carefully tested and were considered as nostrums by many physicians of the time. The company however made huge profits through clever advertising and marketing of the product targeting physicians, using physician testimonials and finding loopholes in the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.
The Great American Fraud.
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