Bromo-Seltzer

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Bromo-Seltzer newspaper ad (1908)
Emerson Drug Company's Bromo-Seltzer Tower headquarters in Baltimore
A horse-drawn Bromo-Seltzer wagon

Bromo-Seltzer was 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 subsequently removed. Its final formulation contained the pain reliever acetaminophen and two reactive chemicals – sodium bicarbonate and citric acid – which created effervescence when mixed with water. It is unclear if it contained any antacid.

History[]

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 this active ingredient. Bromides are a class of tranquilizers that were withdrawn from the U.S. market in 1975 due to their toxicity.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, which is now known to be a poisonous substance.[2] Acetanilide was replaced with its metabolite acetaminophen. Its final formulation used acetaminophen, sodium bicarbonate, and citric acid, the latter two of which provided the carbonation effect.

Bromo-Seltzer's main offices and main 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 clock tower, built in 1911, which featured "BROMOSELTZER" in place of the numerals on all four clock faces. 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]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Kelly, Jacques (June 2, 2011). "Bromo Seltzer Tower Marks 100 Years". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  2. ^ Adams, Samuel Hopkins (1906). The Great American Fraud. P.F. Colier & Son. pp. 35–37. Retrieved December 9, 2017. The Great American Fraud.
  3. ^ Location of Bromo-Seltzer Tower in Baltimore, Maryland

Mentioned in "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", a Rogers and Hart song from the 1940 musical "Pal Joey".

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