Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup

You just have to laugh when you read some of the health claims made by most of the elixirs, tonics and remedies sold in the 1800s. They promised weight loss, beauty, and unrealistic health benefits with no real consequences. For the most part, they got away with this because of very lax government regulation of food and drugs. It wasn't until Upton Sinclair's muckraking expose The Jungle, written in 1906, that the government felt pressured to create more stringent regulations. The Pure Foods Act passed in 1906, and became the Food and Drug Administration in the 1930s. The reign of the snake oil salesman was over. We can still get a chuckle out of these product advertisements from the 1800s though. Here is a trade card for Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, sure to cure your baby's teething pain. Do we really want to know what was in it? I'll bet it was flammable!