Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Omega Oil |
Object Name |
Bottle, Apothecary |
Credit line |
Silvia M. Ferretti, D.O Medical Museum |
Year Range from |
1890 |
Description |
Omega Oil first entered the market in late 1898 or early 1899. Their first newspaper advertisements which began appearing in 1899, were presented to look more like news items and told a version of the product’s origin that they’d have you believe. And with the unique selling point – It’s green – created a long-lasting brand. As the story goes, a Boston businessman was in Europe on vacation. While there, his wife fell from a carriage and broke her ankle. No doctor or remedy could cure her until, while in Switzerland, he met a young woman whose grandfather made a "queer green oil" that cured her within two hours. The "almost miraculous curative virtues" of the oil, and the reason for it’s green color came from a rare herb that grew only in a certain part of Switzerland. The man ultimately bought the recipe, returned to the United States, invested in the oil and organized a company to manufacture it. The miraculous little green herb was possibly henbane, but fortunately it was in very small quantities – the main ingredients were chloroform, oil of wintergreen and mineral oil. Oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate) is still a component of deep-heat liniments today and I imagine that sufferers did feel the benefit of this sweet-smelling emerald liquid. It got on the wrong side of the FDA in 1942, when it was judged misbranded because of the exaggerated claims, but this didn’t kill off the product – it is still available in some countries today. |
Collection |
Bottles |
Accession number |
Pharma. 8 |