Growing up, we depended a lot on patent medicines.  One I remember was called 666.  I know, the name sounds awfully wicked, but people used the medicine despite the name.  I even remember taking a dose or two from my mother when I had a cough.  My Dad says his mother (Grandma Rood) gave it to him in massive quantities every spring for his persistent fever (malaria).  He said it was the only thing that did him any good, but to this day he won’t eat or drink anything bitter.  Here’s a pic I found on the web of a fan used in advertising.  The remedy, as I remember, came in a bottle with a prominent 666 on the label.  Go figure?

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