Bromo-Seltzer was a brand of antacid formulated to relieve pain occurring together with

heartburn Heartburn, also known as pyrosis, cardialgia or acid indigestion, is a burning sensation in the central chest or upper central abdomen. Heartburn is usually due to regurgitation of gastric acid (gastric reflux) into the esophagus. It is the ma ...

, upset stomach, or

acid indigestion Heartburn, also known as pyrosis, cardialgia or acid indigestion, is a burning sensation in the central chest or upper central abdomen. Heartburn is usually due to regurgitation of gastric acid (gastric reflux) into the esophagus. It is the ma ...

. It originally contained sodium bromide and acetanilide, both toxic substances which were eventually removed. Its final formulation contained the pain reliever

acetaminophen Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. Common brand names include Tylenol and Panadol. At a standard dose, paracetamol only slightly decreases body temperature; it is inferior ...

and two reactive chemicals—

sodium bicarbonate 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−) ...

and

citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOC(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in t ...

—which created effervescence when mixed with water. Sodium bicarbonate is an antacid.

History

Bromo-Seltzer was invented in 1888 by Isaac E. Emerson and produced by the Emerson Drug Company of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It was sold in the United States in the form of

effervescent Effervescence is the escape of gas from an aqueous solution and the foaming or fizzing that results from that release. The word effervescence is derived from the Latin verb ''fervere'' (to boil), preceded by the adverb ''ex''. It has the same li ...

granules that were mixed with water before

ingestion Ingestion is the consumption of a substance by an organism. In animals, it normally is accomplished by taking in a substance through the mouth into the gastrointestinal tract, such as through eating or drinking. In single-celled organisms ingest ...

. The product took its name from a component of the original formula, sodium bromide; each dose contained 3.2

mEq An equivalent (symbol: officially equiv; unofficially but often Eq) is the amount of a substance that reacts with (or is ''equivalent'' to) an arbitrary amount (typically one mole) of another substance in a given chemical reaction. It is an arc ...

/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 A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...

effect probably accounted for Bromo-Seltzer's popularity as a hangover remedy. Early formulas also used acetanilide as the

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

ingredient; it is now known to be poisonous. Acetanilide was replaced with its metabolite

. Its final formulation used acetaminophen,

, and

, the latter two of which provided the carbonation. Bromo-Seltzer's main offices and main factory were located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, at the corner of West Lombard and South Eutaw Streets. The factory's most notable feature was the

Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower The Emerson Tower (often called the Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower or the Bromo Tower) is a 15-story, clock tower erected in 1907–1911 at 21 South Eutaw Street, at the northeast corner of Eutaw and West Lombard Streets in downtown Baltimore, Mar ...

, built in 1911, whose four clock faces are ringed by letters spelling out the product name. The tower was patterned on the

Palazzo Vecchio The Palazzo Vecchio ( "Old Palace") is the City hall, town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David (Michelangelo), David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. 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.

In popular culture

Bromo-Seltzer was mentioned in the 1940 song " Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" by Rodgers and Hart. “Bromo-Fizz” is mentioned in the song “Adelaide’s Lament” in the 1950 musical ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

''. Bromo-Seltzer was mentioned in the 1969 song " Pachuco Cadaver" on the album Trout Mask Replica by

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band The Magic Band was the backing band of American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Captain Beefheart between 1967 and 1982. The rotating lineup featured dozens of performers, many of whom became known by nicknames given to them by Beefhe ...

Bromo is mentioned in the 1981 film '' The Postman Always Rings Twice''. Bromo is mentioned in the 1994 Coen brothers film The Hudsucker Proxy. In the 1998 ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode "

Bart Carny "Bart Carny" is the twelfth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series, ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 11, 1998. Homer and Bart start working at a carnival and ...

", a carnival worker teases a haunted house ride with such claims as: "No surgeon can save you. No Bromo can soothe you."

References

External links

Bromo-Seltzer at drugs.com

Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower website
Products introduced in 1888 Bromides Drugs acting on the gastrointestinal system and metabolism {{Pharma-stub