Serutan was an early fiber-type

laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

product which was widely promoted on

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

from the 1930s through the 1960s. Serutan was folded into Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s 1957 acquisition of J. B. Williams Co., founded in 1885. J. B. Williams Co. was bought out by

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco's ...

in 1971. The origin of the brand name was straight forward. The makers merely decided to spell "natures" backwards, and "Read it backwards" was the product's

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

slogan. This was to differentiate it as being a "natural" product as opposed to laxative brands which stimulated the colon by chemical action. The product was almost uniformly promoted on programs whose core audience was known to be considerably older than the typical television viewer. Serutan is especially associated with ''

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1 ...

'' and '' The Original Amateur Hour'', both of which were also sponsored by J. B. Williams products

Sominex Sominex is the trademarked name for several over the counter sleep aids. Two different formulations of Sominex are available, depending upon the market. Both formulations contain a significant dose of a first generation antihistamine with hypno ...

, a sleeping pill, and

Geritol Geritol is a United States trademarked name for various dietary supplements, past and present. Geritol is a brand name for several vitamin complexes plus iron or multimineral products in both liquid form and tablets, containing from 9.5 to 18&nb ...

, a vitamin supplement. Serutan was the target of numerous jokes by

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and other radio comedians during the 1930s and 1940s.

In popular culture

A friend of the protagonist of

J. P. Donleavy James Patrick Donleavy (23 April 1926 – 11 September 2017) was an American-Irish novelist, short story writer and playwright. His best-known work is the novel ''The Ginger Man'', which was initially banned for obscenity. Early life Donleavy ...

's ''

The Ginger Man ''The Ginger Man'' is a novel, first published in Paris in 1955, by J. P. Donleavy. The story is set in Dublin, Ireland, in post-war 1947. Upon its publication, it was banned both in Ireland and the United States of America by reason of obsce ...

'' refers to himself as the "Acting Duke of Serutan." In Harvard Lampoon's ''

Bored of the Rings ''Bored of the Rings'' is a 1969 parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. This short novel was written by Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney, who later founded '' National Lampoon''. It was published in 1969 by Signet for the ''Har ...

'', the parody version of Saruman is named Serutan. In '' National Lampoon's Doon'', the parody version of

Princess Irulan Princess Irulan is a fictional character in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. She first appears in ''Dune'' (1965), and is later featured in ''Dune Messiah'' (1969) and '' Children of Dune'' (1976). The character's birth and earl ...

is named Princess Serutan. Don De Lillo's ''Libra'' mentions the slogan in its first chapter. In ''Exit the Body'', a play by Fred Carmichael, Kate Bixley refers to the protagonist's husband, who writes a newspaper column under the alias "Dorothy Duckworth" and is attending a convention for lonely-hearts column writers, as "The only female at the convention who ''doesn't'' take Serutan." A running gag in the 1944-1945 season of the Jack Benny radio show was a series of commercials by Frank Nelson for "Sympathy Soothing Cream", which used the slogan "Sympathy spelled backwards is Yhtapmys." Several variations were introduced, most notably the rival brand, Sdrawrof cream. In the '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon " Rocket-Bye Baby," a telegram from the planet Mars is signed Sir U. Tan of Mars. Archaeologist Kent Flannery has used the term "Serutan" to describe systemic archaeologists. (Flannery 1973a:49-53) An ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, until ...

'' stinger has the Warners say, "Yakko spelled backwards is Okkay!"

References

Listen to

Red Ingle sings "Serutan Yob (A Song for Backward Boys and Girls under 40)"

External links

{October 23, 2013) this day in quotes Laxatives