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Carter's Little Liver Pills (Carter's Little Pills after 1959) were formulated as a
patent medicine
A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...
by Samuel J. Carter of
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
, in 1868.
Ingredients
The active ingredient was changed when the product was renamed in 1959, to be the laxative
bisacodyl
Bisacodyl (INN) is an organic compound that is used as a stimulant laxative drug. It works directly on the colon to produce a bowel movement. It is typically prescribed for relief of episodic and chronic constipation and for the management of n ...
; the original active ingredients were purported to be of
aloe
''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...
and
podophyllum resin
Podophyllum resin, also known as podophyllum or podophyllin, is a resin made from the roots of the American mandrake. It is used as a medication to treat genital warts and plantar warts, including in people with HIV/AIDS. It is not recommended i ...
.
History
Carter's
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
was a black
crow
A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...
. By 1880 the business was incorporated as
Carter Products
Carter-Wallace was a personal care company headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of Carter Products and Wallace Laboratories. The company has a research facility in Cranbury, New Jersey.
History
The company was form ...
. The pills were touted to cure
headache
Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.
Headaches can occur as a result ...
,
constipation
Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...
,
dyspepsia
Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier t ...
, and
bilious
Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), or gall, is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is produced continuously by the liver (liver bile ...
ness. In the late 19th century, they were marketed in the UK by American businessman
John Morgan Richards John Morgan Richards (February 16, 1841''With John Bull and Jonathan'' – August 11, 1918), was an American businessman and entrepreneur who made his fortune from the promotion of patent medicines and American cigarettes in Britain. He was the ...
.
Carter's Little Liver Pills predated the other available forms of
bisacodyl
Bisacodyl (INN) is an organic compound that is used as a stimulant laxative drug. It works directly on the colon to produce a bowel movement. It is typically prescribed for relief of episodic and chronic constipation and for the management of n ...
and was a very popular and heavily advertised
patent medicine
A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...
up until the 1960s, spawning a common saying (with variants) in the first half of the 20th century: "He/She has more _________ than Carter has Little Liver Pills". In 1951 the
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
required the company to change the name to "Carter's Little Pills", since "liver" in the name was deceptive.
[
]
Legacy
The senator Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd (born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.; November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010) was an American politician and musician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A ...
, after winning re-election in 2000, is quoted as saying, "West Virginia has always had four friends, God Almighty, Sears Roebuck
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
, Carter's Liver Pills and Robert C. Byrd."
A Carter's Little Liver Pills ad was featured in Joe Dante
Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...
's 1968 collage
Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...
parody film
A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that parodies other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together.
Although the subgenre is often overlooked by cri ...
''The Movie Orgy
''The Movie Orgy'' is a 1968 film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Jon Davison.Erickson, Glenn"The Movie Orgy: Savant Screening Revival Notes" ''DVD Savant''. April 26, 2008. It was an evolving compilation of film clips, commercials, and fi ...
''."TFH Exclusive: A Clip from THE MOVIE ORGY"
Trailers From Hell
References
{{Church & Dwight
American inventions
Laxatives
Patent medicines
Products introduced in 1868
Companies established in 1880
1880 establishments in Pennsylvania