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Circa 1890s: Vicks Croup and Pneumonia Salve



Lunsford Richardson, a pharmacist in Greensboro, North Carolina, creates and sells 21 patent medicines under the "Vicks" name in the 1890s. Of the 21 medicines, the best-selling version by far is the Vicks Croup and Pneumonia Salve.

The salve's ingredients include menthol and a little-known Japanese ingredient. When the ointment is rubbed onto a person's chest, body heat vaporizes the menthol, releasing soothing, medicated vapors for hours.