Amazing fact: Listerine, your go-to mouthwash, was once sold as a floor cleaner!
Morning bad breath is a reality that we all live with. Yes, even the ones who maintain a sound oral hygiene. Okay, so what do you do to get rid of the foul breath? Of course, you brush your teeth. Now imagine getting a stinking breath in the middle of the day following a fancy lunch outside. You can’t really brush your teeth there, right? However, what you can do is wash your mouth with Listerine.
It is the most popular mouthwash brand in the world. But long before it became known as a leading mouthwash, Listerine was a lot of other things, most of which will sound both crazy! Eager to know more about it? Read on.
Kills germs that cause bad breath
Yes, that’s how the American brand of antiseptic mouthwash Listerine promotes its product. Perhaps the world’s most favourite and widely used mouthwash, it was developed in 1879 by Missouri-based chemist Joseph Lawrence. He named the product after Joseph Lister, the English doctor who had invented antiseptic surgery in 1865 at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in Scotland. Interestingly, although the name Listerine is synonymous with mouthwash, the brand also offers toothpaste, chewable tablets and self-dissolving teeth-whitening strips – all antiseptic in nature.
From a surgical antiseptic to a general household cleaner
In 1865, Joseph Lister came upon Louis Pasteur’s ideas on microbial infection and after a series of experiments realised that it was carbolic acid that had the potential to reduce post-surgery infections if applied regularly on surgical dressing. This in turn inspired Joseph Lawrence, who, fourteen years later, came up with an alcohol-based formula that he said was a better and more effective surgical antiseptic. He named it Listerine in honour of Lister but kept the formula as a trade secret. However, this surgical antiseptic failed at the market.
Desperate to make his product a household name, Lawrence asked his local pharmacist Jordan Wheat Lambert to sell it in distilled form as a general germicide suitable as a floor cleaner, feet washer as well as a potential cure for gonorrhoea. Gross, isn’t it?
A solution for chronic halitosis
Coming to terms with the fact that Listerine still wasn’t selling like hot cakes, Lawrence did something nearly unethical. He collaborated with local dentists and together they developed the obscure concept of ‘halitosis’, an alleged medical condition of having foul breath. His aim? To sell his product as an oral care, the first over-the-counter mouthwash. This was the year 1914. Not only that, from 1920s to mid-1970s, Listerine was also marketed as a preventive or a remedy for common cold and sore throat.
A New Jersey-based man once fell severely ill after consuming a more-than prescribed quantity of Listerine by mistake and he filed a lawsuit against the Listerine brand in the late 1970s. This is when the original formula came into the limelight and scientists all over the world were shocked at its composition. Later on, when the case was over, Listerine was rebranded and had a complete makeover, both in terms of look and formula. Since then, Listerine has ruled as a mouthwash, although how it restored its illicit name is still a mystery.