Pharmacy Trivia!

Betcha didn't know...


Some of the scales used in pharmacy are so sensitive they can weigh
individual grains of salt.

The first female pharmacist was Susan Hayhurst, who graduated from the
College of Pharmacy in 1883 as both a pharmacist and a doctor. Until
that point, women were thought not to be physically strong enough to
pound the substances used in compounding with enough force to crush
them properly.
More than half of ancient Egypt's home remedies contained honey. That
included a contraceptive poultice that also used a bit of camel dung
and beeswax.

The popular drink '7-Up' was originally a version of a "lithiated"
patent medicine, containing small amounts of lithium. Ironically, it
was introduced to the U.S. markets in the 1930s - during the time of
the Great Depression!
Until recently, the state of Florida required all pharmacies to own
and display a fancy jar of colored water before they could get their
license.

In 1888, Atlanta pharmacist John S. Pemberton developed a "Esteemed
Brain Tonic and Intellectual Beverage," which contained: caffeine,
"secret" ingredients, and cocaine. Modified for today's taste (and
laws), the product is a staple, billion-dollar seller. What was
Pemberton's concoction? None other than Coca-Cola.

The symbol 'Rx' is actually a corruption of the ancient symbol for the
Roman god Jupiter, whose blessing was invoked upon every prescription
to ensure its purity. Others believe that the 'R' in the symbol used
to be an eye, the 'Eye of Horus' - an Egyptian god considered to be
the "father of pharmacy." The Eye of Horus (or 'udjat') became a very
powerful symbol in ancient Egypt. It was worn as an amulet to ensure
good health and ward off sickness.

Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist from New Bern, NC, created a carbonated
beverage, named Brad's Drink, to sell to fountain customers in his
pharmacy. He deemed his drink "Exhilarating, invigorating and aids
digestion." In 1898 Brad's Drink was renamed Pepsi-Cola