Pharmacy

Fix the Pumps tells the real history of the soda fountain, starting with its invention, through its golden era of creativity and into its dependance on patent medicine and narcotics. The history of the soda fountain is as vibrant as any other period in American history.

Fix the Pumps provides a wealth of information on techniques employed by soda jerks. The recipes span the spectrum of… [Continue]

If you've read Fix the Pumps, you may have noticed that one of the reoccuring themes was the competition between saloons and pharmacies (bartenders and druggists) to hook the people on their tonics. Until 1906, when the Pure Food & Drugs Act was introduced, the local pharmacy / soda fountain had no restrictions on what they could… [Continue]

One of the historical blights on the soda fountain was the cure all patent medicines that were hocked for every know illness. Some were marketed as health supplements, while others were cures for specific ailments. The one common thread they all shared was their spurious health claims. This didn't go unnoticed and many publications from the period made barbed statements about  the nature… [Continue]