Remember this one? "Lily the Pink" (1968) by the UK comedy group The Scaffold. This song went to n.1 in the charts & stayed there for 4 weeks. It tells the story of Lily the Pink & her amazing ‘medicinal compound’ that cures all your ills. But just who was Lily the Pink? Thread https://t.co/pxyIWDX99t

Lily the Pink is based on the American businesswoman Lydia Pinkham (1819-83) who did indeed invent a medicinal, or vegetable, compound in 1875. Pinkham’s compound was sold as a ‘woman’s tonic’ & was marketed as a cure for menstrual & menopausal symptoms. https://t.co/c3TSRxYlRC

Pinkham started making her own medicines in her home & they became extremely popular with her local community. Her original vegetable compound was said to have contained black cohosh, unicorn root, life root, pleurisy root, & fenugreek – preserved in 19 percent alcohol. https://t.co/v93AHo8L56

As her fame & success grew, so did the list of complaints Pinkham’s vegetable claimed to be able to cure. It was even marketed as an aid to fertility & marketed under the strapline ‘there a baby in every bottle’. You can see some of the claims it made here. https://t.co/bOqdId7xNU

Lydia Pinkham’s face was used in all the branding & she is the first woman whose likeness was used in a brand. The success of Pinkham’s tonic can’t be understated. She was probably one of the most famous women in America in the late 19th century. But, not everyone liked her. https://t.co/RX6bJcBaFV

Doctors & the medical establishment really didn’t like her & dismissed her as a quack. There is some truth to this, but Pinkham really seemed to care about her female patients & their health. She spoke very openly about women’s reproductive health at a time that was taboo.

She published pamphlets on menstrual & menopausal health to try & educate women. She also encouraged women to write to her to ask questions they were too embarrassed to ask a doctor.

After Pinkham died in 1883, her family took over the business & continued to promote her image. Because the product was said to cure ‘female problems’ it was ripe for mockery. Crude drinking songs soon appeared about just the kind of ‘problems’ that could be cured. https://t.co/iEvqzIvJvg

This wasn’t helped by the fact the compound was almost 20% alcohol. During prohibition, that rose to around 40% & people turned to Pinkham’s ‘medicinal compound’ to get hammered.

‘Lily the Pink ‘ by the Scaffold is a highly sanitised version of these early drinking songs about Pinkham. The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham has pretty much the same tune but very rude lyrics. Some original verses can be seen here. You get the idea. https://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=449,449&SongID=449,449 https://t.co/6loxDLdb4W

By the time we get to the 40s & 50s, the FDA had stepped in & required the company make some significant changes to the tonic, its alcohol content, & the claims being made about what it could cure.

Remarkably, you can still buy Lydia Pinkham’s Herbal Supplements today to ease symptoms of menstruation & menopause. It is no longer alcoholic & tightly regulated, but is doubtless still ‘most efficacious in every case’. https://t.co/X5C1JUCMq7

You can read more about Lydia Pinkham here. https://daily.jstor.org/was-lydia-e-pinkham-the-queen-of-quackery/

Has anyone else had the Lily the Pink earworm all damn day?????

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL drink a drink, a drink
To Lily the Pink, the Pink, the Pink
The savior of the human ra-hey-hace
For she invented medicinal compound
Most efficacious in every case
🎵

Adding for the tune and because I haven’t been able to get this damn song out of my head for weeks. https://t.co/SnKTlfOSKK