Deep thoughts

A bottle of Pepto-Bismol is sitting on my counter. The "Pepto" is writ large, while "Bismol" is small. A old roommate of mine occasionally had recourse to Pepto-Bismol, but she didn't like the taste. She called it "Dismal-Bismol."

I don't mind the taste. Not that I would drink it by the cupful as a pleasurable beverage, but in its recommended dose it's quite tolerable. Peppermint flavored. I used to think the "Pepto" referred to peppermint, which is good for your stomach -- that's why Dutch people often eat a peppermint after a meal, particularly a spicy meal -- but I think it really refers to the word peptic, as in peptic ulcer. According to Merriam-Webster, the word pepsin derives from pepsis, the Greek word for digestion.

"Bismol" refers to the active ingredient, bismuth subsalicylate.

Anyway, the label reminded me of the Pepto-Bismol commercial that was on TV in my mis-spent youth, where someone would hold their hand to their mouth and gurgle, "Indi ... (urp) ... gestion," then the announcer would reply, "Pepto ... Bismol." While the person was burping, their picture would be all distorted like a fun-house mirror, but at the name "Pepto-Bismol" they would return to normal. That was quite explicit for its time about the problems Pepto-Bismol treats.

Then they went a little further. A man in the commercial would ask in a confidential manner, "Do you mind if I talk to you about ... diarrhea?" My dad would always yell, "Yes!" He minded. That commercial was also quite "out there" for its time.

Now, there's nothing you can't say on TV, and they sing and dance about stomach problems.



I wish I could say that I am shocked, disgusted, and dismayed by the vulgarity of this commercial, but I can't. It makes me laugh.