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> I don't know if you all were alive during this time (I wasn't), but a while back, Moxie was all the rage. It was the most popular drink, much like Coke or Pepsi today. It was claimed to cure just about everything, from the common cold to toe warts. Then, the government made these laws against false advertisements or something, and Moxie started to lose popularity. Furthermore, there came the advent of newer, better-tasting sodas, that people preferred to Moxie's taste. As one person put it, "it tasted something like used...motor oil." Further contributing to the downfall of Moxie's popularity was the invention of the soda fountain. You know, those thing you go to at fast-food restaurants to fill your cups with sodas? Yeah, those. Well, Moxie was a bottle drink, and a bottle drink only. By the time they tried to put it in the fountains, it was too late to bring up its popularity. People were already introduced to tastier beverages like Coke, Pepsi, and 7-up. And since Moxie didn't taste as good as those other drinks, nor did it have any special medical powers, as once advertised, it was de-throned from the position of America's favorite beverage, replaced by Coke, the drink that won the Second World War. But that's a whole different story.

I find that interesting, because somewhere in the dark, dusty corners of my brain, there is something about Moxie. I don't think I remember it from pre-WWII days. Is it possible that someone has revived the name and is using in on one of those pound-and-a-half-of-caffine-per-sip drinks?

And then there was Hadacol. ("They had to call it something, so they called it Hadacol.") I seem to remember that the false advertising thingy was about Hadacol, circa 1949. They sold it as medicine and said it would cure what ails you and make you feel better. Then somebody found out that you felt better because it was 20% alcohol.
Howard