Judge, 1917-09-15 · page 19 of 28
Judge — September 15, 1917 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **full-page advertisement**, not satirical content. It's a 1917 ad for Nujol, a mineral oil laxative made by Standard Oil Company. The ad targets post-vacation workers returning to sedentary office jobs. It uses relatable humor ("feeling like a fighting cock") to establish the scenario: vacation ends, workers resume desk jobs with irregular meals and no exercise, leading to constipation. The pitch emphasizes Nujol as a safe, non-habit-forming alternative to harsh laxatives of that era. The visual shows the product bottle alongside a clock and other items suggesting busy work life. The messaging reflects early 20th-century attitudes toward bowel regularity as essential health maintenance, and Standard Oil's diversification beyond petroleum into patent medicines—a common corporate practice before FDA regulation limited such claims.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
” September 15, 1917 Back from the Country and Feeling Fine Back from your vacation—feeling like a fighting cock. Lots of digging in to do—and in you dig. Hours crowded with work; no time for bodily exercise; hurried meals; nature’s signals unheeded. Then comes constipation. Ward off constipation—while readjusting yourself to a sedentary .occupation—with the Nujol treatment. The Nujol way is the safe, efficient way to regulate the bowels without irritation. Nujol is harmless as it is not absorbed into the system. It is the satisfactory, sensible method of freeing yourself both from con- stipation and from the use of harmful, irritating, habit-forming laxative drugs. Nujol is neither fattening nor heating. Nujol is sold in pint bottles only that are filled and sealed at the Nujol laboratories, never in bulk. At all drug stores. Refuse imitations. There is only one Nujol. Send for our Nujol booklet. Nujol or constipation STANDARD OIL COMPANY (New Jersey) BAYONNE , NEW JERSEY Dept. 14