Life, 1917-11-22 · page 5 of 44
Life — November 22, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a political cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Nujol, a laxative product made by Standard Oil Company. The ad promotes Nujol as "the healthiest habit in the world," claiming it helps users maintain regular bowel function "as clockwork." The pitch emphasizes that people can discontinue regular Nujol use while maintaining the habit itself, and that prolonged use requires smaller doses. The ad also includes a wartime appeal, offering to ship 75-cent packages to sailors and soldiers. By modern standards, this represents outdated medical marketing: promoting a laxative as a health-building habit would face significant regulatory scrutiny today. The casual normalization of daily laxative use reflects early-20th-century attitudes toward digestive health that have since been medically reconsidered.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Regular as Clockwork” The Healthiest Habit in the World —is functioning at the same time every day. Nujol has given this healthiest of habits to thousands who have been able to discontinue the regular use of Nujol, but who retain the “regular as clockwork” habit. They have found that they have acquired this habit by taking something which is absolutely harmless—and that the longer they take it, the less they need it. Take Nujol and get the healthiest habit in the world. In packages bearing Send 75c. and we the Nujol trade-mark will ship to sailors —never in bulk. or soldiers anywhere. STANDARD OIL COMPANY BAYONNE NEW JERSEY Nujol REG. U.S, PAT. for Constipation comicbooks.com