Life — March 21, 1918 — page 55: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **product advertisement**, not political satire. It promotes Nujol, a mineral oil laxative made by Standard Oil Company (Bayonne, New Jersey). The ad depicts a well-dressed businessman and woman in an office setting, exchanging documents. The caption claims that "the business man and the business woman say Nujol keeps them fit" because "most human illness is considered to be directly or indirectly caused by constipation." The ad's pitch: Nujol relieves constipation and is "absolutely harmless." This reflects early 20th-century medical misconceptions that positioned constipation as the root cause of widespread illness—a belief that drove considerable marketing of laxatives during this era. The professional office setting targets middle-class workers.