Life, 1921-10-06 · page 27 of 33
Life — October 6, 1921 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **product advertisement**, not satire, though it employs pseudo-scientific claims typical of early 20th-century patent medicine marketing. The image shows physicians in a laboratory demonstrating that arterial hardening causes aging. The advertisement claims Paradise Water—a spring water from Brunswick, Maine—can reverse this by being exceptionally pure and flushing "poisonous substances" from the body. The pitch exploits genuine health anxieties about aging and mineral deposits while making unsubstantiated medical claims. The "free health booklet" offer and physician endorsements were standard persuasion tactics of the era, before FDA regulation of health claims. Modern readers should recognize this as snake oil marketing: the vague promise that a simple product prevents aging through pseudo-medical mechanisms—a sales pitch that persists today in "detox" and "wellness" products.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Old Age’’ is not so much a matter of years as it is a condition of the body. Some folks are old at forty; others young at sixty. Authorities point out that one of the chief signs of physical deterioration is hardening of the arteries. How vital it is, then, to do everything we can to keep our arteries young. A leading authority says: ‘‘Of the nine or so factors which may cause one’s arteries to harden, the harmful influence of half or more will be at least partly counteracted by the drinking of Paradise Water in large quantities. The beneficial effect will be due to flushing poisonous substances out of the system.”” “We are as Old as Our Arteries!” Physicians show how to increase our years of usefulness and well-being . Paradise is so beneficial because it is so pure, containing less than one grain of min- eral matter in a gallon of 58,372 grains. Unlike all ordinary water, Paradise not only brings practically no lime or other impurities into the system, but it tends to dissolve and eliminate those already present. This is what helps keep the arteries young. Don’t go on drinking ordinary water, let- ting those harmful mineral deposits pile up in your cellular tissue and joints. Drink Paradise Water exclusively: it will keep your system cleansed and purified; it will promote the proper functioning of the kid- neys; it will produce a healthier condition of the heart; it will help ward off old age! At Grocers or Druggists—Natural or Carbonated—The Perfect Table Water FREE; 24-?%¢ health booklet, ‘The Story of Paradise Spring,”* and names of Paradise © dealers in your city. If there are none, we will supply you direct, carrying charges paid to any point East of the Mississippi and North of the Ohio River, and elsewhere not carrying excessive rates. Please enclose check with your order. Natural $2.50... Natural $3.00. arbonated $3.00 “Carbonated $3.50 Carbonated (only) $4.00 PARADISE SPRING COMPANY, BRUNSWICK, MAINE 570 PARADISE WATER comicbooks.com Case 3 dozen Half-Pints..