Pharmaceutical Giant Merck on This Day in History

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This day in history: The German company Merck was founded on this day in 1668 making it the world's oldest operating chemical and pharmaceutical company, as well as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. In 1827, Merck Group evolved from a pharmacy to a drug manufacturer company with the commercial manufacture of morphine. Merck perfected the chemical process of deriving morphine from opium and later introduced cocaine, used to treat sinus problems and to add to beverages to boost energy levels.

Did you know: Merck used to sell Ecstasy in the 1920's as an appetite suppressant.

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy published in 1899 promoted Arsenic as a remedy for Anemia, Laxatives for chickenpox, Strychnine for constipation, Chloroform for hiccups, inhaling smoke for asthmatics, Bloodletting for nausea, poisonous Belladonna for colic, Leeches for earaches and Cocaine for alcoholism.

Merck is one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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John Lennon's Dark Side on This Day in History

 

I'm Just a Jealous Guy

This day in history: John Lennon made headlines on this day in 1974 after an incident at the Troubadour Club, LA. Lennon was turned out for being unruly.

Lennon may have been talented and the public face for worldwide peace and love, but he had a dark side as well. "...the man behind warmhearted classics like 'Imagine' was an entirely different person behind the scenes. John Lennon's dark side often took the form of adultery, drugs, and even spousal aggression. The man who is thought of as an icon for the positive energy of the 1960s was reportedly cruel and callous to those he loved the most." Read more here.

According to Patton Oswalt, Lennon was: "A self-obssessed, calculating, anorexic family-abandoner who slagged his friends, chased whatever the current zeitgeist was, and reportedly made everyone around him miserable. But, like Lucifer, he managed to pull off one of the greatest tricks in the history of rock 'n' roll -- convincing everyone that Paul McCartney was the a**hole, and that he was just a humble, peace-loving, fame-and-money-shunning second-coming of Christ that the world just didn't understand."

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