History
Smelling salts have been used since Roman times, and are mentioned in the writings of Pliny as 'Hammonicus sal'. Evidence exists of use in the 13th century by alchemists as 'sal ammoniac'.
In the 17th century, an ammonia solution was distilled from shavings of harts' (deer) horns and hooves, which led to the alternative name for smelling salts as spirit or salt of hartshorn.
Smelling salts have also been known as 'sal volatile', for their ability to produce a reaction.
They were widely used in Victorian Britain to revive fainting women, and in some areas constables would carry a container of them for the purpose.
The use of smelling salts was widely recommended during the Second World War, with all workplaces advised by the British Red Cross and St. John Ambulance to keep 'sal volatile' in their first aid boxes. Nowadays, their use and prevalence has dramatically decreased.
Read more about this topic: Smelling Salts
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that’s also a hypocrite!
There are only two great currents in the history of mankind: the baseness which makes conservatives and the envy which makes revolutionaries.”
—Edmond De Goncourt (1822–1896)
“History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today.”
—Henry Ford (1863–1947)
“This above all makes history useful and desirable: it unfolds before our eyes a glorious record of exemplary actions.”
—Titus Livius (Livy)