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History For Sleep with the Drowsy Historian
Fall Asleep as a Victorian Cocaine Patent Medicine Salesman in the 1890s
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Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into the 1890s and travel from town to town as a patent medicine salesman, carrying a leather case filled with bottles promising relief from headaches, exhaustion, nervousness, pain, and nearly everything else troubling the modern citizen. In an age fascinated by chemistry and scientific progress, ingredients like cocaine could be advertised not as warnings, but as signs that a medicine was modern, powerful, and sophisticated. Ride the railway between small towns, arrange your bottles in hotel lobbies, speak with pharmacists and weary customers, and experience a world where confident labels and…