# Absorbine (Clasic Column) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 11, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absorbine-clasic-column/321134 "2005-09-11T20:14:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChuckB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@ChuckB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChuckB)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absorbine-clasic-column/321134/1 "2005-09-11T20:14:16Z")
Comment to: [How come we never hear about Absorbine Sr.](http://www.straightdope.com/clasics./A5/_277.htm) see also: > **[Absorbine](https://absorbine.com/)** How did the name “absorbine” arise? I may have a hint. Absorbine and Absorbine Jr,. contain _oil of wormwood_. Now if wou have ever been to the French quarter in New Orleans (presently flooded) you have noticed a place called “Old Absinthe House” I saw a picture of it just yesterday in the news. Notice the combination of beginning letters “ABS” I doubt if the place sells absinthe now because it is a very dangerous alcoholic beverage which contains _oil of wormwood_. (Latin; absinthium) which , if taken internally, causes degeneration of the nervous system. :smack: Absinthe is not commercially available, and hasn’t been for about 100 years, but some people homebrew a version of it. :eek: Am I right about the origin of the name? Or is it just akin to the word “Absorb” It is just a guess. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absorbine-clasic-column/321134/2 "2005-09-11T20:59:00Z")
[How come we never hear about Absorbine Sr.?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_227.html) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absorbine-clasic-column/321134/3 "2005-09-11T21:28:31Z")
From Cecil’s column, he said > [@](#): > > Among its many other claims to fame, W. F. Young coined the term “athlete’s foot” in the 1930s. I found a cite for the term “athlete’s foot” in a 1928 L.A.Times article. So, either Cecil got fed a line, or WFY just “thought” he invented the term. Would love to know the sources, other than the phone call to the manufacturer, for the story. I’ll search a bit on this one. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absorbine-clasic-column/321134/4 "2005-09-11T22:23:40Z")
> [@ChuckB](#): > > Absinthe is not commercially available, and hasn’t been for about 100 years, but some people homebrew a version of it. :eek: I bought some last March. It’s not available in the U.S., but they had it in Austria. Google “Absinthe sale” (for info, not to purchase a banned substance!). ---
**Author:** ![Foaming\_Cleanser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Foaming\_Cleanser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foaming_Cleanser)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absorbine-clasic-column/321134/5 "2005-09-15T15:13:05Z")
Sitting on high ground, the Big Easy’s main tourist destination [was almost entirely untouched](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4222054.stm) by the storm. So, would it be illegal to take a bottle or two from [Canada](http://www.colbycosh.com/print/ar15.htm) to New Orleans and sip it in the Old Absinthe House?