Wheeler was an incredible powerful lobbyist who had his fingerprints all over the passage of prohibition and its enforcement. As a member of the temperance movement he helped write anti-alcohol legislation.
The New York Herald Tribune said in its obituary of him: “Without Wayne B. Wheeler’s generalship it is more than likely we should never have had the Eighteenth Amendment.”
Who implied that it was secret? That it was intentionally made poisonous is just the historical record, whereas their efforts toward making it unpalatable were weak at best, and often nonexistent. Methanol often was the sole adulterant.
The goal of reducing consumption by poisoning people would only work if it was public information. That was the whole point. That doesn’t make it not intentional poisoning.
I gotta say, I’m surprised to find disagreement today over whether deliberately poisoning alcohol was a good thing or bad thing. Even in the 1920’s there was a huge outcry, and I’d like to think we’ve learned some lessons since then.
From Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York referenced in the links above (and a fascinating book, I highly recommend it):
We need to know that our government is capable of these things. Let’s not be naive about it. If you can go back 100 years and see the government seems okay with sacrificing American citizens to enforce its laws, that is worth remembering.
I had a friend in the 80’s who drove cab. In those days, you could order stuff from a drugstore or supermarket and have it delivered by cab. He had a regular client who had a large bottle of Nyquil (30% ethanol in those days) delivered to a hotel room every night.
I thought it was the primer for the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
One would think cheap booze falls within the same price point as mouthwash, as well.
Ignorance fought, thanks.
Is that you, Marvin?
You can find mouthwash 24 hrs a day, most jurisdictions don’t allow 24 hour alcohol sales.
When I was in high school c. 25 years ago, denatured ethanol was used in chemistry classes.
Good old Mr. Wheeler. His opponents called him out on his hypocrisy. One of the reasons the Anti-Saloon League wanted to enact prohibition was to save lives, but here was Mr. Wheeler advocating the government taking action known to end lives.
Yeah and then you had temperance movements working with the Klan to enforce prohibition (the Klan saw booze as something immigrants did) and prohibition got weird real quick.
Not when 28% ABV mouthwash was a dollar for a 24 ounce bottle. I don’t know if it was cause/effect but the level is now only about 5%. Which, as I mentioned, may be why we don’t see many people drinking it any more.
Not if you buy the idea that isopropyl won’t get you drunk, because it will. It will also make you real sick and even real dead.
During the height of the pandemic thefts of the solution bags from hand sanitizing stations was a huge thing. So were incidents of intoxicated homeless people curled up in a ball in parking structures after drinking it.
Original formula Listerine is 26.9% abv. Original formula Scope is 18.9% (label says 15% by weight; another formula I’m looking at has 13% by weight). This is from looking at labels on the Target website. The Scope is $5 for 34 oz. You can get the store brand (Up & Up) of Listerine (26.9% abv) for $3.69 for 50.7 oz.
The store brand mouthwash I use is 21.6%. (TopCare)
I was talking strictly the dollar store stuff.
You are certainly free to disagree with @gnoitall’s take on it, but dial it back a bit, please. This isn’t the Pit.
No, the “gummint” is/was not evil, the head of prohibition was, or in this case, Wheeler.
The idea was not to make it unpalatable or add bittering agents. It was to kill drinkers.
I am not aware of the prohibition era, but today there are regulations for denaturing ethanol for use in different applications. There are hundreds of uses of denatured alcohol, some of them are : Shellac Coatings, Cosmetics, Fuel, Shampoos and soap etc. etc.
Depending on the end use, the denaturing agent can be something as benign as vinegar or something very toxic. The idea is to keep it unpalatable while keeping it safe for use - like say for a shampoo, it needs to be safe to the scalp. There is a list of all denaturing formulas and their approved use here : https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-21
For example :
(a) Formula. To every 100 gallons of alcohol add:
Eight gallons of acetone, U.S.P., and 1.5 gallons of methyl isobutyl ketone.
(b) Authorized uses.
(1) As a solvent:
Hair and scalp preparations.
Lotions and creams (hand, face, and body).
External pharmaceuticals, not U.S.P. or N.F.
Rubbing alcohols.
Disinfectants, insecticides, fungicides, and other biocides.
Cleaning solutions (including household detergents).
(2) Miscellaneous uses:
[T.D. ATF-133, 48 FR 24673, June 2, 1983, as amended by T.D. TTB-140, 81 FR 59461, Aug. 30, 2016]