A Pox Upon you Vicks Chloroaseptic!

I know Vicks Chloroaseptic is not high on the old nostalgia chart, but I spotted this commercial online the other day and I remembered the first time I was exposed to the stuff and I thought I would share this slightly ironic tale.

It was the early 1990s and some friends and I decided to get together and play Mechwarrior. We all met in the basement of my pal who had a nice large gaming table and started playing. After about 40 minutes of play, another friend showed up and apologized for being late He said he needed to pick up some Chloroaseptic at the store. His throat was feeling a little rough and he thought it would help.

We had never seen the stuff before and he explained its effect. Naturally, we were all curious. So he offered it to us and we passed it around the table.

We all laughed at the numbing effect it had, but my laughter turned to terror when the bottle got back to the owner and he took a shot. Why terror? Because unlike the rest of us who sprayed it into our mouths, he shoved the bottle into his mouth and was trying, why I do not know, to spray it right down his throat.

The next day we were all sick with strep throat.

It was the last time I would ever use Chloraseptic and by coincidence it was the last time I played Mechawarrior (sorry FASA).