What's in a Name?
Reading the latest issue of American Family Physician, chock full of ads highlighting the latest magic bullets for common complaints like anxiety and insomnia. My eyes lingered on the one for Ambien...suddenly, it hit me! Ambien = A.M. Bien, "good morning"! Awesome. It's almost as clever as the treatment for onchocerciasis, infection by the worm that causes river blindness: Ivermectin = I ver (i.e., "I see"). I get such a kick out of those eureka moments.
As much as I despise the pharamaceutical industry for its relentless pursuit of profit through advertising, I can't deny my appreciation of smart wordplay. I've always thought that if medicine turned out to be not my bag, I would go into advertising.
posted by Rachel Summer Claire Friedman @ 6:14 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
"Premarin," from PREgnant MARe uRINe. Cool.
"Sudafed," from pseudoephedrine.
"Noxema," from no eczema.
And for all of you protein channel junkies out there: "Namenda", from the new NMDA-blocker for Alzheimers. I think it's destined to fail though--how would you feel taking a drug that was promised to no'mend'a your brain'a.
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