Two tablespoonfuls of castor oil hidden under sarsaparilla syrup and soda. Drink at once.
Put a little soda water into the bottom of a glass, add two tablespoonfuls of sarsaparilla syrup, then two tablespoonfuls of castor oil. Nearly fill the glass with soda water using the syphon, and drink at once. Orange juice may be used in place of the sarsaparilla.
On Uncle Sam's Water Wagon, 1919. Public domain; transcription unaltered.
Two tablespoonfuls is about 30 ml — a full adult purgative dose of castor oil. Ricinoleic acid acts directly on the intestinal wall, and the effect is not gentle.
The disguise is the design. The whole formula exists to get a dose past someone who would not otherwise swallow it, served at a soda fountain where it looks like a drink.
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