P.E. Childs
Reprinted from Chemistry in Action, Volume 40, Summer 1993.
Most of us are familiar with the phrase "taking it with a dose of salts," but not everyone knows what it means. It goes back to the practice of taking Epsom salts as a cure for constipation.
The medicinal value of the the spring waters at Epsom, Surrey was discovered in the rein of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) and the Epsom Spa grew in fame over the next half-century. Local tradition recounts the discovery of the spa in this way:
