More meditations on: Pepto-Bismol

I'm visiting my parents, so naturally if I feel ill I must turn to the apothecary products that have lurked in their cupboard since I graduated high school. Growing up, there was no ailment that could not be remedied by a swift and hearty administration of Vicks VapoRub and a shot of Pepto-Bismol. Surely, within days of being home, I felt ill; I suspected the very ferric water was not being completely reformed by the stealthy Brita, so it was in the spirit of nostalgia and also, to a degree, desperation, that I called upon the curative powers of the Bis. It was not as comforting as I remembered, so I began to wonder how on earth people might have attempted to improve upon the base, chalky taste (i.e. Bismuth subsalicylate) that renders Pepto-Bismol the over-the-counter equivalent of a milquetoast. Of course, as we've covered before, we all know about the wonderful world of Pepto-Bismol ice cream, but I was hoping that wasn't the end of the line...

So I found a PB cocktail recipe...

After Hours Ingredients 1 oz Pepto-Bismol 2 oz Creme de Menthe

I also found several sites that recommended trying a Pepto-Bismol facial to "help seal the fate of cold sores."

Has anyone else committed variations on a theme of Bismol? If not, did your parents raise you with any go-to remedies (a la Vicks & PB), strange or otherwise?