The Disease Listerine Invented (to Sell Mouthwash)

A fake medical condition, a terrified public, and sky-high sales. Listerine’s halitosis hoax is the outrageous marketing case study you never knew you needed.

The 1920s. A decade of roaring prosperity, flapper dresses, and jazz. But beneath the glittering surface, a quiet dread was meticulously being woven into the fabric of American society. It wasn't the looming shadow of economic collapse or the specter of war; it was something far more intimate, more insidious. It was the dawning, terrifying realization t…