1946 magazine ad for Battle Creek Equipment Company’s Battle Creek Thermophore

Mmm… Moist heat…

I learned several new words thanks to this ad!

Fomentation: the application of hot moist substances to the body to ease pain.
Also, the action of instigating or stirring up undesirable sentiment or actions.

Poultice: a soft, moist mass of material, typically of plant material or flour, applied to the body to relieve soreness and inflammation and kept in place with a cloth. Also known as a cataplasm or plaster.

Thermophore: a device or apparatus for retaining heat, used in therapeutic local application.

So what’s a thermophore? For fomenting, d-uh!

“Oh God… Oh God… I’m gonna foment! I’m fomenting! I’M FOMENTING!”

Ad copy:

The Modern Hot Fomentation

Surprisingly effective for stubborn ARTHRITIS cases; for chest colds and influenza.

NOW . . . “at the Snap of a Switch” you can enjoy HOT FOMENTATIONS, with the BATTLE CREEK THERMOPHORE . . . the MOIST HEAT FOMENTATIONS UNIT.

Here is an ELECTRIC FOMENTATION UNIT providing an abundance of MOIST HEAT. Twenty-six patented features make this outstanding in efficiency. Size, 13 inches by 27 inches.

NO HOT WATER . . . SAVES TIME . . . SAVES WORK . . . SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE: MODERN FIRST AID IN RELIEVING PAIN AND CONGESTION. Write for literature and special price.

Battle Creek Equipment Company
Dept. L-46-6
Battle Creek, Mich.

BATTLE CREEK EQUIPMENT IS USED BY HUNDREDS OF HEALTH INSTITUTIONS . . ALL OUR PRODUCTS ARE CORRECTLY ENGINEERED AND PRICES AS LOW AS QUALITY ALLOWS