Mum was the first brand of commercial deodorant. Containing a zinc compound as its active ingredient, it was developed and patented by an inventor in Philadelphia in 1888 whose name has been lost to history. ^[1] It was named for the term "mum" meaning 'to keep silent' (figuratively speaking). ^[1] It was originally sold as a cream in a jar and applied with the fingertips. ^[2] The small company was bought by Bristol-Myers in 1931 and in the late 1940s, an employee by the name of Helen Diserens decided to develop an applicator based on the newly invented ball-point pen. ^[1] In 1952, the company began marketing the product under the name Ban Roll-On. ^[1] In 1958 the product was launched in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations as Mum Rollette. ^[1]

Although the product has been withdrawn from the market in the United States, ^[1]it is still widely used in Australia, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Venezuela.

In the Phillipines it was sold in the 70s and 80s but has now been taken off the shelves.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Joey Green (2004) Joey Green's Incredible Country Store: Potions, Notions, and Elixirs of the Past--And How to Make Them Today, Rodale Press ISBN 1579548482
2. ^ Mental_floss

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