Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co product called the "smoke ball" and claimed it to be a cure for influenza and a number of other diseases. (The 1889–1890 flu pandemic was estimated to have killed 1 million people.) The smoke ball was a rubber ball with a tube attached. It was filled with carbolic acid (or phenol). The tube would be inserted into a user's nose and squeezed at the bottom to release the vapours. The nose would run, ostensibly flushing out viral infections. The Company published advertisements in the "Pall Mall Gazette" and other newspapers on November 13, 1891, claiming that it would pay £100
A Is for Acid September 2002, but attracted a relatively small audience for a peak time programme. Overnight figures suggested 6 million viewers had tuned in to watch "A Is for Acid", a figure beaten by an episode of "Waking the Dead" which appeared in the same time slot on BBC One. A review in the "Manchester Evening News" the day after the film was shown was generally favourable: "Clunes might seem an unlikely choice for this sinister and demanding role...but he acquitted tremendously in his portrayal of the beaming, oily trickster with a murderous heart...Clunes made the killer plausible, disarming and businesslike as