<P> Bismuth subsalicylate is the only active ingredient in an over-the - counter drug that can leave a shiny metal oxide slag behind after being completely burnt with a blow torch . </P> <P> While bismuth salts were in use in Europe by the late 1700s, the combination of bismuth subsalicylate and zinc salts for astringency with salol (phenyl salicilate) appears to have begun in the US in the early 1900s as a remedy for life - threatening diarrhea in infants with cholera . At first sold directly to physicians, it was first marketed as Bismosal in 1918 . </P> <P> Pepto - Bismol began being sold in 1900 or 1901 by a doctor in New York . It was originally sold as a remedy for infant diarrhea by Norwich Pharmacal Company under the name "Bismosal: Mixture Cholera Infantum". It was renamed Pepto - Bismol in 1919 . Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Procter and Gamble in 1982 . </P> <P> As of 1946, Canadian advertisements placed by Norwich show the product as Pepto - Besmol both in graphic and text . </P>

Where does the name pepto bismol come from