Time for an Ex-Lax Movie!

I'm guessing you know that Ex-Lax is a laxative, which makes this more amusing. It explains why Tommy is so terrible—he's constipated!

It doesn't explain why he's so manically excited at the end, though. Take it easy, kid. (Ad from LIFE magazine, February 1940. Thanks to Weird Universe for the tip.)

Are you a "Silent Sufferer"?

This laxative ad is from the September, 1941 issue of LIFE magazine. I love the copy on item 2:

"Saraka [the laxative] forms a soft and jelly-like 'softage,' kind to tender tissues." 

I guess this is a good product for those who need "Softage"!

Old School Laxatives!

Up until about 1750, people who were "plugged up" drank Castor oil. That was the name of a liquid laxative that was extracted from the glands of a beaver (or Castor, in Latin).

So my question is this: 

Whose idea was it to drink liquids extracted from the glands of a beaver?!

(BTW, after the mid-1700s, it was discovered that the same laxative effect could be got from the oil produced by the seeds of Ricinus communis, which became known as the castor oil plant. Oh, and that photo is by Paul Stevenson.)

Cavemen Pooped Boulders!

And here's the proof:

I guess eating too much meat and not enough fiber can back a Neanderthal up!

Illustration from the book What Is Bowling?

People! Eat Some Fiber!

Look, if you don't eat enough fiber, you'll get constipated. That means that your poop turns into dried out concrete in your intestines...and getting it out can take MAJOR effort—

Wait, these are pictures of contestants in the World Weightlifting Championships? Never mind!