Mum (deodorant)

Mum was the first brand of commercial deodorant. Containing a zinc compound as its active ingredient, it was developed in Philadelphia in 1888. According to the manufacturer's web-site, "The MUM brand owes its name to a nurse of the inventor, who was nicknamed "Mum". Another source claims that the brand was named after the term "mum" from the phrase "Mum's the word", meaning to keep silent. Mum was originally sold as a cream in a jar and applied with the fingertips. The small company was bought by Bristol-Myers in 1931.