A Brief History of Epsom Salt: What Is It, Exactly? Why Do We Bathe In It? And, Really? People Drink It?
May 3, 2019 | Source: Apartment Therapy | by Edith Zimmerman
If you’ve ever poured cups of Epsom salt into your bath while wondering, “What is this stuff, and why am I doing this?” but you haven’t yet poked around long enough to find out (or remember)…
History
Technically a bitter-tasting, naturally occurring magnesium-and-sulfate mineral compound (chemical name: magnesium sulfate heptahydrate), Epsom salt is named for the English town in which it was discovered, where it bubbled up in water from an underground spring in the early 17th century. (It’s also known as epsomite.)
Here’s more on the story of its discovery, from the Royal Society of Chemistry:
The summer of 1618 saw England gripped by drought, but as Henry Wicker, a local cowherd, walked across Epsom Common he came across a pool of water from which his thirsty cattle refused to drink. The water tasted bitter and on evaporation yielded a salt which had a remarkable effect: it was a laxative. This became the famous Epsom’s salts (magnesium sulfate, MgSO4) and a treatment for constipation for the next 350 years.