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.^[1] According to the manufacturer's web-site, "The MUM brand owes its name to a nurse of the inventor, who was nicknamed "Mum".^[2] Another source claims that the brand was named after the term "mum" from the phrase "Mum's the word", meaning to keep silent.^[1] 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.