Charcoal has been used as a natural remedy since ancient times. Egyptian texts dating to 1500 BC document various medicinal uses for charcoal. Roman and Viking soldiers survived non-mortal wounds by packing their wounds after battle with charcoal. The Chinese write extensively about charcoal use in ancient medicinal texts. The Ancient Hindus used charcoal for water purification dating back to 400 BC. After the suppression of the sciences through the Dark Ages, charcoal reemerged in the 1700’s and 1800’s within the use of medical treatments and for industrial use - both for its adsorbent properties of fluid and gases and for its disinfectant properties. Some popular uses during this time period included poultices made from charcoal and bread crumbs (used by army and navy surgeons) as well as charcoal powders to alleviate bed sores, gangrene, acidity in the stomach, and even nosebleeds. By the 1900’s charcoal was starting to appear in lozenges, tooth powders and even food! Activated charcoal was listed in the US Drug Pharmacopoeia until the 1950's when it was quietly dropped in favor of the many other options emerging by Big Pharma at that time. It wasn't until the 1980's that activated charcoal was again introduced as a remedy for emergency poison treatment simply because of how well it worked and soon found its place in every ER and first responder vehicle in America.