Ammonia Anomaly: A Mysterious Substance Stirs Suspicion in Maysville

January 10, 1885, will be remembered as the day a peculiar case of ammonia distribution raised eyebrows in Maysville, Kentucky. The Daily Evening Bulletin reported that a company, identified as the Price Baking Company, was marketing a product claiming to contain ‘absolutely pure CONTAIW AMMONIA.’ The firm claimed that the ammonia was so pure that it could be tested in a simple experiment: ‘Ilrnndi arirertUeil’ – a can top down on a hot river until hardened, then remove the cover and smell. A chemist would not be required to detect the presence of ammonia, according to the company.