I asked a pharmacist and a guy standing at the counter what I should take for my headache. The pharmacist recommended acetylsalicylic acid. The guy at the counter recommended aspirin.
I asked, “What’s the difference?”
The pharmacist said, “Aspirin is $2 for a bottle of 100 pills. Acetylsalicylic acid is $2 a pill.
Yep. That was another term we used a lot: acetylsalicylic acid. No wonder the kids in school didn’t like me. I couldn’t say “salt” or “aspirin.” Hmpf. Go figger.