View source for Sputum Cups



[[File:Outdoor%20Life%20ad2.png|right|thumb|''|1908 [[Journal%20of%20the%20Outdoor%20Life|Journal of the Outdoor Life]]''| ad for Sputum Cup ]]

[[File:IMG_1338.jpg|left|thumb|| A metal sputum flask (made in Germany)               carried by Hoffman Pharmacy.<br>|Photograph courtesy of Leslie Hoffman.  ]]

 

[[File:IMG_1337.JPG|left|thumb||Photograph courtesy of Leslie Hoffman]]Tuberculosis is a communicable disease, and as Saranac Lake had at one time hundreds of TB patients, sanitation was taken very seriously. A '''sputum cup''' provided a safe receptacle for a patient's spit. They were of many designs, some disposable, some meant to be cleaned and disinfected. Spitting on the street in the village was subject to a fifty dollar fine. 

When carried around the sputum cups were referred to as Pocket Flasks as oppose to the boxes that were used at someone's bedside.

 

[[File:Outdoor%20Life%20ad.png|right|thumb|''|1908 [[Journal%20of%20the%20Outdoor%20Life|Journal of the Outdoor Life]]''| ad for Sputum ]]

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