Did you know that aspirin has its origins in ancient Greece? The first reference to aspirin dates back to Hippocrates, the Greek "father of medicine," who lived some time between 460 adn 377 BC. Hippocrates had a recipe for a pain reliever and fever reducer made from the bark and leaves of the willow tree.  it wasn't until 1829 that scientists discovered that ingredient, salicylic acid, which gives willow bark its medicinal qualities.

But salicylic acid caused extreme stomach upset, even when sodium was added to neutralize the acid.  In 1853, French chemist Charles Frederic Gerhardt added acetyl chloride to the sodium/salicin mixture, but didn't market it. In 1897, Felix Hoffman, who worked for Bayer company in Germany, realized that Gerhardt's mix actually worked and relieved his father's painful arthritis. Bayer combined the A from acetyl chloride; the SPIR from spirae ulmaria, the willow plant; and the IN because it was a common ending for medicines.

Today, acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin, is the most widely used drug in the world: more than 70 million pounds are produced annually.