ONCE the formal questionnaires are complete, there’s an open inquiry at the end of almost any clinical trial. A variation on: “Apart from the answers you’ve given, did you notice anything else worthy of mention?” Often the question is met with a blank.
But in the Welsh town of Merthyr Tydfil in 1993, the former miners testing a potential new drug for angina and hypertension did feel moved to speak up. One man raised his hand.
“I seemed to have a lot more erections during the night than normal,” he said with admirable candour.
The others smiled and, one by one, said, “So did I.”
It’s not known what would have happened if that first brave man hadn’t piped up. Dr David Brown has a pretty good idea, though. “Well, Viagra wouldn’t have been invented, basically.”
The story of the drug sildenafil, later sold as Viagra (among other things) and marketed, ingeniously, as simply “the little blue pill”, is one of happen stance and determination – with a hefty dose of unexpected charm. Plenty of medicines can claim to have changed the world, but 30 years after its invention and 25 years after it was first sold, few have made the cultural impact of Viagra.
Fewer are still so widely taken yet so seldom openly discussed. That the invention of this magic pill for impotence was an accident – a phenomenally happy one, not just for the millions of men who needed it, and their partners, but also for the profit margins of Pfizer, the company that created it – is part of its mythology.
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 8 February 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 8 February 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
MR COOL
Rocker Lenny Kravitz has just turned 60-and he's as much of a sex symbol as ever
LAST RALLY FOR RAFA
Nadal's early exit from RolandGarros calls into question his Grand Slam future. We look back at his smash-hit career
BEYOND THE MOUSTACHE
Tom Selleckon Magnum, peta Oe handsome for Hollywood and why he wishes people would realise theres mor to him than his famous facial hair
HOPE FOR DEMENTIA
More than 55 million people worldwide live with dementia and it's estimated this number will double every 20 years. But researchers believe there's light at the end of the tunnel
HE'S GOT THE X-FACTOR!
Eric's record-breaking collection of X-Men memorabilia is worth a small fortune
MADE FROM SCRATCH
Every morsel of food Nara feeds her family is homemade - but not everyone is impressed
INNOCENT'S GOT TALENT
South African tenor wins hearts in London with his impressive opera skills
'NOBODY LISTENED'
These sisters say they were sexually abused 50 years ago by family friends - and they want their day in court
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN
The votes have been cast, counted and announced, but is South Africa ready for a new government? The experts think so
A LOW PROFILE
Cancer-stricken Kate isn't rushing her return to public life but behind the scenes she's keeping busy with work and family life