See the Turkish Tampex & TamPak Tampax imitations, 1973
 
|
 
MUSEUM OF MENSTRUATION AND WOMEN'S HEALTH
Sanpax(d?) menstrual tampons, Switzerland? Israel? 1970
Box, tampon & instructions
This tampon so closely resembles the famous Tampax with its patented
two-tube applicator that I wonder if it was a knock-off
- and I wonder if it infringed on the Tampax patent. Did sanpax ever hit
the market?
Even the name, sanpax, uncapitalized, with the "x" overprinted
with a "d" on the box, sounds like Tampax (see the comments under
a picture, below). Two Turkish deceptions, TamPak
and Tampex, also tried to pass for Tampax. But
it could be that's simply the word shoppers with little exposure to tampon
choices would recognize.
But an oddity is the language on the box and inside. English and French
approximately equally split the textual duties on the outside, with a touch
of Hebrew. But inside, all text except for one word is Hebrew!
It's as if we caught the makers - on the box we read "Swiss
know-how" - in the midst of figuring out what they wanted to
do. Maybe we did.
See what is probably a Swiss tampon, Primella,
from the year before and which also closely resembles Tampax. Veeery
suspicious.
Tambrands, former maker of Tampax, kindly donated the box as part
of a large gift from its archives after Procter
& Gamble bought the company.
|
Below: The box measures 5.25 x 3.25 x 1.25"
(13.2 x 8.2 x 3.2 cm). Someone from the donor, Tambrands,
which made Tampax before Procter & Gamble bought the company, stuck
on the label with markings.
Look! On the white label someone also wrote
"D" over the "x" in the name just as on the printed
names on the box. The stamped "pending" might refer to
the registered symbol.
|
|
 |
 |
Hebrew appears on the box only in this
spot to the left, below, whereas the instructions
are almost entirely in Hebrew. Many thanks to an e-mailer
from Northwestern University, who translated the Hebrew as "Product by sanpax in the factory for hygiene
products, Ashdod."
Wikipedia writes this about Ashdod (I added
the color): "[Ashdod,] located in the South District of Israel,
on the Mediterranean Sea coast, is a city of over 200,000 people located
approximately 70 kilometers (43 mi) from Jerusalem and Beer Sheba.
Ashdod is an important regional industrial center. The Port of Ashdod is
Israel's largest port accounting for sixty percent of the country's imported
goods.
"The first documented settlement in Ashdod dates to the Canaanite
culture of 17th century BC,[1] making the city one
of the most ancient in the world. Ashdod is
mentioned thirteen times in the Bible. During the history the city
was settled by Philistines, Israelites, Byzantines, Crusaders and Arabs.[2]
"Modern Ashdod was established in 1956 on the sand hills near the
archeological site, and incorporated as a city in 1968, with a land-area
of approximately 60 square kilometers (23.2 sq mi). . . ."
Could its location in sand hills have influenced
the name sanpax? And that overprinted D - sand - strikes me as suspicious. Naaaa, that's overinterpreting
and too much fun.
I just have to say this: Wikipedia says that the
American sister city of Ashdod is Tampa, Florida. Add an "x" to
Tampa and you get ------, a competitor of sanpax and a for-sure question
at the Museum of Menstruation Christmas - er, Hanukkah, that is, Winter
- Ball Quiz Competition. Whoopee!
|
|
 |
 |
Below: The ends. "The
first easy-to-use tampon"? Huh? How about Tampax, which started over 35 years before and which sanpax(d)
seems to duplicate (see the tampon itself)?
"Swiss know-how" - I wonder what that refers to. It doesn't translate
"brevet suisse," at right, which means "Swiss patent."
Maybe it means obtaining a patent shows know-how. But it seems odd.
|
|
|
|
Next | Box - tampons - instructions - See the Turkish Tampex & TamPak Tampax imitations 1973 - Tampax tampon from the early 1930s
- Main Tampax patent - Ad
from 1936 - World War II Tampax sign - Japanese tampon with finger cots
© 2007 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any
of the work on
this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the
author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
|
|
|