“A good gulp of hot whiskey at bedtime—it’s not very scientific, but it helps.”

Known for his contribution of penicillin, Scottish inventor Sir Alexander Fleming also offered to the world this whiskey-related musing. It surely sums up the benefits of a 1950s invention by Don Poynter: Six Proof toothpastes, shown above, courtesy Bygonely.com.

According to that website, these bourbon and scotch-flavored wonders were the first novelty products created by the wizard who later brought the first basketball backboard for a wastebasket and crossword-puzzle toilet tissue to the masses.

During that era, the country’s biggest novelty seller earned a coveted photo spread in Life magazine and shored up Poynter’s appearance on TV quiz show “What’s My Line?”

Manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, the toothpaste contained real alcohol – 3% in fact.

Decades later, Neiman-Marcus got in on the act with pastes flavored with California wine, Creme de Menthe and Peppermint Schnapps (part of the “Cordially Yours Toothpaste Kit”).