List When I originally saw the request for information about a Tonic Salesman , I was sure that someone would come up with some amazing tales . True to form, we've been seeing just that for days now. There will always be a variety of legitimate explanations for regional semantics and usually that in itself is entertaining to most people. One thing in particular in researching is ....to bear in mind the period in time that is being used. If I remember correctly, the time-frame referenced was at the turn of the last century. From the eighteen-seventies right up through the ninteen-twenties, quite often being called a tonic saleman ; snake-oil merchant; drummer or a gypsy was a denigrating term referenced and most often was meant to imply an entrepreneur with negative or questionable business ethics. These are some of the origins for american humor which often began with "Didja hear the one about the travlin salesman and the .....? " Thanks for the memories ! Dave Pierce