In 1869 Schröder, Prinzhorn and Kraut repeated both Gerhardt's(from sodium salicylate)
and von Gilm's(from salicylic acid) syntheses and concluded that both reactions gave the same compound-acetylsalicylic acid.
This unscientific attitude is bad for us all- regularly or intensely distressed babies grow into unhappy and stress-reactive(inflexible, self-focused)
adults that we all have to live with(Read: Gerhardt, 2005).