The bottle of mouthwash great-great-grandpa took swigs out of could be worth big bucks if it's still around.
Warner-Lambert Co., maker of Listerine, is scouring the country for its oldest bottle of mouthwash - empty of course. The glass bottles date as far back as 1879, the first year Listerine was manufactured.The National Bottle Museum, 20 miles north of Albany, is heading up the contest and reports getting quite a few calls from across the country.
The oldest Listerine bottle will be donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the owner will receive $1,000. Two runners-up will receive $500 each.
People who have an old bottle and want to enter the contest are asked to send to the museum photos showing the bottle's side profile and top and bottom views. Materials must be mailed to the museum by Sept. 30.
The museum's researcher will sift through and examine the photos.
The contest is part of New Jersey-based Warner-Lambert's promotion of the change in the mouthwash's container to recyclable plastic.
The National Bottle Museum, 76 Milton Ave., Ballston Span, NY 12020. Telephone: (518) 885-7589.