The active principle of the drug Timodyne® was the phenoxyacetamide derivative mefexamide (ANP-297). Mefexamide (or mexephenamide, mefexadyne) is a neurotropic agent acting as a psychostimulant. This nootropic drug was used to boost memory. It was also studied in the treatment of depression and asthenia. It has revealed a limited dopaminergic activity, of interest to treat mild depressive patients, because of the lack of anxiety symptoms. The drug was given orally (capsules) or injected (liquid formulation in ampules for i.m. or i.p. injection). Mefexamide was essentially prescribed as a central nervous system stimulant. Today, the drug is no longer commercialized but the product is included in the list of doping substances of the International Olympic Committee. Athletes may be tempted to use the drug to increase alertness, to reduce fatigue, (and perhaps to increase competitiveness); its used is prohibited.
The drug advert comprised a series of 6 fatigue tests, including the letter test shown here. It is a reading test that consisted to decrypt a text writen with multiple letter fonts. The objective was to read the text in a short time, without error. The fatigue test is shown below.
In French, it reads : “En face de la gare de Sceaux, le long des grilles du Luxembourg, halète et charbonne “l’Arpajonnais” avec ses vieilles voitures gémissantes, bringuebalantes et le crachotis de sa locomotive. Les habitants de la banlieue sud l’appellent “la vache noire” tant épais est le nuage de suie qui l’environne. Le train s’emplit le dimanche matin d’une foule en toilettes fleuries, en costumes clairs qu’on voit revenir le soir en tenue de deuil, encrassée des pieds à la tête. De son coté, la compagnie générale des omnibus méprise sur cette ligne les voyageurs qu’elle inonde d’escarbilles.”
In English, it means: “In front of the Sceaux station, along the gates of Luxembourg, pissing and carrying “l’Arpajonnais” with its old moaning, rickety cars and the sputtering of its locomotive. The inhabitants of the southern suburbs call it “the black cow” because the thick cloud of soot surrounding it is so thick. The train is filled on Sunday morning with a crowd in flowery toilets, in light suits that we see come back in the evening in mourning clothes, dirty from head to toe. For its part, the general bus company misunderstands on this line the travelers it floods with cinders.”
The text describes with great color the departure and atmosphere of the Arpajonnais, a famous steam tram that connected Paris (from the station of Denfert-Rochereau or near the Jardin du Luxembourg) to Arpajon, in Essonne, from 1893 to 1936 (photos below). Residents of the southern suburbs called this tram the “black cow” due to the thick cloud of black smoke and soot that surrounded the steam locomotive. This train carried the Parisians to the countryside on Sunday morning, often dressed in their best clothes, and brought them back in the evening blackened by smoke and cinders.
An amusing reading test, the polar opposite of current technologies (smartphones, touch screens, cloud, artificial intelligence, etc). Do have a try now. Good reading!
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