A colorless chemical compound (chloral hydrate) historically used as a sedative and anesthetic drug, now primarily used in research and veterinary medicine.
From chlor- (chlorine) + al (aldehyde), literally 'chlorine aldehyde.' Chloral was first synthesized by Justus von Liebig in 1832 and became one of the earliest synthetic drugs.
Chloral hydrate was the world's first mass-produced synthetic drug and a major medical breakthrough—but it gained notoriety as 'Mickey Finn,' the substance criminals slipped into drinks to incapacitate victims, making it a cautionary tale about drug safety.
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