In this edition of Strange but true the phrase do you want fries with that, might be because you have too much ketchup. Ketchup for once might more important than the fries. Ketchup Was Sold in the 1830s as Medicine. Forget Ibuprofen. In the 1830s, when it came to popular medicine, ketchup was all the rage. In 1834, it was sold as a cure for indigestion by an Ohio physician named John Cook. It wasn’t popularized as a condiment until the late 19th century. The more you know.