Mirabilite is used as a purgative and anti-inflammatory remedy in the Traditional Chinese medicine; in Mandarin, it is called máng xiāo 硭硝.

The name 'mirabilite' is based on the phrase "Sal mirabilis" (Latin for "wonderful salt") used by Johann Rudolph Glauber when he inadvertently synthesized mirabilite.

[4][5] Mirabilite is found in several areas within the Mammoth Cave System, where it appears to have been mined by Late Archaic and Early Woodland peoples, probably for use as a laxative.

[6] Four mirabilite mounds were documented on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States, in January 2020.

These developed where springs surfaced along the beach, which had been exposed due to lower lake elevations, and cold air helped preserve the salt precipitate.