From Cure-all To Quackery
The composition of snake oil medicines varies markedly between products.
Stanley's snake oil--produced by Clark Stanley, the "Rattlesnake King"--was tested by the United States government in 1917. It was found to contain:
- mineral oil
- 1% fatty oil (presumed to be beef fat)
- red pepper
- turpentine
- camphor
This is similar in composition to modern-day capsaicin-based liniments. None of the oil content was found to have been extracted from any actual snakes.
The government sued the manufacturer for misbranding and misrepresenting its product, winning the judgment of $20 against Clark Stanley. Soon after the decision, "snake oil" became synonymous with false cures and "snake-oil salesmen" became a tag for charlatans.
Read more about this topic: Snake Oil
Famous quotes containing the word quackery:
“Consider the deference which is everywhere paid to a doctor’s opinion. Nothing more strikingly betrays the credulity of mankind than medicine. Quackery is a thing universal, and universally successful. In this case it becomes literally true that no imposition is too great for the credulity of men.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)