WEBVTT - Short Stuff: The Original Snake Oil Salesman

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh, and there's

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck and Jerry's here too, and we're all thinking of

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<v Speaker 1>Dave right now. So his ears are probably burning like

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<v Speaker 1>flames on the side of his face or in my throat. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck's got a little sore throat, but not really. What'd

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<v Speaker 1>you say, You've got some dust in your throat?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, when you just have a little coughing fit

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<v Speaker 2>because it feels like there's a tickle in your throat

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<v Speaker 2>you can't get rid of. Always call it.

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<v Speaker 1>You sound like you're about to cough it.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's call it dust in my throat.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure, Yeah, that's a good description. Yeah. Also, we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to try to muddle through everybody.

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<v Speaker 2>It's gonna say a great Time Waits album, but the

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<v Speaker 2>joke's dumb, so I'm not gonna say it.

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<v Speaker 1>Dust in my throat is great time. That was a

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<v Speaker 1>great chick.

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<v Speaker 2>This one's fun.

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<v Speaker 1>You dug this one up.

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<v Speaker 2>We talked, have talked over the years a lot about

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<v Speaker 2>snake oil and what's called patent medicines, and this is

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<v Speaker 2>the origin story of snake oil.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and it kind of ties into our episode we

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<v Speaker 1>just released on Meat and Food before the FDA came along. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>So to quote the Oxford English diction, oh, snake oil

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<v Speaker 1>is quote a quack remedy or panacea. And essentially what

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<v Speaker 1>they're saying there, in high falutint terms, is that snake

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<v Speaker 1>oil is it's it's well, it's a quack remedy. It

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't actually work. It's something that's sold is a medicine

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<v Speaker 1>or a cure that that doesn't do anything like it says,

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<v Speaker 1>and it just has a bad association. We think of

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<v Speaker 1>snake oil as just something you're something you're duped by,

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<v Speaker 1>and the person you're duped by is a snake oil salesman.

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<v Speaker 1>But this is one of those really interesting stories, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>where there's an actual origin to this and as bad

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<v Speaker 1>as we think of snake oil today, like it actually

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<v Speaker 1>had a legitimate use back in the day and still

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<v Speaker 1>does depending on where you live.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and that's if you're literally talking oil from a snake,

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<v Speaker 2>and we're talking about in China, they would use Chinese

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<v Speaker 2>water snakes, venomous Chinese water snakes to get their literal extract,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, extract oil from the snake. And that oil

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<v Speaker 2>is very high in omega three fatty acids, which we

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<v Speaker 2>all know are very good for your health. So the

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<v Speaker 2>original snake oil, and you know, ancient China actually had

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<v Speaker 2>a use. It wasn't like this this bunk medicine. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's good for your brain health, your heart health. I

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<v Speaker 2>think it can reduce inflammation, kind of like fish oil.

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<v Speaker 2>Everyone knows that omega three fatty acids are great, and

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<v Speaker 2>that was what the original snake oil was.

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<v Speaker 1>It was so high or it is so high in

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<v Speaker 1>omega three fatty acids that it reduces inflammation if you

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<v Speaker 1>just rub it on your skin. It's just really potent stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>which is pretty much the opposite of what we think

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<v Speaker 1>of a snake oil today, like not only does it

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<v Speaker 1>not really work, it's fake. Snake oil is original snake

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<v Speaker 1>oil is not fake. It was very potent. And in

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteenth century there were a lot of Chinese immigrants

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<v Speaker 1>who came over either by their own volition or as

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<v Speaker 1>indentured workers to work on the railroad, the Transcontinental Railroad

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<v Speaker 1>in particular, and they brought this snake oil with them

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<v Speaker 1>and it became like kind of a popular curative for

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<v Speaker 1>people when they wanted to relieve sore muscles or inflammation,

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<v Speaker 1>and it caught the attention of one guy named Clark

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<v Speaker 1>Stanley who became he was a cowboy, He was a

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<v Speaker 1>legit cowboy, but he became a patent medicine seller. And

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<v Speaker 1>you toss that word around, patent medicines, but there's an

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<v Speaker 1>actual explanation to how we got to where patent medicines

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<v Speaker 1>had this bad reputation. And it's in the name too.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because you could say, I have this medicine, I

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<v Speaker 2>want to patent it so only I can sell it.

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<v Speaker 2>And part of having a patent can mean that you

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<v Speaker 2>don't have to tell what's in it, so you're you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's proprietary, so you can have your little secret recipe.

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<v Speaker 2>And so patent medicines were where you know, they became

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<v Speaker 2>these medicines that was essentially snake oil. It's like, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>who knows what could be in this stuff, and these

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<v Speaker 2>hucksters are selling it for you know, a quarter of bottle,

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<v Speaker 2>ten cents of bottle, fifty cents a bottle, as we'll see,

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<v Speaker 2>which is like eighteen bucks today, and no one knows

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<v Speaker 2>what's in it. So that is where snake oil, well,

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<v Speaker 2>actually we're not quite there yet. That's what patent medicine was,

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<v Speaker 2>and maybe we should take a break then with that

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<v Speaker 2>cliffhanger about how snake oil as hucksterism came about.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to know, then you're in luck. Just

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<v Speaker 1>listen up to.

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<v Speaker 2>Chuck selfus shoe.

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<v Speaker 1>So, Chuck, you left us off on the cliffhanger where

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<v Speaker 1>we were talking. Patent medicines were basically fraudulent and fake,

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<v Speaker 1>and snake oil was about to enter the realm of

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<v Speaker 1>from legitimate medicine to fake patent medicine, and it did

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<v Speaker 1>so via that cowboy turned patent medicine seller Clark Stanley.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so he was around and he said, hey, these

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<v Speaker 2>Chinese people are using this snake oil or they're you know,

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<v Speaker 2>have stories of using this snake oil because they didn't

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<v Speaker 2>have those Chinese water snakes in the American West, of course,

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<v Speaker 2>but he heard these stories. He was into this patent

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<v Speaker 2>medicine thing, and he said, well, one thing we have

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<v Speaker 2>a lot about here is rattlesnakes. So I'm gonna well

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<v Speaker 2>we'll get to the little twist here in a second,

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<v Speaker 2>but I'm going to make patent medicine, this snake oil

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<v Speaker 2>liniment out of rattlesnakes. I'm gonna say I'm the rattlesnake King.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm going to put out a little pamphlet to really

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<v Speaker 2>gussy up my story called the Life and Adventures of

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<v Speaker 2>the American Cowboy colon Life in the Far West in

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<v Speaker 2>eighteen ninety seven, And it's going to have horses and

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<v Speaker 2>cowboy poetry and like lasso throwing advice, and I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 2>include this with this snake oil. Gonna charge fifty cents

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<v Speaker 2>a bottle, which, like I said, was eighteen bucks today,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's gonna cure almost anything you can think of.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. He said that it was the strongest and best

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<v Speaker 1>liniment known for the cure of all pain and lameness,

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<v Speaker 1>for rheumatism, neuralgias, sciatica, lay back lumbargo, contracted muscles, toothaches, sprain, swellings,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera, cure's frost bites, chill blades, bruises, sore throat,

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<v Speaker 1>bites of animals, insects, and reptiles. That was on the label.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, he's like the early medical marijuana places in California,

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<v Speaker 2>Like can't sleep, try marijuana, too much sleep, try marijuana.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you notice, though, this is like laying back,

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<v Speaker 1>contracted muscles, like he's tying into the reputation that snake

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<v Speaker 1>oil already has. It's an anti inflammatory that you rub

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<v Speaker 1>on your skin, right, But he never gave credit to

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<v Speaker 1>the Chinese people who introduced him to snake oil or

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<v Speaker 1>who introduced it through the United States. He said that

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<v Speaker 1>he learned to make snake oil from rattlesnakes from years

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<v Speaker 1>of study with a hopey medicine man, and also because

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<v Speaker 1>he was a bit countless times by rattlesnakes, so I

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<v Speaker 1>guess that gave him some entree into it. The problem is,

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<v Speaker 1>rattlesnake oil has about a third of the Omega three

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<v Speaker 1>fatty acids that oil from Chinese water snakes too, which

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<v Speaker 1>makes it about a third is potent.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and then here's the real twist that we promised.

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<v Speaker 2>He didn't even use rattlesnake oil, so even if he

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<v Speaker 2>was using it, it would have been, you know, far

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<v Speaker 2>less potent. But he wasn't even using that stuff, and

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<v Speaker 2>we know and this is how it ties into the

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<v Speaker 2>episode from yesterday. Because of the Pure Food and Drug

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<v Speaker 2>Act of nineteen oh six. In that episode yesterday, we

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<v Speaker 2>talked about one of the things they did was a

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<v Speaker 2>big crackdown on patent medicine. So he was exposed and

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<v Speaker 2>they tested his snake oil in nineteen seventeen and had

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<v Speaker 2>beef fat, red pepper mineral oil, a little bit of

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<v Speaker 2>camp for and a little bit of turpentine.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's it. That was what was in Stanley's snak

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<v Speaker 1>oil linament, nonake oil. He got caught red handed, and

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<v Speaker 1>he knew he was caught red handed. This new FDA

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<v Speaker 1>or I don't even think it was the FDA yet

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<v Speaker 1>they busted him and so for decades of selling fake medicine,

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<v Speaker 1>he was fined twenty dollars, yeah, which is less than

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<v Speaker 1>five hundred dollars today.

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<v Speaker 2>And that was that.

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<v Speaker 1>But the thing is is he single handedly gave snake

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<v Speaker 1>oil a bad name, like it was him. He was

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<v Speaker 1>the conduit through which snake oil turned legitimate. To this

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<v Speaker 1>umbrella term, this catch all term for any kind of fake,

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<v Speaker 1>fraudulent medicine, or any time somebody's trying to sell you

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<v Speaker 1>something that's not real or just kind of hustling you,

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<v Speaker 1>that's snake oil. So by a snake oil salesman and

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<v Speaker 1>our friends at code switch to have found the first

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<v Speaker 1>use of snake oil is kind of a catch all

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<v Speaker 1>term to deride all patent medicines in that one.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was about ten years afterward. It was ten

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<v Speaker 2>years after Clark Stanley was busted. In nineteen twenty seven

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<v Speaker 2>a poem by Stephen Vincent Bennet called John Brown's Body,

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<v Speaker 2>which is I think fairly famous. Right, I've heard of that,

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<v Speaker 2>haven't I.

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<v Speaker 1>That's where we get that John Brown's body lies a

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<v Speaker 1>moldering in the grape. Oh okay, but that's like two

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<v Speaker 1>lines of this almost book length epic poem that it's from. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>One of the lines as well was Sellers of Snake Oil,

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<v Speaker 2>bomb and Lucky Rings. And then also in nineteen fifty six,

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<v Speaker 2>it was in the very famous play The Iceman Cometh

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<v Speaker 2>from Eugene O'Neill.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, Yeah, so one character says that someone else another

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<v Speaker 1>character is quote standing on a street corner in hell

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<v Speaker 1>right now, making suckers of the damned, telling them there's

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<v Speaker 1>nothing like snake oil for a bad burn.

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<v Speaker 2>Amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>That's classic Eugene O'Neil. So that's it. That's where snake

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<v Speaker 1>oil came from, or that's where snake oil's bad reputation

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<v Speaker 1>came from. And you can thank Clark Stanley for it

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<v Speaker 1>or blame them if you're a snake oil manufacturer.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and I love this because I'm sure we'll talk

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<v Speaker 2>about snake oil again and then we can reference Clark Stanley.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, for sure, Chuck. And since I said for sure,

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<v Speaker 1>everybody and I don't think either of us have anything

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<v Speaker 1>more about snake oil. Short stuff is accurt. Stuff You

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<v Speaker 1>Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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