1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: the show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so much 3 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,480 Speaker 1: for tuning in. Let's hear it for our number one 4 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: medicine man super producer, mister Max Williams. 5 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 2: Because I only did the booze so I could do 6 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 2: the hiss, because the hiss it's just topic appropriate. 7 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: And hiss doesn't make sense, you know, without the boo. Yeah, 8 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: it's just what do we cat people? 9 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 2: You need the boo followed by the hiss. If everyone 10 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 2: were to hiss first, I would immediately not take them seriously. 11 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: It sounds like you're booing your own hiss exactly. 12 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 2: It's all about decorum here when it comes to nagging 13 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 2: people in public. 14 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: Your Noel, I'm Ben, and today our booze and our 15 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: hisses are appropriate because we're talking about something that's a 16 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: little bit etymology, it's a little bit marketing. It is 17 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: one hundred percent ridiculous, Noel. We are exploring snake oil. 18 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, snake oil like as a concept, as an actual 19 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 2: thing that legitimately existed. Like, let's think of the you know, 20 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 2: I think maybe a lot of people's first experience with 21 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 2: the idea of a traveling snake oil salesman was probably 22 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 2: in The Wizard of Oz. 23 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: In the original Wizard of Oz with the guy whatever. 24 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 2: His name was, you know who in the black and 25 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 2: white version ends up being the I guess when Dorothy's 26 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 2: having her psychotic break and all the little details are 27 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 2: kaiser sozeing their way into her brain. That guy rep 28 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 2: since the Wizard of Oz, but he travels around in 29 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 2: a caravan that has a sign something marvelous. I believe 30 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 2: it has the word marvelous in it, and he sells 31 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 2: like tonics and stuff, you know, and like remedies, things 32 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 2: purported to be cure all's cure some perhaps panaceas your 33 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 2: mileage may vary, caveat em thor and so on. 34 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: I love to use the word remedy because I know 35 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: it is a very dangerous time in history. But I 36 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: miss the days when you could just put any stupid, 37 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: possibly dangerous thing in a bottle, slap a label on 38 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: it that said remedy and some high faluting esoteric language, 39 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: and people would buy it. That's like that's snake oil, right, 40 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: some kind of fake treatment or cure, a way to 41 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: fix a condition that modern medicine just can't combat. You 42 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: see it all the time, right, like bad skin, baldness, cancer, 43 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: genetic diseases, what else? 44 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 2: Oh man, I mean you name it basically, but I 45 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 2: do want to issue a quick correction for what I said. 46 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 2: It was a Professor Marvel, which is cool because that 47 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 2: sounds very. 48 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: Much like a comic book character. 49 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 2: I mean, obviously we have Captain Marvel in the in 50 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 2: the Marvel Cinematic and comic book universe. But he wasn't 51 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 2: selling He necessarily wasn't necessarily selling products like that. He 52 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 2: was more of a fortune teller, acclaimed by the crowned 53 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 2: heads of Europe itself. Let him read your past, present 54 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 2: and future in his crystal. But the vehicle and the 55 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 2: wagon that he's riding around in is exactly the same 56 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 2: as those made famous by these very shady individuals, you know, 57 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 2: roaming the countryside or whatever in you know, maybe days 58 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 2: of great depression and beyond, trying to sell hapless individuals 59 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 2: on some kind of thing that would maybe cure what 60 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 2: ailed them, but probably can nothing but mineral spirits. 61 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, Better Business Bureau loves these guys. Kidding. BBB wasn't around, 62 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: But I know you said something really interesting. I think 63 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: maybe we start there. Snake oil, although now it means 64 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: any cure treatment that falsely promises extraordinary results, is and 65 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:23,280 Speaker 1: was a real thing in other cultures. Like let's go, 66 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: let's journey back to the days of ancient Chinese traditional medicine. 67 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: They used water snakes or oil from water snakes as 68 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: a treatment for joint pain. And I don't know, I 69 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: think we all have in the West such an association 70 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 1: with snake oil as a term for con artists, that 71 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,600 Speaker 1: we kind of forget the legitimate attempts that humanity has 72 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 1: had using snake oil. Like it goes all the way 73 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: back to the seventeen hundreds, I think is the first 74 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: time the phrase is used in print. 75 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 2: And Old Webster in his famous Dictionary does point out, 76 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,239 Speaker 2: as you said, Ben, the first printed use of snake 77 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 2: oil appears in the early seventeen hundreds. But again with 78 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 2: examples from you know, ancient historian, ancient Roman historian Pliny 79 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 2: the Elder, we have examples dating as far back as 80 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 2: the early to mid sixteen hundreds referring to specific combinations 81 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 2: of the snake juice, you know, being ground and beaten 82 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 2: and strained into something that did seem to be helpful 83 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,039 Speaker 2: to some degree. I think maybe my favorite one is 84 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 2: this longer one from John French from the Art of Distillation. 85 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 1: Ben, I believe you found this one. This is great. 86 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, this is okay. So before we do this, 87 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:49,359 Speaker 1: when everybody needs to know that it is written in 88 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 1: an older kind of tone. That's why it's cool, right. 89 00:05:53,360 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: So the oil of snakes and Adams. Take snakes us 90 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:02,919 Speaker 1: when they are fat, which will be in June or July, 91 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: cut off their heads and take off their skins and 92 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: unbowel them and put them in a glass gord. Uh no, 93 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: why you take the. 94 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 2: Rest of this Well, first of all, let's let's just 95 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 2: unback a little bit of this work a glass gourd. 96 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: What does that just mean? A jar basically? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, 97 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: it was uh yeah, it was a glass. It was 98 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: like a mason jar. 99 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:28,039 Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe one of those heavy like a heavy mason jar, right. 100 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: Uh. 101 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 2: And then you have unbowel, which does make sense, you know, 102 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 2: because you know, to how does one bowel something You 103 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 2: can really can't. It's really no putting it back. Once 104 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 2: it's unboweled, then you're kind of done. But I've always 105 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:45,360 Speaker 2: heard it, you know, described as disemboweled rather than emboweled. 106 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 2: So this is a funny. I've never seen it quite 107 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 2: stated this way before. So to unbowel them would be 108 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 2: to remove their their guddies. 109 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,279 Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, and then you pour a bunch of wine 110 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: over it, and then you seal up the glass and 111 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: well rectified so rectified, yeah, fortified wine like mad Dog 112 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: forty forty type stuff or whatever it's called. And then 113 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: you have to just keep it there. Eventually. What John 114 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: French tells us is that when this stuff has matured, 115 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: you can use it to help people here again, or 116 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: as he puts it. 117 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 3: This oil doff wonderful cures and recovering hearing and those 118 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 3: that'd be deaf if a few drops thereof be put 119 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 3: quam into the ears right right now? 120 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, if it's talking about removing earwax or gunk, 121 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: then maybe. But spoiler, folks, John French did not invent 122 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: a cure for deafness. 123 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 2: Bummer. Yeah, that was pretty permanent. I don't think anyone's 124 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 2: quite cracked that code yet. It is funny, though, because 125 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 2: when I hear things like this, and again, no shade 126 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 2: on anyone that's into like holistic remedies or herbal remedies, 127 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 2: and some of them, you know, again, your milas may vary. 128 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 2: But like things like ear candling. Have you heard of 129 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 2: this that these like things he has shove in your 130 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 2: ears and the item they, you know, supposedly like extract 131 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 2: the wax from your ears. I've never known them to 132 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 2: be particularly effective, but they do. When you crack them open. 133 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 2: They're filled with kind of weird, gross stuff, so it 134 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 2: does have the appearance of working. But again, I don't know, folks. 135 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 2: If you guys are proponents of ear candling, let us 136 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 2: know if that works for you. But of course, we 137 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 2: are going to eventually get to where the origins of 138 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 2: a lot of this kind of holistic medicine comes from, 139 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 2: you know, referred too often as Eastern medicine. When the 140 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 2: Chinese American population started to kind of boom in the 141 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 2: United States, a lot of these traditional remedies or medicines 142 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 2: were brought with them. 143 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, this is where we see the evolution toward 144 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: the current definition of snake oil. There's a guy named 145 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: Richard White. He wrote a book called Railroad, and it's 146 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 1: all about the thousands and thousands of Chinese nationals who 147 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: immigrated to the US between eighteen forty nine and eighteen 148 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: eighty two and estimated one hundred and eighty thousand people. 149 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 2: I'm sensing a double entendre in the name of the book, 150 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 2: as though they maybe perhaps got a raw deal. 151 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,599 Speaker 1: Again An he's a smart cookie, yeah, and it's a 152 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:26,320 Speaker 1: good book. There's another guy, another author, David Howard Bain, 153 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: who wrote a book called Empire Express And when you 154 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 1: read these two books together you learn a lot about 155 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: the demographics. So the majority of these immigrants came from 156 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: lower income families, peasant families in southeastern China, and they 157 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: got signed up to these horrific contracts that would lock 158 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 1: them in for you know, five years or more with 159 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:59,239 Speaker 1: very low wages compared to their other coworkers, the European counterparts. 160 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: So they had to resort to some of their own 161 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: traditional cultural practices when they couldn't go to a doctor 162 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: or something like that, you know, not even putting the 163 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: money aside, just the racism at the time made it 164 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,560 Speaker 1: difficult for them to get medical treatment. They brought with 165 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 1: them this incredibly rich cultural history dating back thousands of years, 166 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: and one of the things they brought with them was 167 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: the idea of traditional medicine. Including that snake oil that 168 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: we mentioned from the Chinese water snake, which actually works 169 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,439 Speaker 1: a little apparently. Well it makes sense though, doesn't it. 170 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:41,079 Speaker 2: It is an aquatic creature, and so it makes sense 171 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 2: perhaps that the oil from these water snakes might contain 172 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 2: some of the same nutrients that fish contain. And to 173 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 2: this day, people still swear by fish oil supplements, you know, 174 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:56,319 Speaker 2: because they contain a ton of omega three fatty acids, 175 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 2: you know, which are apparently quite good for you. And 176 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 2: that's also good reason why people like you know, say, 177 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 2: a pescatarian diet is better than you know, being eating 178 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 2: all the meats, right. 179 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: Mm hmmm, yeah, as long as you can avoid the mercury. 180 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,320 Speaker 1: So fair enough, fair enough. So they did something that 181 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 1: we see pretty often in the US. It's one of 182 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: our favorite phenomena here. They took the techniques and processes 183 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: that they already were very familiar with and they substituted 184 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: ingredients because, surprise, folks, not a lot of Chinese water 185 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: snakes in the continental US. So they started looking for 186 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: other snakes. And what do we do when they made 187 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,559 Speaker 1: this snake oil with the omega three acids that you're 188 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: talking about there, they would rub it on their joints 189 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 1: after a long day of hard labor, and eventually, as 190 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: they were hanging out with other coworkers and parts of 191 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: their cohort, they started sharing the oil like, oh, hey, 192 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 1: darn or whatever it s you said. Your knees hurt 193 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: or your lower back hurts or something like that. Try 194 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: this just when you get home from work. Just rub 195 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: this on your joints and it will help soothe the pain. 196 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 2: And again, the placebo effect is so strong. You're in 197 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 2: a difficult working environment, you are suffering, you know, likely 198 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 2: because of long hours and difficult working conditions, and someone 199 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 2: offers you a helping hands, someone offers you something that 200 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 2: they purported works for me. 201 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: I swear by this. Try it out. Oh gosh, you're right, 202 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: it does work. 203 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 2: Tell your friends, you know, before you know it, everybody's 204 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 2: gaga for this this oil. You know they will, and 205 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 2: who knows, man, it could literally just be the fact 206 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:53,319 Speaker 2: that it's a slippery, smooth, soothing, cool substance, you know 207 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 2: what I mean. 208 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: It could be as simple as that. 209 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 2: And we know that these types of phenomenon are still 210 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 2: very powerful to day, you know, because of all of 211 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,960 Speaker 2: the weird bunk products that get pedled on TV or 212 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:10,800 Speaker 2: on like you know, Huckster's like Alex Jones' Network Info Wars, 213 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 2: like a lot of that bone broth and things like that, 214 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 2: you know whatever. Again, we're not here to debunk any 215 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,839 Speaker 2: one particular thing, but we know that there are people 216 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 2: out there that are trying to prey on those who 217 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,719 Speaker 2: maybe haven't done their homework or or are just. 218 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:28,839 Speaker 1: Are just really desperate and looking for some relief. Yeah, 219 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: and we see that people were acting with good intention 220 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: at the very beginning here they said, we can't find 221 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,959 Speaker 1: the Chinese water snakes because we're not in China. In 222 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: the US, people started thinking, well, any snake can work, right, 223 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: Rattlesnake oil was incredibly popular, Like through the seventeen hundreds. 224 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: There's this thing I found from December seventeen forty two 225 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: that show was US snake oil was popular across the 226 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,559 Speaker 1: pond as well. In the History of the Works of 227 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: the Learned, Uh, this guy describes three types of oil 228 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: in the US, snake oil, and says, now three sorts 229 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: of oil in that country whose virtues are fully proved 230 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 1: might not perhaps be found despicable. The oil of drums, 231 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: the oil of rattlesnakes, and that here's the weird one, 232 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: and that of turkey busters turkey bustard? Is that a 233 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: type of vulture? Isn't that what that is? I believe, 234 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: I believe it is. Yeah, it's a it's a ground 235 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: Uh it's a ground bird, isn't it? Maybe? 236 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 2: So I swear for some reason, I'm thinking turkey vulture. 237 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 2: But the word bustered is very old. Yeah, busted bush 238 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:54,400 Speaker 2: turkeys and yeah, A man, I love it when you 239 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,240 Speaker 2: google something and then gain people also ask first one 240 00:14:57,320 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 2: is are bustards good eaten? 241 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 4: I got? 242 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:04,520 Speaker 1: I got? Why is it called busted? Yeah? What is 243 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 1: the largest bustard? What does the bustard look like? Oh? Weird? 244 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: Bird names are so ridiculous, they are. 245 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 2: He's got a real he looks you know, honestly, dude, 246 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 2: he really does look more like a vulture. He's got 247 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 2: a real long, kind of like snakelike neck, and this 248 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 2: one that I'm looking at is covered in feathers. But 249 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 2: then he has those real reptilian kind of claws. 250 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: You know, I feel yeah, yeah, yeah, And we know 251 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,040 Speaker 1: that we also know that people believed in this is 252 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: genuine medicine. There's a guy named Jeremiah Barker writing for 253 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: the Medical Repository in New York in eighteen oh two, 254 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: and he is convinced that you could use what was it, 255 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: rattlesnake oil and a half a pint of bear grease 256 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: Jesus to cure yourself of colic. Okay, I don't even 257 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 1: I don't even really know what colic is. 258 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 2: Colic is none of that babies have. I mean that's specifically. 259 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 2: You know, you always hear about colicky babies. They have 260 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 2: like a like a coll or, they're like really hard 261 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 2: to soothe. But I've never really thought of it being 262 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 2: anything that an adult would have. Yeah, colicky crying is louder, 263 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 2: more high pitched, and more urgent sounded than regular crying. 264 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 2: So this would specifically be a treatment for an infant 265 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 2: or a small child. 266 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 5: Yeah, let's give them half a pint of bear grease. 267 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: A bear grease, man, it's a staple item in every household. 268 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 1: So bear bear grease is basically just fat from a bear. 269 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, and this is actually gonna kind of piggyback onto 270 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 2: the question that I was kind of holding in my 271 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 2: back pocket here. Rattlesnake oil seems very dangerous to procure 272 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:48,240 Speaker 2: as as does bear grease. And it seems like only 273 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 2: a certain kind of echelon of like you know, frontiersman's 274 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 2: would be able to acquire this stuff, you know, and 275 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 2: and live to tell about it. 276 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's also it still exists today. There's you 277 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:06,719 Speaker 1: can find rattlesnake oil online or purported rattlesnake oil. You 278 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: can also find rattlesnake oil soap apparently, which some people 279 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: swear by for treating skin conditions. Anyway, this stuff expands 280 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: pretty soon people are starting to use snake oil not 281 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: just to refer to medicine, but to all sorts of stuff. 282 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:27,199 Speaker 1: It becomes. It becomes a euphemism for liquor, for like 283 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:31,199 Speaker 1: hard alcoholic spirits and not as good as old Granddad's 284 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: leg medicine. No, no, not as good as Grandpa's leg medicine, 285 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 1: thank you for shouting that one out. At the end 286 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:43,960 Speaker 1: of the nineteenth century, snake oil begins to acquire its 287 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: current meaning. A mixture sould is medicine, usually without regard 288 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: to its medical worth. 289 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 2: Well, and I wonder if that maybe figures into my 290 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 2: previous point slash question, like you know you got these 291 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 2: the rise of sort of the modern snake oil salesmen 292 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,440 Speaker 2: who were maybe like, Wow, this snake oil stuff is booming. 293 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: But snakes are scary. 294 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 2: They're all bitey bite and you know, have venomous, you know, 295 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 2: big old fangs, and you know, I don't. 296 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:12,880 Speaker 1: Want to mess with that. 297 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 2: What if I just like slap something in a bottle 298 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,639 Speaker 2: and said that's what it was, who's gonna stop me? 299 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 2: As you pointed out earlier, Ben, there is no Better 300 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,679 Speaker 2: Business Bureau, There is no consumer reports, there is no 301 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 2: protection or FDA, you know, for that matter, there's nothing 302 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 2: in that realm at all to protect consumers from these people. 303 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,159 Speaker 2: It was all kind of on good faith, and I 304 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 2: think even the idea of marketing and stuff was still 305 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 2: relatively new in. 306 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: The United States at this time. 307 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 2: So it's kind of like, oh, the door's wide open 308 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 2: for bad actors to come creeping in, even if maybe 309 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,439 Speaker 2: their intentions were good. But I don't think this Clark 310 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 2: Stanley Fellow's intentions were ever good. 311 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,639 Speaker 1: His intentions toward himself were good. Okay, fair, Can you 312 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: can you tell us about the rattlesnake king? Yes, yes, 313 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:06,160 Speaker 1: former cowboy retires. His name is Clark Stanley. As he said, Noel. 314 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,920 Speaker 1: His street name is the Rattlesnake King. This is way 315 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:15,400 Speaker 1: before Tiger King. Obviously, our buddy Clark stumbles onto this 316 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:21,120 Speaker 1: idea and he tells people that after he became a cowboy, 317 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 1: he spent years with spiritual leaders in the Hope Native community, 318 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: mastering quote unquote the secret of snake oil. He gets 319 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 1: together with a druggist, a pharmacist basically in Boston, and 320 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: he begins marketing his product, his snake oil, as the 321 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,600 Speaker 1: new cure all for whatever ails you. He makes his 322 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,399 Speaker 1: own patent medicine. He's not the only guy in the 323 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,399 Speaker 1: game here, but he is one of the most successful. 324 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:56,960 Speaker 1: There were tons of what's where we use remedies, tonics, 325 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:02,400 Speaker 1: purported medical cures for all kinds of ailments at the time, 326 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:07,199 Speaker 1: what about gout? What about gout? While I, of course 327 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: whileye also drops the left handedness alto m M yeah, yes, shooty. 328 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 6: Okay, all right, okay, Ben, I was writing something recently 329 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 6: and Andrew Jackson came up, and I was trying to 330 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,200 Speaker 6: remember every single disease you said Andrew Jackson had when 331 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 6: we did our episode about when he beat the crap out. 332 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 1: Of it due to the cane. Oh he did do that. Yeah. Yeah. 333 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:31,360 Speaker 5: There was a lot of diseases we listed, and dropsy. 334 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,560 Speaker 1: Was one of them. That's the funniest disease of them all. 335 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,680 Speaker 1: What is it again? Is it real? What was dropsy? 336 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 1: It's a dropsy is a less technical term for something 337 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:49,439 Speaker 1: called edema, Okay, and edema is when a lot of 338 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: watery fluid collects in the cavities of the body. So yeah, yeah, yeah, 339 00:20:57,560 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: I don't know why. We'd have to look into the 340 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 1: etymology of how it became called dropsy. But before we 341 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:07,879 Speaker 1: do that, I love the term patent medicine and I 342 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 1: didn't know much about it. Patent medicine, it turns out, 343 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: have been around in England for a long long time. 344 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: And I think the reason people loved calling stuff patent 345 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,679 Speaker 1: medicine in the US is because it felt posh, It 346 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: felt established. 347 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,720 Speaker 2: Is it referring to the idea of being some sort 348 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:33,119 Speaker 2: of proprietary you know, like patented form of treatment or 349 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 2: is it or those terms not related? 350 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: No, they are very much recoated. Yeah. Yeah, because patent 351 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:46,400 Speaker 1: medicines originally named after a certain dispensation given by English royalty. 352 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: You would get the letters patent which is a cosign 353 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 1: from the big influencers of the day. So the first 354 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: letters patent is given to this guy who evinces a 355 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:03,679 Speaker 1: secret remedy in the late seventeenth century. And essentially what 356 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,520 Speaker 1: this says is, Hey, we the royal family of England, 357 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,119 Speaker 1: we mess with this guy. We think he's legit and 358 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,360 Speaker 1: only he can make his secret recipe. 359 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, after all, it's at least a couple 360 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:23,320 Speaker 2: of rungs above leeching and blood letting. Yeah, it's not like. 361 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,880 Speaker 1: They weren't willing to try just about whatever. But yeah, 362 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:27,199 Speaker 1: you're right. 363 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 2: Isn't it funny how the blessing for these kind of 364 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,520 Speaker 2: things came not from a learned body of physicians, but 365 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 2: specifically from the royal family, who like practiced all of 366 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 2: these barbaric you know, like trepanation and all of these 367 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,360 Speaker 2: like insane treatments over throughout history. You know, they were 368 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:47,879 Speaker 2: usually popularized by royalty. That's when, like you know, everyone 369 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 2: else would do He's like, well, the king does it. 370 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 2: Of course we're gonna do it. Why wouldn't I drill 371 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 2: a hole in my skull to let the demons out? 372 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: What am I poor? And so the funny thing is 373 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: pat medicine in the US at this time, very few 374 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 1: products were ever actually patented. Instead, they just slapped the 375 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,399 Speaker 1: word patent on it and sold it from their wagons. 376 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,719 Speaker 1: And these things, these all had amazing names, like the 377 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,959 Speaker 1: early English patent medicines. I thought you would enjoy some 378 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: of these Bateman's pectoral Drops, Turlington's Bosam of Life, and 379 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: of course the troublingly problematic Hooper's female Pills. Yeah. 380 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 2: Just you know again, that's the funny thing about it, 381 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 2: is like they're just so broad, it's just beyond suspicious. 382 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 2: But I guess at the time, if you have a 383 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 2: little alliteration in your title and a snappy label and 384 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:43,280 Speaker 2: you have patent on there, then you're probably people are 385 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 2: gonna be like, sure, why not, And we're gonna get 386 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 2: to some of these more like the kind of dogged 387 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 2: pony show of it all, you know, where you let's 388 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 2: do a demonstration, you know, like the loaves and fishes 389 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 2: and everything. I mean, okay, not to compare these guys 390 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,360 Speaker 2: to Jesus Christ. That was maybe a bridge too far, 391 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 2: but it is all about like, let's make converts of 392 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,040 Speaker 2: you by showing you that this stuff really works, you know, 393 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,720 Speaker 2: right A very public setting. But oftentimes these people were 394 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 2: employing plants, you know. And what I mean, I don't 395 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,080 Speaker 2: mean like you know, bushes, I mean individuals in the 396 00:24:15,119 --> 00:24:19,360 Speaker 2: audience who were paid to do what they ask them 397 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 2: to do, to like, you know, pretend to be cured instantly, 398 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 2: very similar to like big tent revivals. 399 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: And all of that stuff. 400 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 6: Yeah, jump in here. I have, of course been digging 401 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 6: around on Amazon looking for snake oil, literally snake oil. 402 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 6: I will say, actually, first and foremost, most of the 403 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 6: stuff I find is for snake repellent, which is actually 404 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,919 Speaker 6: very useful. My mom uses synthetic wolf you're in to 405 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:47,879 Speaker 6: repel critters around her house Missus Williams, very classic Missus 406 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,919 Speaker 6: Williams from repelling them from her plants. But so it 407 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 6: makes sense having snake repellent. But there is I won't 408 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:55,440 Speaker 6: name any brand because I don' want anyone to get 409 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 6: mad at me, but there is one. 410 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,560 Speaker 5: It's just a bar of soap. Yes, snake oil. 411 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 6: And if you go to product details, the first one 412 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:07,120 Speaker 6: is is discontinued by manufacturer and colon. 413 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 5: No, No, that's the first thing. That's the first. 414 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,240 Speaker 6: The second one is the dimensions. That's the first thing 415 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,640 Speaker 6: but I also found this other one, and I don't 416 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 6: know if it actually has snake oil, but it reads 417 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,439 Speaker 6: just like something that snake oil as it. You know, 418 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,480 Speaker 6: it is a moisturizing facial theorem for anti aging acne 419 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:32,200 Speaker 6: scar treatment, Google massage, face, hair and skin, Google massage. 420 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 6: I have no idea what it is, but I'm just 421 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 6: reading it Vadim. 422 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: Cool. 423 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,760 Speaker 2: Okay, we'll put a pin in that, Max with the facts. 424 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 4: That sneaking in the phone and tease fallen knowlsh it's 425 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:51,360 Speaker 4: just for you right now, with the fact. 426 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 1: Or with the. 427 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 2: Very questionable the pattern facts. Fair enough, that's good, let's 428 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:01,600 Speaker 2: go with that. But Ben, this is super cool. We've 429 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:03,680 Speaker 2: got okay, we've got a female I think we last 430 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 2: left off with Hooper's female pills. 431 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,280 Speaker 1: These were all smashed sensations. 432 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 2: We also have the very aptly named Dicey's Doctor Bateman's Drops. 433 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: Which is confusing. Okay, who is dices Drops or doctor Bateman's. 434 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:23,480 Speaker 1: It's like that steakhouse that drives me Chris, Yeah, Ruth's 435 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: Chris Steakhouse. Why what is going I've been there. It's nice. 436 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 1: It's a nice place. 437 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 2: But the nickname or something like Ruth's son's name was 438 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 2: Chris or something, so it was Ruth's Chris steakhout. 439 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 1: You know what, they're justified. They're chef's you know, they're 440 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 1: they're not language doctors, but they make a fine they 441 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:55,399 Speaker 1: make asteak, yes, sir, And so Dicey's doctor Bateman's drops. 442 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 1: That came from King George the First and uh it 443 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: was pat and and the pat was granted by King 444 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: George the First in seventeen twenty six. These patent medicines 445 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,159 Speaker 1: we just named were all very popular in North America 446 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: at the time. The American Revolution still hasn't happened, right, 447 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,080 Speaker 1: there's no US to speak of yet, But it didn't 448 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: take long for enterprising Americans to look around and say, hey, 449 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,600 Speaker 1: why are we shipping this stuff all the way from England? 450 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: Why don't we make our own home brewed patent medicine. 451 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:32,560 Speaker 1: And the numbers and types of medications or panaceas grew 452 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:37,359 Speaker 1: in the decades leading up through the Revolution all the 453 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: way to the Civil War. It was a great way 454 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 1: to make money if you weren't concerned about hurting people, right. 455 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,160 Speaker 2: Especially if you weren't concerned about hurting people, because I mean, honestly, 456 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 2: these folks who decided to get in on this were 457 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,639 Speaker 2: clearly wise to the grift, and they're like, why bother 458 00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:00,240 Speaker 2: importing all this stuff? We know it's bullshit anyway, just 459 00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 2: make it here at home and save us some tax 460 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 2: and some shipping. 461 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:07,159 Speaker 1: Yeah, And at the same time, the Civil War is 462 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 1: going to be a big, big part of the story here. 463 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: At the same time, we see that there are rapid 464 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:18,200 Speaker 1: increases in industry, manufacturing, where people are living in cities, 465 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: there's still an absence of drug regulation to your earlier 466 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: excellent point, all of this makes a perfect environment for 467 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 1: patent medicine, and a lot of people turn to it 468 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: because they didn't trust regular medical practices of the time. 469 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: And this is where we learn about something called heroic medicine. 470 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:44,160 Speaker 1: So before we call these people dunderheads or anything, we 471 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:48,760 Speaker 1: have to realize that official accepted medicine at the time 472 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:51,800 Speaker 1: was pretty gnarly and dangerous. 473 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's's crazy that it was like still, 474 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 2: you know, even in you know, we're thinking of things 475 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,479 Speaker 2: that were maybe popular in the Middle Ages that are 476 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 2: still kind of the order of the day. You know, 477 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 2: the idea of regulating humors and stuff using techniques like 478 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 2: blood letting or you know the the aforementioned you know, 479 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,960 Speaker 2: skull drilling or trepanation. So I mean any promise of 480 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 2: like a cure that wouldn't require you to be bashed 481 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 2: over the head with a mallet. You know, it was 482 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:25,760 Speaker 2: probably gonna be pretty attractive to the average you know consumer. 483 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 6: So you guys want to know it would also be 484 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 6: attractive hearing the story behind Ruth Chris's Steakhouse. So the 485 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 6: story behind it is there was this guy named Chris 486 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,960 Speaker 6: who started a steakhouse in New Orleans and he kept 487 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 6: selling it like he started the steakhouse, but he didn't 488 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 6: really want to have it, so he sold it and 489 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 6: he sold it in total six seven times, uh, buying 490 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 6: it back six times because every time he sold it 491 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 6: someone would run into the ground. But the seventh time 492 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:50,720 Speaker 6: he sold it, he sold it to this woman named 493 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 6: Ruth Fortell, who then went on to own it for 494 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 6: a very long time and thus became since it was 495 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:00,719 Speaker 6: Chris's Chris Steakhouse, it became Ruth Chris Steakhouse. 496 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,440 Speaker 1: I believe we have a two fer on Max with 497 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:10,280 Speaker 1: the facts. 498 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 4: That seeking in the phone and peacefullen. 499 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 2: Knowl it's just for you right now, and I feel 500 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 2: dumber for knowing that. 501 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 1: He kept selling it back. 502 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:29,600 Speaker 6: That's according to this article on the Hill, why is 503 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 6: Ruth Chris Steakhouse called Ruth Chris publish? 504 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:34,960 Speaker 1: That's a reasonable question. 505 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 2: It reminds me of like what happens with like a 506 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 2: lot of you know, Asian restaurants when they like, you know, 507 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:39,720 Speaker 2: they'd be like. 508 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,160 Speaker 1: Put numbers on stuff, put numbers on them, or be 509 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 1: like the new version or whatever. Where's trying to drag 510 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,040 Speaker 1: in one? Yeah, that was the good one. 511 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 6: Also special thanks to Michael Bartiromo for writing this article. 512 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,320 Speaker 6: I want to make sure you give proper credit to Yeah. 513 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: Sure. So here's the thing. Again, we might sound a 514 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 1: bit like a broken rec but this is really important. 515 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,680 Speaker 1: Before nineteen oh six, you could put whatever you wanted 516 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 1: in a bottle and sell it to whomever was dumb 517 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: enough or desperate enough to buy it. Patent medicines didn't 518 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:18,640 Speaker 1: just not work. They often contain dangerous substances alcohol, opium, 519 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:23,360 Speaker 1: other narcotics, stuff that's addictive. And again, they didn't have 520 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:28,160 Speaker 1: to publish a list of ingredients. For instance, you could 521 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 1: just say, hey, is your child too loud? Take doctor 522 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,680 Speaker 1: bon rouse Patented lithium of letha, you know what I mean. 523 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 2: Quiet pills. That's something different. Check out stuff. I don't 524 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 2: want you to know this episode on Lake City Quiet Pills. 525 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:49,000 Speaker 2: To figure out that you're right, Ben, and I also 526 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,680 Speaker 2: tend to wonder. I'm sure there are ways to test 527 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:58,040 Speaker 2: for the presence of certain substances, but like probably difficult 528 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 2: at this point in science for them to be able 529 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,400 Speaker 2: to parse out exactly what was in something. 530 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: You know what I mean. 531 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 2: You could probably say, okay, if I you know, drop 532 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:08,920 Speaker 2: this whatever substance into it, as I can detect the 533 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:12,720 Speaker 2: presence of alcohol, but probably not the same level of 534 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 2: precision that they have today when it comes to testing 535 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 2: for different materials, you know, So there was really no 536 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,960 Speaker 2: way to even call somebody on it. At the very least, 537 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:23,800 Speaker 2: you know, an average individual who might buy something like 538 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:27,160 Speaker 2: this and they would have no way of determining what 539 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 2: was actually. 540 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 1: In it or not. Literally, they would just run you 541 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:32,680 Speaker 1: out of town, right, So you had to You had 542 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:35,719 Speaker 1: to get while the getting was good. After you soldier stuff, 543 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,000 Speaker 1: you know, you would meet the guy you planted in 544 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: the crowd at the crossroads outside of the town or 545 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,200 Speaker 1: city limits. He would hop in the wagon and you 546 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 1: would be off to whatever is day's ride away. 547 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 2: It reminds me of a scene in the excellent Paul 548 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:56,880 Speaker 2: Thomas Anderson movie The Master where the character played by 549 00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,120 Speaker 2: Jaquin Phoenix somebody was named Freddie I can remember his 550 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 2: last name, but he's in the military, and he his 551 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 2: whole deal is he can make really good hoos out 552 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 2: of like whatever's around, like usually involves like photographic chemicals. 553 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,200 Speaker 2: I think at one point he like steals some jet 554 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 2: fuel and he's just getting you. 555 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: Know, messed up out of his gourd on this stuff. 556 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,520 Speaker 2: And at one point I think he stays behind after 557 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:20,840 Speaker 2: being discharged from the service and he's living in this 558 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 2: village like as a farmer, like an itinerant kind of farmer, 559 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 2: and he gives some of this stuff to an old 560 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 2: man who ends up dying and they chase him out 561 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 2: of town literally, you know, run him out on a rail. 562 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 2: This had to have happened to your point about you know, 563 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 2: if someone was coming through town and they were selling 564 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,840 Speaker 2: some of this stuff and then somebody died, the only 565 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 2: recourse was like pitchfork justice. 566 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 1: You know exactly, tarring feathering run him out out a rail. 567 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:55,520 Speaker 1: It was a wild time. Back to our buddy Clark Stanley, 568 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:58,520 Speaker 1: the Rattle State King. The reason we're talking about patent 569 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,680 Speaker 1: medicine is because it's important to know he was just 570 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:05,800 Speaker 1: one of many, many flim flam artists out there, but 571 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:10,120 Speaker 1: he had a national breakthrough at the eighteen ninety three 572 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:16,120 Speaker 1: Worlds Exposition in Chicago. He did a really gross ted talk. 573 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:20,280 Speaker 1: He took a live snake, he cut it in front 574 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:23,359 Speaker 1: of the onlookers. That was his spectacle, that was his 575 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:27,480 Speaker 1: medicine show. And there's a great description of this by 576 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,440 Speaker 1: a guy named Joe Schwartz, director of McGill University's Office 577 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 1: for Science and Society. It really puts us in the moment. Noel, 578 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:38,880 Speaker 1: would you be okay with performing this quote in Max? 579 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:43,960 Speaker 1: Could we get some cool music? Ben? I'm honored, thank you, Okay, 580 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:45,120 Speaker 1: let's get. 581 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:50,600 Speaker 7: Stanley reached into a sack, plucked out a snake, slit 582 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:53,799 Speaker 7: it open, and plunged it into boiling water. When the 583 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 7: fat rose to the top, he skimmed it off and 584 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:00,520 Speaker 7: used it on the spot to create stan Lee's snakel 585 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:03,800 Speaker 7: a liniment that was immediately snapped up by the throng 586 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:05,400 Speaker 7: that had gathered. 587 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:10,960 Speaker 1: To watch the spectacle. Yeah, I love the idea. I 588 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:16,520 Speaker 1: love a good throng, yeah yeah. And eviscerating the snake 589 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,560 Speaker 1: live in front of a crowd was a great way 590 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:23,960 Speaker 1: to sell things. Medicine shows were all about spectacle, and 591 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: at this point I'm persuaded, you guys, we should do 592 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:27,799 Speaker 1: an episode on medicine show. 593 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:31,160 Speaker 2: Wait wait, but before we Yeah, definitely, But is it 594 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:32,800 Speaker 2: what it sounds like? I guess in my mind, I 595 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:34,840 Speaker 2: always think of a medicine show as being like literally 596 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:37,880 Speaker 2: kind of a traveling variety show. But wasn't was the 597 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,520 Speaker 2: purpose of it to pedal some of these types of 598 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 2: weird cure alls. 599 00:35:42,239 --> 00:35:44,279 Speaker 1: They were a part of it. Yeah, they were a 600 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:47,320 Speaker 1: part of it, Like you're right with a variety show there, 601 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,799 Speaker 1: but there was medicine involved, you know. So this guy 602 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:55,520 Speaker 1: Stanley brilliant marketing, even though he's probably a very bad person. 603 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,560 Speaker 1: He sells this snake oil liniment all the way up 604 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,799 Speaker 1: until nineteen sixteen. He makes a lot of money. He's 605 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:07,800 Speaker 1: going gangbusters with it. The problem is there are two 606 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:14,399 Speaker 1: big issues with Stanley's snake oil. First, we have to mention, 607 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:19,320 Speaker 1: even if you believe everything Stanley says, rattle snake oil 608 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:23,560 Speaker 1: is way less effective than that Chinese water snake oil 609 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:28,000 Speaker 1: it was trying to emulate. Chinese water snake oil contained 610 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:32,840 Speaker 1: almost triple the amounts of the Mega three's the vital 611 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:37,800 Speaker 1: acids as rattlesnake oil. But that's not even the big problem. 612 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:42,279 Speaker 1: The big problem is Stanley snake oil did not have 613 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:44,560 Speaker 1: any snake oil in it, right. 614 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:48,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, and yeah, that was sort of I think both 615 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 2: of our the conjecture there at the top, where it's like, 616 00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:54,840 Speaker 2: you know, what, what if I just slapped a label 617 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:56,319 Speaker 2: on it saying that it had the thing and it 618 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:57,719 Speaker 2: didn't have any of the thing, and that makes it 619 00:36:57,719 --> 00:36:58,839 Speaker 2: a hell of a lot easier for. 620 00:36:58,760 --> 00:36:59,200 Speaker 1: Me, you know. 621 00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:03,279 Speaker 2: And then well then it all revolves around showmanship. It 622 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,080 Speaker 2: all revolves around the sales pitch, you know, because again 623 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:10,600 Speaker 2: there's zero accountability for these folks. And by the way, 624 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:13,000 Speaker 2: I was just googling medicine show just to get a sense, 625 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:15,600 Speaker 2: you know, all amazing posters that you can find that 626 00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:18,000 Speaker 2: are associated with some beautiful and this one here is 627 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:22,160 Speaker 2: called Hamlin's Wizard Oil, the great medical wonder. 628 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:24,600 Speaker 1: There is no sword. It will not heal, no pain, 629 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,640 Speaker 1: it will not subdu Let's not forget. Let's not forget it. 630 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:31,160 Speaker 2: Second on the poster, like the opening act, Hamlin's cough 631 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:34,680 Speaker 2: Balsam pleasant to take, magical in its effects. 632 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:39,280 Speaker 6: Then what you're saying is the only thing less effective 633 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,240 Speaker 6: than snake oil is not snake oil. 634 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:48,600 Speaker 1: Yes, Someway, Yes, Max, that is unfortunately true. These start 635 00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:51,560 Speaker 1: to go sideways for our boy Clark in the early 636 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:54,960 Speaker 1: nineteen hundreds because of something called the Pure Food and 637 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:56,960 Speaker 1: Drug Act of nineteen oh six. 638 00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:01,680 Speaker 2: Thank god, by the way, finally we're here a little 639 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:04,640 Speaker 2: bit of accountability. I think didn't The Jungle have something 640 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,560 Speaker 2: to do with this? That book, Upton Sinclair? Finally people 641 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 2: were aware of how disgusting and crooked like, you know, 642 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:15,040 Speaker 2: a lot of industrial processes were around things that were 643 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:17,480 Speaker 2: being consumed by Americans every day. 644 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:21,239 Speaker 1: The Jungle is an excellent book. If you have not 645 00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:25,360 Speaker 1: read it yet, please do. I know that sometimes books 646 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:30,160 Speaker 1: from that period of time they get unfairly called, you know, 647 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:34,360 Speaker 1: difficult to read or something. But Upton Sinclair writes in 648 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:39,560 Speaker 1: a very lucid, very readable style. And The Jungle did 649 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:41,560 Speaker 1: change the course of US history. 650 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:45,240 Speaker 2: And he was a real not agitator. That sounds an 651 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:48,279 Speaker 2: outdated world, but he was a political figure he had 652 00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:50,160 Speaker 2: like serious yeah. 653 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:50,480 Speaker 1: Yeah. 654 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:54,440 Speaker 2: He was a big force in speaking truth to power 655 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:58,200 Speaker 2: and like, you know, holding people accountable for their misdeeds. 656 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,360 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, he would rake that muck for sure. And 657 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:08,040 Speaker 1: so Uncle Sam seizes a shipment of Stanley's snake oil 658 00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:12,160 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventeen, and the FEDS say, hang on a tick, 659 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:16,440 Speaker 1: this has mineral oil. It has some kind of fatty 660 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,279 Speaker 1: oil from an animal, but this is definitely beef and 661 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:26,200 Speaker 1: then as turpentine and red pepper. So as they're examining 662 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:29,480 Speaker 1: his product, they find it has no snake oil, no 663 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:36,200 Speaker 1: provable medicinal properties, and they eventually find Charles Stanley drum 664 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:44,080 Speaker 1: roll please, twenty dollars. That's that's about five hundred bucks today. Yeah, 665 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:46,960 Speaker 1: that's that's the old slap on the wrist there. I 666 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:49,040 Speaker 1: wonder if you add the hot pepper just to make 667 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:51,680 Speaker 1: people give give a sense of that snaky bite, you know, 668 00:39:51,719 --> 00:39:54,640 Speaker 1: this is the snakiness of it all. Yeah, yeah, right, 669 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:58,719 Speaker 1: I taste the rattlesnak taste the venom. So we haven't 670 00:39:58,760 --> 00:39:59,640 Speaker 1: even got right. 671 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:01,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, I know we're gonna get into this, and I 672 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:04,879 Speaker 2: think it's really interesting. But the idea of like when 673 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:08,520 Speaker 2: we're talking about these poisonous snakes and they're oil. Venom 674 00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:11,480 Speaker 2: hasn't really entered into the conversation at all. But that's 675 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,840 Speaker 2: a whole other thing, right, the idea of like anti 676 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:17,120 Speaker 2: venom and using that to treat people with snake bite 677 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:19,719 Speaker 2: or to like prevent people from getting ill, you know, 678 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:21,560 Speaker 2: when they're when they're actually. 679 00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:23,319 Speaker 1: Infected with the venom. Well, I'm sorry, we'll get to that. 680 00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:26,360 Speaker 2: But that red pepper thing got me because that's like, 681 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,160 Speaker 2: that's what they want you to think. It's like they 682 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:31,160 Speaker 2: also I think there probably was a bit of a 683 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:34,879 Speaker 2: bravado involved in it. The sales pits like, oh, I'm 684 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:39,000 Speaker 2: drinking the snake juice, you know, like I'm a big 685 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:39,520 Speaker 2: tough man. 686 00:40:39,719 --> 00:40:43,680 Speaker 1: It's like drinking it's like drinking those spirits where they have, 687 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:47,920 Speaker 1: you know, a worm in the bottle of tequila or 688 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:52,080 Speaker 1: a snake in liquor, which I've tried. Have you guys 689 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:54,040 Speaker 1: ever eaten steaks? I've had. 690 00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:58,520 Speaker 2: I have had like snake you know, nuggets or something 691 00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:02,400 Speaker 2: like that, you know, like probably jerky form sure, and 692 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:04,800 Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure I've had some like rattlesnake jerky. 693 00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:05,560 Speaker 1: It's good. 694 00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:07,799 Speaker 2: It's kind of gamey and it's got a nice like 695 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:09,680 Speaker 2: snap to it. But I feel like when I've had 696 00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:13,799 Speaker 2: snake in fried kind of nugget for him, it sort 697 00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:16,879 Speaker 2: of tastes like chicken anything that's fair. 698 00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:18,480 Speaker 1: What about you? Max? What about you? 699 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:20,839 Speaker 6: At first, I was gonna say no, I don't think 700 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,040 Speaker 6: I have it. As soon as Noel said Jerky, I'm like, oh, 701 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:25,399 Speaker 6: you know what? That rings a bell. I cannot think 702 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:27,080 Speaker 6: of like a specific time I've had it, But I'm 703 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,400 Speaker 6: I mean, I don't know. I think it's been discussed 704 00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:31,719 Speaker 6: on here, and we did our cricket episode a couple 705 00:41:31,719 --> 00:41:34,360 Speaker 6: of years ago. I'll pretty much eat anything. 706 00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:39,000 Speaker 1: Uh huh, old snake, snake Jerky Williams, they call him 707 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:39,920 Speaker 1: out in Oklahoma. 708 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:41,279 Speaker 5: Let's get Max with the facts. 709 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:42,040 Speaker 1: Right there. 710 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:48,960 Speaker 4: Is that sneaking in the phone, and he's fallen. Know 711 00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:54,799 Speaker 4: it's just for you right now here with the fat. 712 00:41:56,440 --> 00:42:01,240 Speaker 1: Oh man? All right? Okay, So we have to admit 713 00:42:01,719 --> 00:42:04,840 Speaker 1: people probably did die as a result of this quackery. 714 00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:08,920 Speaker 1: While the potion itself may not have poisoned them, it 715 00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:13,600 Speaker 1: definitely did not help with whatever maladies they suffered from. 716 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,920 Speaker 1: And at this point, there is zero evidence that Clark 717 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:21,279 Speaker 1: Stanley himself believed in what he sold. This was definitely 718 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:25,040 Speaker 1: a grift, and the outrage of the American public over 719 00:42:25,160 --> 00:42:29,799 Speaker 1: Stanley snake Oil led to better regulation for American consumers. 720 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:37,359 Speaker 1: People from every imaginable demographic except for snake oil salesman said, Hey, 721 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:41,960 Speaker 1: you know what, we should be able to trust that 722 00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:45,680 Speaker 1: the stuff we buy is you know what we thought 723 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:48,680 Speaker 1: we were buying. And I love that you mentioned Upton 724 00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:54,960 Speaker 1: Sinclair that book specifically about stockyards. And there's another author 725 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:58,880 Speaker 1: around the same time, a writer named Samuel Hopkins Adams, 726 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:04,040 Speaker 1: who does a lot of muck raking on the dirty, 727 00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:07,600 Speaker 1: dirty business of patent medicine manufacturers. 728 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:13,040 Speaker 2: Not to mention our buddy Teddy Roosevelt. Really, you know, 729 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:15,080 Speaker 2: we know him as like a bit of a naturalist, 730 00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:18,359 Speaker 2: and so he rides rough Yeah, he's a rough He's 731 00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:21,600 Speaker 2: a rough rider. He can't deny it. You don't want 732 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:24,560 Speaker 2: to f with him, You just don't want to. On 733 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:28,400 Speaker 2: June thirtieth, nineteen oh six, he was responsible for signing 734 00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:32,320 Speaker 2: into law the Federal Food and Drug Act, which was 735 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:37,640 Speaker 2: then amended in nineteen twelve and strengthened created turned into 736 00:43:37,719 --> 00:43:43,560 Speaker 2: rather the even more powerful and actionable Food, Drug and 737 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:47,879 Speaker 2: Cosmetic Act, which was passed in nineteen thirty eight. This 738 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:53,680 Speaker 2: required extensive labeling to include lists of ingredients and also 739 00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:56,080 Speaker 2: for four manufacturers of these types of products, And it 740 00:43:56,080 --> 00:44:01,320 Speaker 2: also prohibited manufacturers from making faults and or miss leading claims. 741 00:44:01,719 --> 00:44:03,840 Speaker 2: And as we know, when these kinds of laws happen, 742 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:06,839 Speaker 2: it's like people find loopholes. They always have to kind 743 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:09,000 Speaker 2: of be adjusted and you have to sort of keep 744 00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:11,759 Speaker 2: after folksuse everyone's going to kind of try their best 745 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:14,680 Speaker 2: to get around it. But these were meaningful changes, wouldn't 746 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:17,680 Speaker 2: you say, Ben? At this point, yes, one hundred percent. 747 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:21,440 Speaker 2: It sounds crazy to realize that there had to be 748 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:26,279 Speaker 2: federal legislation just to get ingredients on products, and it's 749 00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:31,560 Speaker 2: incredibly important. The law required not a full ingredient list 750 00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:35,000 Speaker 2: at first. It just said, hey, if you have. 751 00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:40,239 Speaker 1: The following things in your product, you have to put 752 00:44:40,239 --> 00:44:46,640 Speaker 1: it on the label. What kind of substances alcohol, morphine, opium, cocaine, heroine, 753 00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:51,120 Speaker 1: something called ukin which I wasn't familiar with, chloroform, cannabis 754 00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:56,520 Speaker 1: or acetanylide or chloral hydrate, a bunch of you know, addictive, 755 00:44:56,640 --> 00:45:01,080 Speaker 1: dangerous stuff. They were basically saying, if people are giving 756 00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:07,839 Speaker 1: their children opium or laudanum. They should know. I feel 757 00:45:07,880 --> 00:45:10,000 Speaker 1: like that's very reasonable. Oh definitely. 758 00:45:10,239 --> 00:45:14,399 Speaker 6: Also, ukine is a drug that was previously used as 759 00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:15,359 Speaker 6: a local. 760 00:45:15,080 --> 00:45:18,960 Speaker 1: Anesthetic, yeah, like lynacane you know right right sign. 761 00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:21,920 Speaker 6: As an analog of cocaine, and it was one of 762 00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:25,200 Speaker 6: the first synthetic chemical compounds to find general use as 763 00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:27,960 Speaker 6: an anesthetic, of course, going from Wikipedia right here. 764 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,719 Speaker 1: Well, of course it's interesting that with cocaine. 765 00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:31,920 Speaker 2: You know, we know how prevalent that was in all 766 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:35,359 Speaker 2: kinds of products, you know, even down to like coca cola. 767 00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:37,360 Speaker 1: Classic that's what that's the classic stands for it, I 768 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:38,279 Speaker 1: mean cocaine. 769 00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:41,400 Speaker 6: Cocaine and cocaine similar things had been used for a 770 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:42,080 Speaker 6: long time. 771 00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:45,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, like well generally anesthetic too, like because I mean 772 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,920 Speaker 2: then you found, you know, in some of our tangents 773 00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:50,839 Speaker 2: and trivia sections can be some of the most fun 774 00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:53,560 Speaker 2: bits of these episodes that cocaine was actually used, Like 775 00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:57,560 Speaker 2: it could be rubbed onto the eye like to make 776 00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:01,080 Speaker 2: it like kind of still movable, like ill mobile, but 777 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:04,960 Speaker 2: also it would like allow you to it would numb pain, 778 00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:06,920 Speaker 2: you know, kind of in and around that area in 779 00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:12,080 Speaker 2: case some surgery, but it wouldn't paralyze the thing, you know. 780 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:15,280 Speaker 2: And then, of course, as we know, I mean, pharmaceutical 781 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:18,520 Speaker 2: grades of a lot of these drugs were widely available 782 00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:21,920 Speaker 2: for a very long time, not only in products that 783 00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:24,279 Speaker 2: maybe it wasn't clear if that's what was in it, 784 00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:26,640 Speaker 2: but also just on their own. You could go down 785 00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:29,520 Speaker 2: the street and get like, you know, heroin, You could 786 00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:33,080 Speaker 2: get heroin at the pharmacy with I believe, without a prescription. 787 00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:37,920 Speaker 1: Yes, that's correct. And it wasn't until nineteen thirty eight 788 00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:42,920 Speaker 1: that the US government required all ingredients to be listed 789 00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:46,359 Speaker 1: on products. This was the direct result of the brujaja 790 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:51,600 Speaker 1: surrounding Clark Stanley and Stanley's snake oil. People back then 791 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:54,120 Speaker 1: were just as smart as people are today. They worked 792 00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:58,120 Speaker 1: with the info they had, But desperation breeds all kinds 793 00:46:58,160 --> 00:47:01,319 Speaker 1: of strange beliefs. So it's surprised that this kind of 794 00:47:01,400 --> 00:47:05,440 Speaker 1: quack medicine continues in the modern day. I love that 795 00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:09,879 Speaker 1: you mentioned anti venom. I think it's a very uncreative name, 796 00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:15,399 Speaker 1: but it's it's nuts anti matter, right, right, What is this, Well, 797 00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:20,000 Speaker 1: it's not matter, so it's definitely not venom. Is the 798 00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:22,000 Speaker 1: thing you need to know. The way it works is 799 00:47:22,040 --> 00:47:25,960 Speaker 1: you inject a mammal like a sheep, for instance, with 800 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:30,680 Speaker 1: snake venom, hope the sheep survives and then harvest the 801 00:47:30,719 --> 00:47:32,480 Speaker 1: antibodies it produces. 802 00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:35,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's the same sort of concept as the vaccine 803 00:47:35,040 --> 00:47:37,080 Speaker 2: you like, and you take a little bit of the 804 00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:40,200 Speaker 2: of the virus and it causes your body to produce 805 00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:41,760 Speaker 2: these antibodies, right. 806 00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:45,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, oh, antibodies as well. What is this? It's not 807 00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:51,200 Speaker 1: a body, the opposite basically, And with that we are 808 00:47:51,239 --> 00:47:54,279 Speaker 1: gonna have to call it a day, Nol. I think 809 00:47:54,320 --> 00:47:56,640 Speaker 1: both of us are kind of sad about this because 810 00:47:57,719 --> 00:48:01,239 Speaker 1: it's pretty obvious that we're in love with the ridiculous 811 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:05,480 Speaker 1: aspects of medicine shows and crazy patent remedies. 812 00:48:05,880 --> 00:48:09,400 Speaker 2: I mean, look, I'm sure some of these were events 813 00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:12,480 Speaker 2: to behold, you know, like with all the picking and 814 00:48:12,520 --> 00:48:14,839 Speaker 2: grinning and all of that stuff. Probably some warsh tub 815 00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:18,600 Speaker 2: bas being played, you know, the old thing with the 816 00:48:18,719 --> 00:48:19,399 Speaker 2: with the. 817 00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:21,920 Speaker 1: Spoons and all of that. Yeah, but you're right, I mean, 818 00:48:21,960 --> 00:48:22,360 Speaker 1: it's it is. 819 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:25,400 Speaker 2: It's not that much different than modern day music festivals 820 00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:27,759 Speaker 2: that are sponsored by like Red Bull, you know. I mean, 821 00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:30,960 Speaker 2: this is like the medicine was the reason for the event. 822 00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:34,240 Speaker 2: The music was just sort of ancillary to get people 823 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:36,719 Speaker 2: to hang out so they would like buy the product. 824 00:48:36,960 --> 00:48:39,640 Speaker 2: And now it's like with these music festivals, it's all 825 00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:42,480 Speaker 2: just at marketing. Man, it's all just advertising, you know, 826 00:48:42,840 --> 00:48:46,360 Speaker 2: like to get you to buy your thirty five dollars 827 00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:48,920 Speaker 2: Red Bull and Tito's in a special cup. 828 00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:52,000 Speaker 1: Do you uh? Do you know what? Handboning is? 829 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:56,680 Speaker 2: Kind of like spoons, but without spoons, spoons with just 830 00:48:56,760 --> 00:49:00,400 Speaker 2: like yeah, like slapping your exactly. 831 00:49:01,120 --> 00:49:02,759 Speaker 1: Let me show him not doing a very good job. 832 00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:04,439 Speaker 1: You know you're doing a great job. Max. I don't 833 00:49:04,440 --> 00:49:06,840 Speaker 1: know if we're going to use this audio, but just 834 00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:09,880 Speaker 1: before he wrapped today, I've got to show you my 835 00:49:10,360 --> 00:49:15,720 Speaker 1: one of my favorite hamdboning videos. I'm the hamd bonist 836 00:49:15,719 --> 00:49:20,040 Speaker 1: in the group. You're not sure what that is. It's 837 00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:23,040 Speaker 1: a person who practices hand boning. And when I started 838 00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:25,200 Speaker 1: this way back a long time ago. We don't need 839 00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:30,399 Speaker 1: the preface here, boner to take a couple of minutes, 840 00:49:31,040 --> 00:49:33,560 Speaker 1: he described the scene here, Well, he kind of looks 841 00:49:33,600 --> 00:49:35,160 Speaker 1: like a member of the Grateful Dead. 842 00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:38,920 Speaker 2: He's seated in a okay, he's sort of slapping his 843 00:49:39,080 --> 00:49:40,680 Speaker 2: yeah here all here, How can I not. 844 00:49:40,840 --> 00:49:43,160 Speaker 1: He's got he's got a bunch of people sitting around 845 00:49:43,200 --> 00:49:48,640 Speaker 1: in a circle and they're watching him rhythmically slap his 846 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:49,960 Speaker 1: will thighs. 847 00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:52,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's sort of slapping both the inner and outer 848 00:49:52,960 --> 00:49:56,120 Speaker 2: portion of his legs and alternating back and forth. And 849 00:49:56,160 --> 00:49:59,239 Speaker 2: now he's doing a windmill kind of move. Yeah, he's 850 00:49:59,280 --> 00:50:02,440 Speaker 2: really bringing the heat. Yeah, I let it. Steve Hickman 851 00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:05,399 Speaker 2: hamd Bonus. Yeah, it's also great he has a lot 852 00:50:05,400 --> 00:50:09,000 Speaker 2: of oh wow. Yeah, he's got a lot. 853 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:11,759 Speaker 6: Of microphones around him to make sure he captures all 854 00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:12,240 Speaker 6: of its. 855 00:50:12,360 --> 00:50:15,080 Speaker 1: Right. Yeah, I do want to point out this guy 856 00:50:15,560 --> 00:50:19,319 Speaker 1: isn't very good. You don't think he's very good. 857 00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:21,680 Speaker 2: I just think he could probably be rocking some more 858 00:50:21,719 --> 00:50:24,279 Speaker 2: complex rhythms than this guy. And he sees he looks 859 00:50:24,280 --> 00:50:27,239 Speaker 2: he's taking it so seriously, but I look at the 860 00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:27,800 Speaker 2: little face. 861 00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:29,839 Speaker 1: I just I just. 862 00:50:29,760 --> 00:50:32,240 Speaker 2: Think, you know, like if I'm going to Cheez Louise, 863 00:50:32,400 --> 00:50:34,840 Speaker 2: if I'm comparing this to like bucket drummers or something 864 00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:35,400 Speaker 2: like that. 865 00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:38,000 Speaker 1: This guy's not that he's not doing it for me, right. 866 00:50:38,080 --> 00:50:41,000 Speaker 2: I appreciate like the craft and the visual part of it, 867 00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:43,080 Speaker 2: but the rhythm part of it. 868 00:50:42,719 --> 00:50:46,520 Speaker 1: Is just wow. I'm more interested in this spectacle that's 869 00:50:46,560 --> 00:50:46,880 Speaker 1: what I mean. 870 00:50:47,040 --> 00:50:49,200 Speaker 2: You're right, and that's why we were listening to it 871 00:50:49,239 --> 00:50:51,399 Speaker 2: in an audio podcast. But I hope we did an 872 00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:53,719 Speaker 2: okay job of describing it. Probably would have been some 873 00:50:53,760 --> 00:50:56,520 Speaker 2: hamd bonis hanging out at these medicine shows, yo, one 874 00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:57,360 Speaker 2: hundred percent. 875 00:50:57,480 --> 00:51:01,279 Speaker 1: Yeah. And with that, we're going to we're going to 876 00:51:01,640 --> 00:51:06,160 Speaker 1: head off to the dusty trail. We're onto another town 877 00:51:06,400 --> 00:51:11,160 Speaker 1: to pedal our podcast wares. In the meantime, we want 878 00:51:11,239 --> 00:51:14,319 Speaker 1: to thank everybody for tuning in. Thanks to all our 879 00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:19,040 Speaker 1: ridiculous historians. Thanks to the medicine man, mister Max Williams. 880 00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:19,960 Speaker 4: What kind of. 881 00:51:19,960 --> 00:51:23,160 Speaker 1: Patent medicine with Jonathan Strickland pedal. 882 00:51:23,440 --> 00:51:26,760 Speaker 5: Instant death, instant hair growth. 883 00:51:27,520 --> 00:51:30,720 Speaker 1: Oh, come on, that's a little below the belt. 884 00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:33,440 Speaker 5: Nothing's below the belt when it comes to the quistor. 885 00:51:33,600 --> 00:51:36,120 Speaker 1: That's fair. Who else should we think? Oh? 886 00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:37,960 Speaker 2: In I was obviously, we'll thank you, surprising the owners 887 00:51:37,960 --> 00:51:40,839 Speaker 2: here in spirit he was Jeff co Uh you Ben, 888 00:51:40,920 --> 00:51:41,920 Speaker 2: we already think Max. 889 00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:44,319 Speaker 1: I think that that does it for the thank yous. 890 00:51:45,200 --> 00:51:46,320 Speaker 1: We'll see you next time, folks. 891 00:51:53,239 --> 00:51:57,040 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 892 00:51:57,120 --> 00:51:59,280 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,