10 Historical Examples of Medical Quackery Over the Centuries

For centuries, the placebo effect has been recognized by researchers, physicians, and the general public. When individuals believe a sugar pill can heal their ailments, they often experience relief. However, while this may work for minor issues like colds or anxiety, more severe conditions require more than just mental trickery.

The placebo effect thrives on the promotion of ineffective remedies, a tactic often exploited by fraudsters. If a group believes your bottle of colored water can alleviate all their pains, roughly one-third will swear by its effectiveness and spread the word. By the time the majority realizes the deception, the scammer has already moved on to new victims or schemes.

For millennia, the line between legitimate medicine and quackery was blurred. In a world where the Earth was flat, the heavens were punctured, and illnesses were blamed on internal demons, countless methods emerged to expel these malevolent forces.

At times, practitioners genuinely believed in the miraculous remedies they promoted, while other times, fame and recognition were their driving forces (with money being a pleasant bonus). Nevertheless, certain historical medical frauds stand out, and this article highlights 10 of them. Rest assured, this read will leave you feeling content, rejuvenated, and almost magically healthier.

10. The Original Snake-oil Medicine: Snake Oil

In 1905, the U.S. saw the production or marketing of over 28,000—possibly even double that—patent medicines [source: Young]. These potions and mixtures were often ineffective yet came with a hefty price tag. The market was flooded with dubious remedies, each backed by a smooth-talking fraudster.

One such individual achieved lasting brand recognition. Clark Stanley, known as the "Rattlesnake King," drew crowds by slaughtering rattlesnakes during his sales pitch. For 50 cents a bottle, his snake-oil remedy promised to cure toothaches, neuralgia, ankle sprains, and nearly every other ailment. Stanley claimed his concoction was derived from an Indian medicine man’s recipe, touting its miraculous healing properties.

In 1917, federal authorities confiscated a shipment and conducted tests, revealing that the so-called snake oil was 99% mineral oil and 1% beef fat, with traces of red pepper and turpentine added for a medicinal aroma. Although his operation was shut down, the term "snake oil" remains a part of our everyday language.

9. Child-calming Patent Medicines

Before 1962, drugs in the U.S. didn’t need to be both safe and effective to hit the market [source: FDA]. In the 1800s, regulations were virtually nonexistent, leading to a flood of ointments, balms, and tinctures that ranged from harmless but useless to outright dangerous. Among the latter were various medicines claiming to soothe fussy babies, ensuring peaceful nights for both infants and their exhausted parents. These products bore comforting names like Soothing Baby Syrup, Hooper's Adodyne: The Infant's Friend, Dr. Fahrney's Teething Syrup, Dr. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, and Kopp's Baby Friend.

Desperate—or perhaps simply curious—parents seeking uninterrupted sleep turned to these patent medicines. They delivered on their promises, but for alarming reasons. A look at Kopp's Baby Friend, typical of such remedies, reveals why: it contained 8.5% alcohol and one-eighth grain of opium sulfate per ounce. The dosing instructions even accounted for a baby’s age and growing tolerance to opiates, recommending "6 drops for a 1-week-old, 15 to 18 drops for a 1-month-old, and 1 1/2 teaspoons for infants over 12 months."

Numerous child fatalities were attributed to these narcotic-laden formulas, with countless others becoming young addicts. The American Medical Association highlighted the risks of such products, leading to a decline in the use of narcotic infant remedies in the early 20th century.

8. Electromagnetic Coils

Before the FDA began regulating medical devices in 1932, the market was flooded with bizarre and ineffective cure-all gadgets. From the 1860s to the 1940s, one such invention was the electromagnetic coil, which claimed to cure nearly every ailment. Advertisements promised improved health, a youthful appearance, and enhanced attractiveness.

These devices went by various names—such as the I-ON-A-CO, the Theronoid, and the Magnetone, all popular in the 1920s and '30s—but they operated on the same dubious principle: iron in the body aids oxygen transfer between cells, and electricity supposedly supercharged this process, delivering miraculous results. Or so they claimed.

Although electrical currents are still employed today (albeit at higher intensities and with more realistic expectations) to alleviate muscle pain and tendonitis, these early devices were praised by users for supposedly curing ailments ranging from cancer to gout. The placebo effect played a significant role, as users believed the electromagnetic belts would boost their energy and youthfulness, and many reported feeling exactly that after use.

To achieve these effects, one had to buy the coil, wrap the large insulated wire loop around their waist at home, plug it into a standard electrical outlet, and let the healing begin. Unlike our next item, this device was thankfully free of harmful side effects.

7. Radioactive Water

In the early 1900s, naturally heated "mineral water" springs were highly sought after. In 1903, it was found that many of these springs contained radioactive water, leading to the assumption that radioactivity must be beneficial for health.

These hot springs were soon marketed as radium spas, sparking an entire industry centered on the alleged healing properties of radiation. Respected medical journals even claimed radium could slow aging and treat mental illness [source: Frame]. When the U.S. surgeon general endorsed radium as a cure for ailments ranging from malaria to diarrhea, opportunists seized the moment.

How did it supposedly work? Consuming radiated water was believed to infuse the body with radioactive energy, revitalizing cells and flushing out toxins.

In the 1920s, nothing symbolized health and sophistication more than soaking in a radioactive bath at a radium spa. Entrepreneurs capitalized on the trend by selling devices like the Revigator and Radium Emanator, which allowed people to irradiate their own water at home. The Revigator alone sold hundreds of thousands of units in 1929, as consumers eagerly followed the recommendation to drink six glasses of radioactive water daily.

Soon, radioactive products expanded beyond water, with beauty creams, toothpaste, and even ear plugs hitting the market [source: Frame]. However, when prominent advocates of radium began falling ill and dying, the trend quickly lost its appeal.

6. Historical Baldness Cures

In the 1800s, men lost their hair as quickly as they wasted money on ineffective baldness remedies. Sadly, many fraudsters were better at selling useless products than actually helping regrow hair.

Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer, a popular tonic, claimed to nourish hair roots and eliminate bacteria thought to cause hair loss. The formula was supposedly from a mysterious Sicilian who crossed paths with the seller, Reuben P. Hall. Interestingly, the ingredients changed around the 1900s, with lead being added to darken hair. Unfortunately, this also led to lead poisoning, earning admiration from doctors and undertakers alike.

Another product, Burnett's Cocoaine, used clever wordplay to mislead customers. Despite its name, it contained coconut oil (spelled "cocoa-nut oil") rather than cocaine. Regardless of its contents, it failed to deliver the rapid hair restoration its name suggested.

5. Animal Magnetism

According to Franz Anton Mesmer, an 18th-century German physician, magnétisme animal was a unique ability to restore balance to a universal fluid that permeates all things. After his ideas were rejected in Vienna, Mesmer moved to Paris in 1777, where he found a receptive audience.

Mesmer proposed that health issues stemmed from blockages hindering the flow of this life-giving fluid. Initially, he used magnets to clear these obstructions but later claimed he himself possessed animal magnetism, eliminating the need for external tools.

Mesmer’s sessions were elaborate performances, complete with chanting, music, dramatic lighting, and theatrical effects. He would wave his hands over patients, supposedly redirecting the fluid and channeling universal forces to heal them. Patients would experience a "magnetic crisis," where their condition temporarily worsened before being cured. His captivating methods left such an impression that the term "mesmerizing" was coined in his honor.

After an investigation ordered by King Louis XVI, Mesmer left Paris and disappeared from public view. As the next page reveals, success in this world requires more than a magnetic personality—it takes an electric hairbrush.

4. Electric Hairbrushes

While many quack remedies had a grain of truth (like radioactive water actually being radioactive), Dr. George A. Scott's electric hairbrush was entirely fraudulent. Introduced in 1880, this "electric" hairbrush was merely slightly magnetized and incapable of holding a charge. Despite this, it was marketed as a cure-all. Dr. Scott, perhaps realizing the absurdity of claiming a hairbrush could treat blood poisoning, expanded his product line to include electric flesh brushes and healing electric curlers.

Scott cleverly warned users not to share their brushes, as doing so would weaken the device’s supposed powers. This rule ensured that each household member needed their own brush, and any complaints about the brush’s ineffectiveness could be blamed on the user.

The instructions for his brushes stated, "People with sedentary lifestyles and weakened nerve power will find it a valuable companion" [source: American Artifacts]. Perhaps Dr. Scott hoped his target audience would be too lethargic or disheartened to seek refunds. By 1890, the electric brush had fallen out of favor. Next, we’ll explore why men should sometimes embrace their masculinity without gimmicks.

3. Testicular Implants

In 1917, a Kansas man confessed to his doctor that he was battling impotence. He observed that his goats, however, seemed to possess boundless sexual energy. Desperate, he asked the doctor what would happen if goat reproductive glands were implanted into him.

Dr. John R. Brinkley, a fraudster with a mail-order medical degree, decided to perform the transplant. The patient believed he was cured, and news spread rapidly. As Brinkley operated on both goats and men, his reputation grew across Kansas (and likely among goat herds as well). Soon, men from far and wide sought his services, believing that goat glands implanted into their testicles would restore their vitality, as Brinkley claimed.

Brinkley’s business received a significant boost when the publisher of the Los Angeles Times became a satisfied customer. By then, the procedure was touted as a cure for not only impotence but also high blood pressure, mental illness, and more. Brinkley even bought a radio station to broadcast his message, attracting countless listeners. Before his practice was shut down, he had performed goat testicle implants on 16,000 men—a world record [source: Schwarcz]. Next, we’ll explore the practice of bloodletting.

2. Bloodletting

If you find waiting in a cramped exam room frustrating, imagine waiting for your doctor to consult astrological charts to decide the best time for your next bloodletting session.

Rooted in ancient Greek medicine, which attributed illness to imbalances in the four humors (phlegm, yellow bile, black bile, and blood), bloodletting remained a popular medical practice for over 2,500 years. To sustain such longevity, proponents made bold claims about its curative powers, often altering their explanations. Over the centuries, bloodletting was said to let blood "breathe," please deities like Jesus and Yahweh, expel demons, and align with celestial constellations.

When monks and priests stopped performing bloodletting, barbers took over, offering services ranging from haircuts to amputations. At the time, trained doctors avoided surgery, only adopting it after barbers and surgeons established distinct roles. (Barbers, however, kept the iconic red-and-white pole as a symbol of their trade.)

When George Washington, the first U.S. president, became ill in late 1799, over half of his blood was drained within 10 hours, likely hastening his death [source: Vadakan]. Although bloodletting fell out of favor by the 1850s, it persisted in the U.S. into the 1920s [source: Starr].

1. Lobotomies

The first modern lobotomy to treat mental illness was conducted in 1935. Dr. Walter Freeman refined the procedure, developing a 10-minute technique that involved inserting an ice pick through the eye socket to sever the frontal lobe. Outcomes varied widely: some patients reported relief from mental illness, while others were left in a vegetative state, regressed, or neurologically damaged, requiring lifelong care.

Freeman promoted lobotomies as a solution for mental illness, headaches, and even unruly children. He traveled extensively, performing the procedure rapidly and recklessly, once completing 25 lobotomies in a single day [source: NPR].

The use of lobotomies reached its height in the 1950s but declined rapidly due to growing concerns within the medical and psychiatric fields, as well as the introduction of psychoactive drugs that effectively treated many mental health symptoms Freeman claimed to address. After performing approximately 2,500 lobotomies, Freeman retired and passed away five years later [source: NPR]. His last patient died from a brain hemorrhage following the procedure.

For more on strange medical misconceptions, continue to the next page.