History of Scams

“Snake oil” is a term used to describe deceptive marketing, healthcare fraud, or a scam. Similarly, “snake oil” is a common label that describes someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some or is a general proponent of some valueless or fraudulent cure, remedy, or solution. But how was the term first coined? With them, they brought their families, cultures, and even their medicines, including real snake oil. Real snake oil comes from the Chinese water snake, rich in Omega-3 acids, which help with arthritis and other joint and muscle pain. Seizing on the rising popularity of the product, a man named Clark Stanley, who called himself the “Rattlesnake King,” traveled across the U.S., putting on shows where he would slice open a live rattlesnake, boil it in water, and package and sell the oil to onlookers. The problem? The snakes the Rattlesnake King used were not Chinese water snakes; therefore, the “miracle product” Stanley sold was a scam.