New video shows 19th-century quackery

Posted 19 December 2024

A new 12-minute video describes “false or unproven claims of cures using strange ingredients or bizarre materials, often with dire consequences for the end user.” The products included arsenic-laden soaps/cosmetics, radium toothpastes/cosmetics, asthma cigarettes, Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People, Pond’s Tampons soaked in opium, cocaine cocktails such as Mariani wine, Clark Stanley’s Snake Oil, and high-heeled orthopedic shoes.

Retro Group. History of medical quackery vintage practices selling false hope. YouTube, Oct 22, 2024