aha
April 23, 2001, 1:03am
1
Anyone know the history behind snake oil and why it was called that?
According to this :
“Snake oil” refers to the name given to the “oils” and “medicines” that were peddled by traveling salesmen in the American west. Consisting mostly of alcohol, they were by all historical references of no medicinal value whatsoever, but many a fast talking peddler made a pretty good living by aggressively pushing his product.
The original thing being promoted as “a sure remedy against snakebite” (which it wasn’t) travelled back east and was analyzed by a famous “eclectic medicine” laboratory of the day. What they found was that it was a very effective and useful item for many -other- things, even if not for snake bite.
It was a tincture of Echinacea (Purple Coneflower), an herbal item Native Americans had been using for a long time with good effect but that the folks back east had never seen the like of before.
And this site seems to be pushing a little of the old oil itself:
What I am going to do is teach you how to make a tincture, called by its original maker, “Snake-Oil Medicine.” You can make it at home yourself, and tailor it to fit your individual needs. This preparation (tincture) is antibacterial , and antiviral , as well as antifungal . The original Snake Oil Medicine was sold as a cure for everything, including snake bites, spider bites, rabid dog bites, etc., and it worked.
Paraphrasing that last sentence, snake oil is a cure for everything.
The reason it worked is because of the herbal ingredients. Echinacea is one of nature’s greatest herbs for fighting off disease and sickness. Its common name is “Purple Coneflower” and it is a native plant to America, where it grows upon the fertile plains of the Midwest and South, through the Ozarks and into the state of Texas. I grow it in my backyard, here in Tennessee, where I live. It was used extensively as medicine among at least 14 Native American Indian tribes for hundreds of years. They used it for all types of illness, but especially found it useful in the treatment of wounds, poisons, and rattlesnake bites.
That’s about all I can c+p without pushing the 5-10% rule, but the rest of that page offers an interesting story about the original snake oil peddler. However, as I read further I am less likely to believe any of it because of snippets such as:
and…
Echinacea is best known today in helping the immune system to resist infections by helping the body to increase the production of white blood cells. It also stimulates lymphatic filtration and drainage, thus helping to remove toxins from the blood cells and glands. It is often considered to be one of nature’s best blood purifiers and neutralizers of toxins, whether they be internal or external. its most common use has been to fight off colds, flu, and sore throats.
Reading further, it looks like Echinacea cures everything from sinusitis to bad credit. Leave it to the AMA to take away our panacea :rolleyes:
“Snake Oil” seems to appear in print around 1927. I would have guessed it to be older.