Snake oil is an interesting metaphor for what happens to these sort of exotic, indigenous medicinal treatments that end up coming to the west. The last thing i wanted to talk about with snake oil in particular is how it became sort of or shorthand for this kind of hucksterism. Yet, we're referencing moon juice a lot here, because this feels very moon juicy. So i'm just going to distil these ingredients down without regard to where they come from, without regard to what makes them work. Just boil a snake. It doesn't matter what kind of snake. Doen't matrwhere you found the snake. T doesn't matter how long you boil it for. Find a
The world of dieting and wellness is full of so-called snake oil salesmen—but what IS snake oil? This week, we take a wild ride through the history of health scams and discover a startling twist about an everyday idiom. Along the way, Aubrey delivers fun facts about sanitation from memory and Mike roasts the state where most of his family lives.
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Thanks to Ashley Smith for editing assistance and Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!
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