Electricity.

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine. In times of crisis desperate patients believe in extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a special position. The College of Dentistry at NYU received a collection of 234 bottles of quack medicine dating from approximately 1850 through 1940.In this paper, the THIRD in a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past", we focus on five particularly notable samples claiming to have "electric" properties: Electric Brand Oil Compound, Hunt's Lightening Oil, Electric Indian Liniment, Regent's Electric Liniment and Haven's Electro-magnetic Liniment. Needless to say, none of these contained electricity or even electrolytes for that matter. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act to prohibit exaggerated or unsubstantiated claims in the marketing and labeling of household products and to control the use of potentially harmful ingredients. The modern-day use of internet advertisements to make unsupported claims is in some ways even more brazen than the advertisements from a century ago.

Opium.

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a prominent position. NYU College of Dentistry (NYUCD) has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. This paper is the second in a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past" in which we bring to light five more samples containing opium: Dr. B.J. Kendall's Instant Relief for Pain, Dr. Munn's Elixir of Opium, Dill's Balm of Life, Foley's Pain Relief, and Brown's Instant Relief for Pain. These are just five examples out of countless syrups, nostrums, balm or liniments that contained narcotics and were linked to overdose, addiction and sometimes death. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive substances. The modern-day use of internet advertisements to make unsupported claims is in some ways even more brazen than the advertisements from a century ago. Indeed, the recent widespread use of prescription painkillers, along with the resulting epidemic in opiate addiction that has caused upwards of 50,000 deaths is a case in point.

Snake Oil and Indian Liniment.

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, snake oil, elixirs, nostrums and Indian liniments hold a special position. NYU College of Dentistry (NYUCD) has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. This paper is the fifth in a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past" in which we bring to light six more samples with claims to traditional Chinese or American Indian medicine using snake oil: Virex Compound, Rattlesnake Bill's Oil, Electric Indian Liniment, The King of All Indian Oils, Millerhaus Antiseptic Oil and Celebrated Indian Lotion. The six examples are just a few quack medications linked to fraud, overdose, addiction or death. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act and reinforced it with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive and dangerous substances. The modern-day use of social media to advertise quack medicine is in some ways even more brazen than selling patent medicine a century ago.