Here's a sampling:
"Well, doc, what's the diagnosis?"
"I'm sorry to say that you're suffering from the condition we in the medical profession call 'TOO MUCH FAT.' It is a disease and source of great annoyance."
"You mean I'm one of the Fat Folks? What's the treatment? Exercise and a good diet?"
"Don't be silly! Just take my Obesity Powder! It will reduce your corpulency in a safe and agreeable manner, with no bad results--unlike those other cures."
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we have the FDA.
The pages of the catalog are full of wonderfully unregulated patent medicines, many formulated by the mysterious Dr. Rose, who surely had a facility somewhere back East full of experimental patients with no next of kin.
1 comment:
Back then, if the powder was cocaine, it probably worked, except for the "perfectly harmless," and "no bad results."
And yet, if you've seen late-night informercials (you have), you can see that fad powders, lights, and magnets are still sold from Snakeoil Salesmen.
Post a Comment