Sep26
Snake oil tactics still used in the 21st century to scam others
Snake Oil
In the bygone days of the mid-to-late 1800s, especially with the westward expansion in the U.S., many traveling sales folks had one goal in mind: make money and make it now. Two days later, the traveling sales folks would be in a different town, hopefully without anyone in the audience of the public spectacles they made of themselves to hawk their goods.
The ailment of the day was painted or printed on anything possible, including potions that could kill. They soon became known as “snake oil,” named after Clark Stanley’s Snake Oil Liniment.
The intent of those traveling salesmen, and yes, sometimes traveling saleswomen, was to make money. Nothing else mattered, just as long as their pockets, or perhaps wallet or purse, was full of greenbacks earned by selling their snake oil. If someone was in the audience that knew them from another town, things usually went back for these sales folks selling their finest snake oil. Continue Reading »
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