Here's a fine old FDA public service announcement in which Raymond Massey gravely warns America to steer clear of bizarro quack devices that claim to treat arthritis with z-rays or cure cancer with music.

‘Help Stamp Out Quackery’, 1950s

Comments (13)

  1. Regarding “Bird Poop Panacea”, it is most assuredly not a “traditional Japanese homeopathic treatment”. Homeopathy was thought up by a German doctor named Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. In its most (supposedly) effective form, it’s pure water. Guano is an ingredient, which pretty much disqualifies it from being homeopathic.

    posted by Ken Dean on 8-26-2011 at 1:46 am

  2. Ew to the snakes! It seems like a cheap massage, but wow. I couldn’t do it, snakes creep me out. I wonder how many customers they get that go for it.

    posted by Jessica on 8-26-2011 at 8:31 am

  3. You couldn’t pay me enough to go through the snake massage!

    posted by Sara P on 8-26-2011 at 10:28 am

  4. My grandpa used to say that when he was little and one of the kids in the family had an earache, his dad would pee in a spoon and pour it in their ear.

    posted by jen on 8-26-2011 at 10:31 am

  5. From some articles I’ve read, breastmilk is supposed to be a quick cure for a bunch of problems (ear infections, pink-eye, dry skin, etc).

    I’d like to see a post on that.

    posted by Amy on 8-26-2011 at 11:02 am

  6. I have been to one o the spas in the Czech republic that offeres a beer bath. It was AWESOME, but i smelled like a brewery for a while. i think the yeast in the beer did something to my skin. it was SUPER soft!

    posted by megaroo on 8-26-2011 at 11:22 am

  7. The town of Red Boiling Springs, TN used to be a very popular resort where people would come to bathe in and even drink the spring water with an extremely high sulfur content. There’s still a B&B where you can soak in a tub of sulfur water, and there are public spigots around town painted red or black to indicate to concentration of sulfur.

    posted by PartiallyDeflected on 8-26-2011 at 12:40 pm

  8. The snake one was so gross, I couldn’t even read the whole paragraph! Eeeeuuuuwwwww!

    posted by Rachel on 8-26-2011 at 3:17 pm

  9. The Yup’ik have what is commonly referred to as the stink weed. Used for cold sores, skin treatment, and random other stuff, but not to be used in our red-skinned brother’s peace pipe.

    posted by Jov on 8-26-2011 at 3:18 pm

  10. In the Dominican Republic, the cure for *everything* is lemon tea. And if that doesn’t work, Vicks Vapor Rub will do the trick.

    posted by Jared on 8-26-2011 at 4:41 pm

  11. Put some Windex on it.

    posted by js on 8-26-2011 at 5:41 pm

  12. Littler?????

    posted by James on 8-26-2011 at 7:06 pm

  13. So are railroads in Indonesia electric? I lived there in the early to mid ’90s & I even took like a 6 hour rail trip one time.

    And yeah, electric RRs? That seems pretty advanced for a 3rd world country …

    posted by indotexan on 8-27-2011 at 4:24 pm

Still, they are a joy to behold. It's called First Trolley to Van Nuys and shows the center of a town filled with people. It's pretty funny to me that when we were growing up, she'd cry because she wasn't allowed to play football with us. I spent a lot of time playing in my tree house, that the trees in the picture appealed to me so much. She favors animal prints, and I found one of a woman reclining in a hammock. I saw a painting he did of a fishing scene but I chose not to buy it.. I personally don't have any of these in my collection, since I like to collect pieces that I can relate to. Now we're very.....

There’s still a B&B where you can soak in a tub of sulfur water, and there are public spigots around town painted red or black to indicate to concentration of sulfur. Guano is an ingredient, which pretty much disqualifies it from being homeopathic. In its most (supposedly) effective form, it’s pure water. I wonder how many customers they get that go for it. Homeopathy was thought up by a German doctor named Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. i think the yeast in the beer did something to my skin.I’d like to see a post on that. posted by Amy on 8-26-2011 at 11:02 am I have been to one o the spas in the Czech republic that offeres a beer bath. it was SUPER soft! posted by megaroo on 8-26-2011 at 11:22 am The town of Red Boiling Springs, TN used to be a very popular resort where people would come to bathe in and even drink the spring water with an extremely high sulfur content. posted by js on 8-26-2011 at 5:41 pm Littler????? posted by James on 8-26-2011 at 7:06 pm So are railroads in Indonesia electric? I lived there in the early to mid ’90s & I even took like a 6 hour rail trip one time. And if that doesn’t work, Vicks Vapor Rub will do the trick. It was AWESOME, but i smelled like a brewery for a while. posted by Jared on 8-26-2011 at 4:41 pm Put some Windex on it. ‘Help Stamp Out Quackery’, 1950s Comments (13) Regarding “Bird Poop Panacea”, it is most assuredly not a “traditional Japanese homeopathic treatment”. posted by Jov on 8-26-2011 at 3:18 pm In It's a beautiful painting but it's just too depressing to hang anywhere. Still, they are a joy to behold.The painting that has touched me the most features a sad little girl and is called A Letter From My Mother.I have loved folk art paintings since I was a child. I'll find someone to give it to. Maybe it's because I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and her house was full of them. She favors animal prints, and I found one that depicts leopards and gave it to her for her birthday.One of the most famous American artists is Thomas Chambers. Now we're very close. I personally don't have any of these in my collection, since I like to collect pieces that I can relate to. It's of a swamp house on a bayou and has a Louisiana feel to it. I have a friend who collects these and I found one of a woman reclining in a hammock.There is a water scene that I really like painted in 1940. I don't particularly care for his art.Another painting that I admire is called Howard in 1944.. She looked so relaxed, that I could imagine what it felt like to lie there myself. It's pretty funny to me that when we were growing up, she'd cry because she wasn't allowed to play football with the boys and I used to tease her relentlessly and pull her pigtails whenever I got the chance.There is a subcategory of folk art paintings that depict the world of black Americans. When she died, she left me the painting and it hangs in a place of honor over my fireplace mantle. It's called Alligator Fisher and I'm thinking about getting because it reminds me of my cajun heritage, most of my family is

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Here's a fine old FDA public service announcement in which Raymond Massey gravely warns America to steer clear of bizarro quack devices that claim to treat arthritis with z-rays or cure cancer with music.

‘Help Stamp Out Quackery’, 1950s

Comments (13)

  1. Regarding “Bird Poop Panacea”, it is most assuredly not a “traditional Japanese homeopathic treatment”. Homeopathy was thought up by a German doctor named Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. In its most (supposedly) effective form, it’s pure water. Guano is an ingredient, which pretty much disqualifies it from being homeopathic.

    posted by Ken Dean on 8-26-2011 at 1:46 am

  2. Ew to the snakes! It seems like a cheap massage, but wow. I couldn’t do it, snakes creep me out. I wonder how many customers they get that go for it.

    posted by Jessica on 8-26-2011 at 8:31 am

  3. You couldn’t pay me enough to go through the snake massage!

    posted by Sara P on 8-26-2011 at 10:28 am

  4. My grandpa used to say that when he was little and one of the kids in the family had an earache, his dad would pee in a spoon and pour it in their ear.

    posted by jen on 8-26-2011 at 10:31 am

  5. From some articles I’ve read, breastmilk is supposed to be a quick cure for a bunch of problems (ear infections, pink-eye, dry skin, etc).

    I’d like to see a post on that.

    posted by Amy on 8-26-2011 at 11:02 am

  6. I have been to one o the spas in the Czech republic that offeres a beer bath. It was AWESOME, but i smelled like a brewery for a while. i think the yeast in the beer did something to my skin. it was SUPER soft!

    posted by megaroo on 8-26-2011 at 11:22 am

  7. The town of Red Boiling Springs, TN used to be a very popular resort where people would come to bathe in and even drink the spring water with an extremely high sulfur content. There’s still a B&B where you can soak in a tub of sulfur water, and there are public spigots around town painted red or black to indicate to concentration of sulfur.

    posted by PartiallyDeflected on 8-26-2011 at 12:40 pm

  8. The snake one was so gross, I couldn’t even read the whole paragraph! Eeeeuuuuwwwww!

    posted by Rachel on 8-26-2011 at 3:17 pm

  9. The Yup’ik have what is commonly referred to as the stink weed. Used for cold sores, skin treatment, and random other stuff, but not to be used in our red-skinned brother’s peace pipe.

    posted by Jov on 8-26-2011 at 3:18 pm

  10. In the Dominican Republic, the cure for *everything* is lemon tea. And if that doesn’t work, Vicks Vapor Rub will do the trick.

    posted by Jared on 8-26-2011 at 4:41 pm

  11. Put some Windex on it.

    posted by js on 8-26-2011 at 5:41 pm

  12. Littler?????

    posted by James on 8-26-2011 at 7:06 pm

  13. So are railroads in Indonesia electric? I lived there in the early to mid ’90s & I even took like a 6 hour rail trip one time.

    And yeah, electric RRs? That seems pretty advanced for a 3rd world country …

    posted by indotexan on 8-27-2011 at 4:24 pm