In a new book, a doctor surveys the history of medical quackery—from snail oil to cocaine.&nbs

In a new book, a doctor surveys the history of medical quackery—from snail oil to cocaine. Having trouble warding off that weight gain? Have you tried taking some tapeworm eggs? Got a troublesome toothache? Consider cocaine. Swollen joints? Slather on some snake oil. Those are just a few of the quack remedies catalogued in Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen.In the book, they survey a medicine chest’s worth of quacks through the ages, and employ modern-day scientific evidence to evaluate their efficacy. In this segment, Ira interviews Dr. Kang about these spurious “cures,” and asks whether certain medical practices today might be considered cruel and unusual punishment by future generations.See how everyone from literal snake oil salesmen to opioid aficionados marketed and sold their wares, and read up on a brief history of those “cures,” as described in Quackery. Photos all in public domain, courtesy Workman Publishing -- source link

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