Roll up! Roll up!
Welcome to The Quack Doctor - the home of history's patent medicines, dubious devices, and the people who peddled them. The Quack Doctor looks into the stories, surprises and scandals surrounding the advertised medicines of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries - from popular over-the-counter remedies to outright criminal frauds.
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The goat gland wizard of California
Dr Clayton E Wheeler claimed to cure a host of conditions by injecting mashed-up goat gonads into patients’ abdomens.
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The alleged Dr Barber: a case of identity theft in 1912
In 1912, detectives discovered that a local GP wasn’t all he seemed. Sensational news reports described his dramatic attempts to escape arrest.
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Notorious Chrimes: The Blackmail Pills
In 1890s London, the ‘Lady Montrose Pills’ blackmail scheme efficiently and heartlessly targeted more than 8,000 victims. In this comprehensive account of the case, Dick Weindling introduces the Chrimes brothers, who manufactured this audacious scam.
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