Caroline Rance's Blog

Dr Clayton E Wheeler claimed to cure a host of conditions by injecting mashed-up goat gonads into patients' abdomens.

The post The goat gland wizard of California first appeared on The Quack Doctor.

The Scotch Oats Essence was wholesome-sounding American patent medicine - but its short reign of advertising prominence ended when analysis showed it to be a dangerous and cruel fraud.

The post Dr Buckland’s Scotch Oats Essence first appeared on The Quack Doctor.

Kimball’s Anti-Rheumatic Ring fits into the tradition of the magnetic or copper jewellery that many people still swear by for arthritis and general health. Frederick W Kimball (b.1854) introduced it in about 1883 in Boston, MA, advertising it as ‘The Great German Anti-Rheumatic Ring’. By 1890, the company had moved to State Street, Chicago, and […]

The post Kimball’s Anti-Rheumatic Ring first appeared on The Quack Doctor.

Tune in to Best Medicine on BBC Radio 4, 6.30pm, 14 November 2023 (or listen later at BBC Sounds and all podcast platforms). Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean, it’s an entertaining panel show that looks at the strange, the amusing and the uplifting sides of medicine, past and present. I talk about some inhalation inventions that […]

The post BBC Radio 4 Best Medicine first appeared on The Quack Doctor.

In early 20th-century New York, a mailman introduced a new patent medicine called Health Grains for indigestion – but the ingredients were far from beneficial. Mrs Bertha Bertsche, a 38-year-old widow, could often be found supervising the pans on the kitchen range at her home in Glebe Avenue, Westchester Square, New York. Inside the pans, […]

The post A Fortune Built on Sand: Health Grains first appeared on The Quack Doctor.

In 1880s Georgia, a Baptist minister accidentally discovered rocks that appeared to emit a therapeutic power of electricity. As their fame spread, the location became a popular resort for people in search of healing.

The post Rocks that Shock: the Hillman Electric Resort first appeared on .

A version of this article first appeared on the Wellcome Library blog on 3 February 2016. A box of confectionery arrived at the green room of the Princess’s Theatre, Oxford Street, on 6 November 1894 … with no well-wishes attached. The recipient was Anna Ruppert, whose new venture as a theatre manager and actress was […]

A horse, tacked up but riderless, grazed peacefully on the north bank of Oregon’s Siuslaw River one December morning in 1904. When the search party saw it, they shouted out in hope, but no human response broke the after-storm silence of the damp air. Dr Richard Henry Barber of Gardiner, OR, hadn’t been seen since […]

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.   In April 1896 adverts began to appear in newspapers across the country. Addressed to ‘Ladies …

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While browsing your local newspaper in the 1890s, an asthma-cure advertisement might distract you from tales of the latest sensational crimes. ‘Agreeable to use, certain in their effects, and harmless in their action, they may be safely smoked by ladies and children,’ ran the promotional copy. The product was Cigares …

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