Quotes About Snake oil

Apparently, Schultz's claim that his theremin could "mimic many instruments and even approximate the sound of a choir" was just a shot of snake oil—the device emitted a siren-like howl that could set the teeth on edge. It was nothing like a choir or an acoustic instrument.

I think there's a point to regulating, because there are snake oil companies.

Inevitably, the world of 'communications' / PR / advertising / marketing is full of charlatans flogging snake oil. It is therefore very easy to do things and spend money just because it's conventional.

At the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, a man dressed as a cowboy appeared onstage and strangled rattlesnakes by the dozen. He called what came out of them snake oil. People bought it. Of course quacks have flourished in all ages and cultures, for nothing shows reason the door like cures for things. Unlike most scams, which target greed, quackery fires deeper into Jungian universals: our fear of death, our craving for miracles. When we see night approaching, nearly all of us are rubes.