"In our modern-day vernacular, we can use “snake oil” to describe almost anything deceptively branded as a legitimate solution to a problem that ultimately doesn’t live up to its promise. At the height of the pandemic, experts described widely circulated yet unsubstantiated Covid-19 ""cures"" as ""21st-century snake oil."" Two renowned computer scientists also used the term in reference to those who make misleading claims about the capabilities of artificial intelligence in order to generate hype. The list goes on.
The history of snake oil as a symbol of fraud and deception dates to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It’s widely connected to the story of Clark Stanley, the self-proclaimed “Rattlesnake King” who sold his so-called snake oil as a treatment for joint pain and rheumatism. In reality, his products contained no actual snake oil at all—just mineral oil, beef fat, red pepper and turpentine. Yet he got away with deceiving his customers for more than two decades.
“I love the story of Clark because he really is the quintessential snake-oil salesman—of course, literally, but also figuratively,” says Nate Pedersen, co-author of the book Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. “I think that’s what’s interesting about him as a historical figure.”"