Step right up! In this episode, we dive into the raucous world of Wild West traveling medicine shows—part vaudeville, part medieval quackery, and all about the drugs. From narcotic-laced “cures” to the birth of the phrase “snake oil,” we trace how these spectacles peddled more than entertainment—and left their mark on drug history.

Sources:

• Ann Anderson: Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones 

• Smithsonian: Hamlin’s Wizard Oil Liniment

• The Henry Ford Collection: Dr. F.G. Johnson’s French Female Pills

• American Institute of the History of Pharmacy: Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company

• Sauk County History: Traveling Medicine Shows of Yesteryear