Quack Quack

Dr. Joe Schwarcz, the Director of McGill University’s Office of Science and Society, has written many books (seventeen by my count) mostly explaining the chemistry of everyday life. His latest book is right up my alley: Quack Quack: The Threat of Pseudoscience. I love his writing and his sense of humor and I could hardly wait to see what he had to say about quackery. He covers many topics that I had also written about, so I didn’t expect to learn anything new, but I did. I was both informed and entertained.

He says that his archenemy is pseudoscience, in which facts are tortured until they fit his theories. There are people who claim to have some special knowledge or skill that they don't actually have.

A hallmark of quackery is the bashing of conventional medicine, the use of words of praise from supposedly contented patients, and extravagant claims for painless cures for virtually all diseases.

The golden age of quackery took place in the 18th and 19th century. Constantine Rhodocanaces published a booklet in 1663 explaining the wonders of his "Spirit of Salt of the World." This panacea is said to cure everything from scurvy to kidney stones, prevent putrefaction of anything in the stomach, and keep arteries from all filth. More. What did it contain? The acid is called hydrochloric acid. It could have been written about any quack nostrum, with the same type of testimonials, smearing of competing products, and claims of secret breakthrough.

The old fashioned travelling medicine show is described by him. He worked for one of these shows before he became famous. He and his wife sold the product. The Kickapoo Indian Worm Killer was sold by "Doc" Healey. When they passed long stringyworms, buyers were impressed. The string had been wound into a ball and packed into the pills. The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act made the listing of ingredients a requirement.

There are many examples of past and current quackery. I had written about many of them, but there were many more I had never heard of. I didn't know about the colored light treatments that the man claimed would restore the radio-active and radio-emanative equilibrium. I had no idea that the pills contained 50,000 volts of electricity.

He is a great speaker. Fascinating details are supplied by him. I knew that if you chewed food until it was reduced to a liquid, it would cause stools to be odorless, but I didn't know that he had sent human feces to scientists to show that. I didn't know that P.T. Barnum offered a $500 prize to any medium who could communicate with the dead. I was surprised to hear that Sigmund Freud and W.B. Yeats had Steinach operations.

There is a new golden age of quackery thanks to the internet. The success of science has made it possible for consumers to accept ridiculous claims that aren't based on science.

Dr. Schwarcz does more than just look at the claims. He buys the devices and tries them on for size. He got a pain relief product for $50 and a barbecue grill igniter. He found it useful as a replacement for the non-functional igniter on his barbecue, even though pressing it against the skin and pushing a button wouldn't relieve pain. He drank the hydrogen water for a week and had no results. He was able to release energy from his palms after he experienced a sensation of energy coming from a healer. He was able to perform the magic trick by attaching a device to his leg. After undergoing ear candling, he showed that the debris in the candle was the same as it was when no ear was present. At the booth at the fair, the rest of the customers were waiting to be candled. The ignoramus was amazed that the police caught him on camera robbing a bank. He said that he wore the juice. He thought that coating his face with lemon juice would make him invisible to the camera.

Dr. Joe tried an orgone generator and it didn't work. The Gazer looked at him. He skewers celebrities like Heather Mills, who says meat sits in the colon for 40 years and ultimately kills you. Tom Cruise believes that our problems are caused by mental implants received from space aliens and other people, so he calls Psychiatry a crime against humanity.

He told a story about H.I. Rodale. He died onstage of a heart attack at age 72 while a guest on the Dick Cavett show, after he bragged that his diet and supplements would allow him to live to 100. That episode didn't air.

The "natural" myth and the "detachment" myth are his pet peeves. The claim of beingchemical-free was made. Chemicals make up everything. A vacuum can't be free of chemicals.

He is amused by the crazy pseudoscientific theories of quacks. He pointed out their lack of knowledge. All sorts of claims are made for the benefits of moonlight, which is reflected sunlight. He uses the word nonsense a lot. He is sad that so many people don't use science-based treatments for diseases like cancer.

He changes the record on a vegetable. It is not a good source of iron, it contains oxalic acid, and Popeye never attributed his strength to the food. When he wrote about it, he didn't do enough fact-checking.

He didn't want to drink his own urine. His writing is a lot of fun. He said he would be told "Urine trouble" if he tried to claim expenses at the conference.

There are 24 points on dealing with information and misinformation in the book's end.

The book is well written. Most of all, you will be entertained. For people who think they already know a lot about science, pseudoscience, and human error, I recommend it.