One of the early professions highlighted at the Grohmann Museum (dot #4035) was quackery. The museum noted that in the mid-19th century, there were 50,000 street hawkers working in London alone, selling all manner of medicinal “wonders” to those whose diseases were more advanced than the legitimate medical knowledge at the time.
I never thought of quackery as a profession, but now I wonder if the next iteration of a Men at Work display will include art depicting the modern-day charlatans — those who use social media to peddle “wonders” of all types — miracle products to make life easier, dubious cures for ailments, or offers too good to be true. Whether via Influencers or the plethora of advertisements, quackery is alive and well in the present day.
The lesson to take from this is to be vigilant and skeptical when something seems suspicious. Snake oil salesmen no longer come to your town pushing their carts; now they are right at your fingertips behind your smartphone glass. We want things to be cheap and easy, but they rarely are.
