Snake Oil

I have always been infuriated by snake oil salesman. I cannot stomach the fact that these products cash in on our ignorance, greed, desperation and dreams.

They protect themselves with the CYA small print and get away with the deception. I was watching television earlier and saw the commercial for the Takara Detox Foot Patch and it reminded me of all of the other products "as seen on tv".

1. they reel you in with the ease of the product and the supposed benefits of the product
2. then small print flashes on the screen for 2 seconds-but we aren't reading it-we want to be thin/detoxified/muscular/etc
3. an "expert" in a lab coat with "diplomas" of some sort behind them lies about the product because they are getting paid
4. and then the price ending in .99 with exorbitant shipping/handling fees makes the price almost double

I have always been skeptical about things, I'm not saying I haven't fallen for things like this (I'm pretty sure there is a product or two stashed in my closet that I bought and regretted later) but I generally question and research things that sound too good to be true. I wish there was more regulation on items that claim amazing health benefits, but until then I hope the worst thing that will happen is that the buyer loses some money.

I generally laugh about how brazen these companies are about their miracle product, but I read an article online while research the foot cleansing pads about how a woman used another brand of foot patches to detoxify herself from lead poisoning instead of going to a doctor. She survived thanks to a family member, but at a health cost.

Caveat emptor, a fool and his money are soon departed, there is one born every minute and so on...