John Healy wasn’t a real doctor. Charles Bigelow was never a scout in the United States Army. And, the products they sold weren’t actually based on healing secrets of the Kickapoo people. Yet, the two men made a fortune from their Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company patent medicines – which, while named for them, not a single Kickapoo was involved with the company or its remedies. The story of Healy and Bigelow is one of quackery, lies, native cultural appropriation, and ... wait, did we call out the cultural appropriation? Yes? Well, then, let's talk about this. 

John Healy wasn’t a real doctor. Charles Bigelow was never a scout in the United States Army. And, the products they sold weren’t actually based on healing secrets of the Kickapoo people. Yet, the two men made a fortune from their Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company patent medicines – which, while named for them, not a single Kickapoo was involved with the company or its remedies. The story of Healy and Bigelow is one of quackery, lies, native cultural appropriation, and ... wait, did we call out the cultural appropriation? Yes? Well, then, let's talk about this.

Humans have always committed crimes. What can we learn from the criminals and crimes of the past, and have humans gotten better or worse over time?

Criminalia

How the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company Had Nothing to Do With 'American Indians' or 'Medicine'

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b5a24240-8334-4a2e-b7d2-b1620044e76e/transcript

“It’s the Hair – not the Hat That Makes a Woman Attractive,” read one ad for the Seven Sutherland Sisters’ scalp cleaner. Sisters Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Dora, and Mary Sutherland were performers who sang and played instruments, but what the crowds came to see was their hair; primarily because there was, collectively, 37 feet of it. By 1880, they were billed as the "Seven Wonders" – and just four years later, their patent hair tonic had made them a fortune. This is a Victorian rags-to-riches story. Well, it’s more of a rags-to-riches-to-rags story. As it goes.

“It’s the Hair – not the Hat That Makes a Woman Attractive,” read one ad for the Seven Sutherland Sisters’ scalp cleaner. Sisters Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Dora, and Mary Sutherland were performers who sang and played instruments, but what the crowds came to see was their hair; primarily because there was, collectively, 37 feet of it. By 1880, they were billed as the "Seven Wonders" – and just four years later, their patent hair tonic had made them a fortune. This is a Victorian rags-to-riches story. Well, it’s more of a rags-to-riches-to-rags story. As it goes.

‘A Niagara of Curls’: The Story of the Seven Sutherland Sisters

Hi, Criminalia listeners! We are super excited about the return of Bridgerton: The Official Podcast and want you to share in the excitement with us. Alongside a new season of the TV show the companion podcast, which takes you behind the scenes through interviews with actors, writers, directors, and more. We think you'll want to tune in, but don't just take our word for it. Check out the trailer and decide for yourself!

Ready for more? Tune in weekly to Bridgerton: The Official Podcast. Available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

Hi, Criminalia listeners! We are super excited about the return of Bridgerton: The Official Podcast and want you to share in the excitement with us. Alongside a new season of the TV show the companion podcast, which takes you behind the scenes through interviews with actors, writers, directors, and more. We think you'll want to tune in, but don't just take our word for it. Check out the trailer and decide for yourself!
Ready for more? Tune in weekly to Bridgerton: The Official Podcast. Available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

Introducing: Bridgerton The Official Podcast Season 3

In 1946, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company launched an ad campaign with the slogan, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” Long before Camel cigarettes became the doctor-approved cigarette of choice, at least in advertising, people living with asthma were often instructed to inhale smoke to relieve their symptoms. And that advice was for asthmatic adults – and children. ‘Asthma cigarettes’, as they were called, and related products, weren’t packed full of tobacco, though many did include it; they were, essentially, psychotropic drugs from the nightshade family that people inhaled in hopes of finding respiratory relief. Let's take a look at what kinds of quack – and, to be honest, some not-so-quack – products for asthma before the invention of the modern inhaler.

In 1946, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company launched an ad campaign with the slogan, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” Long before Camel cigarettes became the doctor-approved cigarette of choice, at least in advertising, people living with asthma were often instructed to inhale smoke to relieve their symptoms. And that advice was for asthmatic adults – and children. ‘Asthma cigarettes’, as they were called, and related products, weren’t packed full of tobacco, though many did include it; they were, essentially, psychotropic drugs from the nightshade family that people inhaled in hopes of finding respiratory relief. Let's take a look at what kinds of quack – and, to be honest, some not-so-quack – products for asthma before the invention of the modern inhaler.

Asthma and Smoking: When Cigarettes Were Medicine

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9ae7a36d-226b-4bcc-a6f8-b170001c3b95/transcript

How the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company Had Nothing to Do With 'American Indians' or 'Medicine'

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