Kimkins Controversy - Kimkins Scam

Diet Scams From Yesteryear

The researchers at Snopes are unsure as to whether anyone ever sold pills containing tape worms as a fad diet. There are some old advertisements with this claim. Prior to the FDA, medicines did not always contain what they claimed to contain. Either way, it was certainly an inadvisable way to try to lose weight.

Another interesting story from Snopes, this one absolutely true…

Graham crackers are named after a nutty minister who advocated vegetarianism as a way to combat lust. He was of the opinion that being oversexed lead to all kinds of physical and mental deficiencies and increased infant mortality. Ironically, he was dead set against refined flour as well. Years after his death, commercially produced graham crackers containing refined wheat flour became very popular.