Snake oil is a term used to describe deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. Similarly, "snake oil salesman" is a common expression used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some valueless or fraudulent cure, remedy, or solution. The term comes from the "snake oil" that used to be sold as a cure-all elixir for many kinds of physiological problems. Many 19th-century United States and 18th-century European entrepreneurs advertised and sold mineral oil (often mixed with various active and inactive household herbs, spices, drugs, and compounds, but containing no snake-derived substances whatsoever) as "snake oil liniment", making claims about its efficacy as a panacea. Patent medicines that claimed to be a panacea were extremely common from the 18th century until the 20th, particularly among vendors masking addictive drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, alcohol and opium-based concoctions or elixirs, to be sold at medicine shows as medication or products promoting health.
One of the main figures related to Snake Oil is Dr. Shoop from Racine, Wisconsin.
https://journaltimes.com/news/local/the-quack-who-made-millions/article_75fd28c7-aa81-57c8-9d5e-1e72b9c1dc0a.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/11/snake-oils-of-old-showed-big-pharma-how-to-market-health/66576/
Fred Gates is another key figure linked with Racine.