I have stopped using the "snake oil" epithet, because I found out an interesting background on that.

Oils derived from various snakes in the desert were found to be effective treatments and remedies for various things by the Native American population, and therefore widely used by certain tribes.

Once the White Man caught wind of this, he capitalized on its reputation, and a booming business of scams bloomed anywhere there were gullible buyers. Of course, the snake oil was rarely authentic or effective for its advertised uses.

Therefore, snake oil was given a very bad and rather undeserved reputation for the rest of history, and medical science continues to flounder.