It was 1893 of the Chicago World's Fair, when the original snake oil salesman entered the limelight.

Clark Stanley, aka the Rattlesnake King, traded in spectacle.

Onlookers would swarm his booth at the fair, even though it was off the beaten path, where he kept a sack of live snakes.

And he had a stick.

He was dressed like a cowboy with a beaded leather jacket and bandana.

He would grab a knife and slice the snake right down the middle.

And then, drop the snake into boiling water.

I can imagine that proud.

They're shriek of fright and delight, as Clark dropped that live snake into the bubbling stew.

The hiss and crackle of flesh, meaning boiling water.

The gas with onlookers.

The fat from the rattler would rise to the top of the water, in these white viscous chunks.

That, he claimed, was a miracle cure.

An ancient solution he'd learned from Hopi medicine men.

Snake oil.

But here's something you might not know.

Snake oil.

The real stuff.

It actually works.

It's a Chinese folk remedy to treat joint pain that probably made its way to the US with rail workers building the American West.

It's rich in omega-3 fatty acids that really do seem to help reduce inflammation.

Chinese rail workers offered it to their colleagues as a way to treat the aches and pains of long days on the job.

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