In 1865, the American shaman P.T. Barnum had grown tired of his reputation of being the

nation's most notorious liar. After three decades of hoodwinking the public with hoaxes

both big and small, Barnum's name had become synonymous with deceit. In a way, it was

a classic boy who cried wolf scenario. After all, it wasn't like Barnum's reputation had come

unirred. But despite that, it seemed to genuinely bother Barnum that people thought that he was a

scam artist. He was actually a very religious man who was deeply involved in the progressive

universalist church. It was important to him that people thought that he was moral. So being

Barnum, he made a pitch. He was going to reinvent himself as a great debunker of scams and ripoffs.

To that end, he wrote the book elaborately titled The Humbugs of the World, an account of

humbugs, delusions, impositions, quackeries, deceits, and deceivers generally in all ages. His

thesis was essentially that there's a difference between harmless humbug and full-on scam. The important

ingredient for Barnum was the feeling of being ripped off. If someone tricks you, takes your money,

and you get nothing in return, then that's a moral. But if someone tricks you into paying for

something that turns out to be pretty cool, then it's all good. Barnum lays out his distinction

using a few colorful descriptions. Quote, a respectable looking man sits beside you in an omnibus

or rail car. He converses fluently and is evidently a man of intelligence and reading. He attracts

your attention by his fair pretenses. Arriving at your journey's end, you miss your watch and your

pocketbook. Your fellow passenger proves to be the thief. Everyone calls him a pickpocket,

and notwithstanding his fair pretenses, no one in the community calls him a humbug.

End quote, a few paragraphs later Barnum really spells it out, writing quote,

two physicians reside on one of our fashionable avenues. They were both educated in the best

medical colleges. Each had passed an examination, received a diploma, and had been dubbed MD.

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