Welcome! This is where you can post your ailments and get diagnosed by an eighteenth-century quack doctor! Just post your message and the quack doctor will respond with what was a typical eighteenth-century advertisement for quack remedies. This exercise is meant to simulate the advertising industry in the eighteenth century, where quacks competed fiercely to capture the public with the power of the written word. If you happen to be healthy (or perhaps you're a bit too shy to post concerning that minor case of the clap you picked up last weekend) you can merely browse through the posts of others, and perhaps learn something about the quack remedies in eighteenth-century England. Enjoy!

These advertisements were successful because they targeted a new public in England that, while admiring scientific knowledge and other education, had little of either, and thus was gullible to the pseudoscientific tone of quack advertisements (2). Of course, many modern advertisements similarly construct their authority through somewhat shady scientific reasoning, but eighteenth-century advertisers could make more extravagant claims, since widespread advertising was such a new phenomenon that the majority of the public had not yet developed any skepticism for advertising's outlandish claims. To the disgust of many of the educated middle class, lower-class people who frequented coffeehouses would pore over newspapers and quack advertisements, often attracting quack doctors themselves into the coffeehouse (3).

Despite the irrationality of seeing a quack as opposed to a respectable doctor, there was a significant rationale for many turning to the quacks. At this point in medical history, the relationship between the doctor and personal space was beginning to modernize (4). Doctors were beginning to rely more on physical contact to diagnose the patient, and practices such as male midwifery were becoming commonplace. Quacks, on the other hand, provided a detached alternative. Readers would diagnose themselves through quack advertisements, purchase appropriate products, and feel confident in the confidentiality of quack doctors, who promised their patients anonymity (5). Sufferers of more embarrassing disorders such as venereal disease and onanism, who wished to keep their disorders private, were much more willing to form detached relationships with quacks than highly personal and invasive relationships with real doctors. However, quacks often used their patients' wishes for anonymity against them. Quacks often offered the "no cure, no money" guarantee, the equivalent of our modern "money-back guarantee." Unfortunately for the dissatisfied, getting one's money back often involved writing a glowing testimonial for the product, which meant including personal information such as name and address (6). This was a win-win situation for the quacks, who were guaranteed with each customer to receive a glowing testimonial even if they did not gain money from the specific transaction.

The creator of the Anodyne Necklace, according to the advertisements, was Paul Chamberlen. However, it is unclear whether he actually created the necklace, or whether that name was attached to the necklace's advertisement as a marketing move. Although Dr. Chamberlen was certainly a quack doctor, and he may have written the first "Philosophical Essay" on the Adonyne Necklace, his connection with the necklace is foggy at best. For instance, advertisements for the necklace had been circulating for two years prior to his mention. He was also the grandson of a famous Peter Chamberlen, a legitimate doctor who had founded the most famous group of obstetricians in those times. It is highly likely that Paul Chamberlen's association with the Anodyne Necklace was merely a marketing ploy. Perhaps a clever advertiser wishing to associate the necklace with the famous Chamberlen name chose to construct his authority around the quack. Such behavior was certainly not below advertisers. In fact, other advertisers published advertisements and pamphlets decades after his death, claiming that the author was the famous Dr. Paul Chamberlen himself.

Taking all of this into consideration, it is easy to see how the world of eighteenth-century quack advertisements translates well into an internet message board. Like on a message board, sick eighteenth-century consumers who wanted a quick and anonymous remedy could maneuver with complete anonymity. Also, advertisements in the eighteenth century were highly interactive; they often referenced, defamed, or otherwise commented on each other (check out the Anodyne Necklace thread for a good example). So come see for yourself, and get diagnosed by the local quack on our message board!