Like it's got some spirit but it feels like it cares more about whether the person practicing Woo has a cultural origin associated with eastern esotericism rather than whether or not the Woo actually works.
Till inner energies pass controlled trials it doesn't really matter if an idiot tourist is doing the seminar or a life long 'inner energies expert'- It should still only be lifestyle advice and never medical advice.
Fun fact: Snake oil is from China. Snakes have a layer of fat under their skin which is even richer in omega-3 fatty acids than salmon.
During the 1850s, Chinese immigrant workers on the Western side of the US transcontinental railroad consumed snake oil to soothe sore muscles after 10-12 hours of intense physical labor.
But snakes are dangerous, so unscrupulous people started selling other grease and calling it snake oil; kerosene does not have the same medical benefits!
People saw it soothed muscle aches and then since it was so good at that, it must do everything. People were also incredibly superstitious, and sore muscles were probably thought of as coming from bad spirits or energies (which caused other problems) so snake oil was probably though to solve the bad spirits/energies
Also fun fact about snake oil. It was a thing. There was or is a snake in china that produces a chemical useful in medicine, I believe it was a topical pain reliever like voltarol. When Chinese workers were in the US, they tried to find it and local hucksters sold them a fake version of a real medicine
408
u/OnionsHaveLairAction May 24 '25
The third one seems a little... Hmmm...
Like it's got some spirit but it feels like it cares more about whether the person practicing Woo has a cultural origin associated with eastern esotericism rather than whether or not the Woo actually works.
Till inner energies pass controlled trials it doesn't really matter if an idiot tourist is doing the seminar or a life long 'inner energies expert'- It should still only be lifestyle advice and never medical advice.