Optimism leaves Americans open to frauds and fads for 250 years

Americans’ long-standing belief that almost anything is possible has fueled both economic ambition and repeated vulnerability to fraudsters, medical fads and get-rich-quick schemes. Historical examples include a failed effort to extract gold from seawater, the radioactive Radithor tonic, Clark Stanley’s purported snake oil and Charles Ponzi’s investment fraud. The same willingness to believe extraordinary claims persists in enthusiasm for products and treatments such as raw milk, peptides and vitamin infusions despite limited evidence. Dr. Lydia Kang attributes much of this susceptibility to the enduring human desire to avoid illness, aging and death.