The Man Who Sold a CANCER CURE Made of... Ketchup?

What if the secret to curing all your ailments wasn't in a pharmacy, but in that bottle of ketchup in your fridge? Before you laugh, you should know that for a brief, wild moment in history, doctors and con men agreed.This is the unbelievable but true story of the great tomato craze of the 1830s. We're diving deep into the bizarre chapter of medical history when the tomato—once feared in America as a poisonous plant—was rebranded as a miracle cure-all by a charismatic physician named Dr. John Cook Bennett. This wasn't just a niche belief; it was a full-blown mania of patent medicines, with tomato pills and even ketchup itself being sold to cure everything from indigestion to cancer.We'll explore the wild world of quack medicine and how this food history spectacle paved the way for one of the world's most famous condiments, later perfected by Henry Heinz. This is more than a funny historical anecdote; it's a shocking look at how pseudoscience and clever marketing can turn public fear into a commercial frenzy—a tactic that's still being used today.This story will change the way you look at a bottle of ketchup forever.If you love a good "truth is stranger than fiction" story, subscribe and share this episode with a friend. Then, head to the comments and tell us: what's the wildest "miracle cure" you've ever heard of?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hoax-hunters--6723538/support.You May also Like:🚑MyDisasterPrepKit.comCreate Your Perfect Disaster Preparedness Kit🤖Nudgrr.com (🗣'nudger") - Your AI Sidekick for Getting Sh*t DoneNudgrr breaks down your biggest goals into tiny, doable steps — then nudges you to actually do them. 🎁ThePerfectGift.appFind the Perfect Gift in Seconds⭐SkyNearMe.comLive map of stars & planets visible near you✔DebtPlanner.appYour Path to Debt-Free Living