Come
One! Come All !!
Devious Displays of Quackery, Fraud, Deceit and Deception!
The largest collection of medical chicanery and
mayhem ever assembled under one roof !!!
 |
Sound like a carnival barker? A snake
oil salesman? A sideshow shill?
Well, you're close .....
|
 |
It's the
Museum of Questionable
Medical Devices
Proprietor Bob McCoy was a veritable encyclopedia
of the world's most inane and useless information about how to
cure and/or comprehend what may ail or puzzle you. Author of Quack!: Tales of Medical Fraud from the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices , he's the guy
pictured at left getting a "phrenology" reading on a "psycograph" (the machine
measures the size of bumps on the head to determine his personality). The reading lets you
know how you're doing on any of 35 character traits
like intelligence, spirituality,suavity and chastity (all the
bumps can be mapped -- above right).
Dubbed "The Quackery Hall of Fame"
by the Copley Wire Service, the museum was the world's largest
display of what the human mind has devised to cure itself without
the benefit of either scientific method or common sense. It comprised
the major collections on loan from The
American Medical Association, The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, The
St. Louis Science Center, The
Bakken Library, The National
Council Against Health Fraud. The famed collection was donated to the Science Museum of Minnesota in 2002 with items featured in their Collections Gallery until 2016 when the entire collection was put on display in their fantastic Weighing The Evidence exhibit.
View Photos of our Riverplace and St. Anthony Main locations here. |
 |
A sampling of the amazingly useless gadgets that await you:
"A few volts of electricity appropriately applied
will put the sparks back into your love life!" , says McCoy
holding a machine that claimed to increase virility (and cure
prostate problems).
 And
for the ladies ... a foot powered breast enlarger!!
Then we have soap that sudses off pounds. And if the soap
doesn't work for you, how about a pair of weight reduction glasses
? Stand in front of lights flashing prismatic colors that "guarantee"
health and well being. Expose yourself to the "magic"
of radio waves ... yes, quackery is alive and well on the banks
of the mighty Mississippi........
See for yourself, stop in and "take the cure!"
Tour the Museum
Watch Bob McCoy's TV appearances in our:
Video Vault
Learn the stories of
Great
American Quacks
Check
out our on-line
Device
Collection
See graphics from the
Ephemera
Collections
Don't leave without seeing
our:
Quack
Links
Buy Bob McCoy's Book and MORE in our:
Gift Shop
Bob McCoy
World-renowned expert on Medical Quackery and Health Fraud,
and founder of The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices.
(which is now located at the Science Museum of Minnesota)
Robert W. McCoy
1927-2010
Bob McCoy passed away on May 23, 2010
after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
(Bob's Obituary)
Bob lived a life dedicated to exposing nonsense and pseudo-science, while advocating rational living and humanist ideals.
Please help us keep his principles alive!
Quack!: Tales of Medical Fraud from the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices
Named
"Best Collection"
by Minnesota Monthly in their Best of the Twin Cities issue
November 2013
Also named one of the
18 Weirdest Museums in the World
by FOX NEWS!
The Museum of Questionable
Medical Devices
Click here to contact webmaster by email
May 2010, Star Tribune : Bob McCoy obituary and news story
St. Anthony Main
location closed as of January 2002.
Collection currently on display in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Science Museum's "Weighing The Evidence" exhibit.
READ and LISTEN to the Voice of America article
about Bob McCoy's retirement HERE
All Photographs, Images and Written Material on this website are the Exclusive Copyright of The Museum of Questionable Medical Decices (museumofquackery.com) and my not be duplicated, linked to, or reused in any form without our express permission. Not responsible for content of all links, please use discretion and common sense when clicking on them. Please refer to our privacy policy for details.
|