photo #9288369

1918: they sold radioactive water as a health tonic. It was radium, and it dissolved men's jaws. 1898: they sold heroin as a children's cough syrup. It was heroin. 1863: they sold cocaine wine as a daily pick-me-up. Popes and presidents put their names to it. 1946: they sold cigarettes on a doctor's recommendation. Whole campaigns ran on which brand physicians preferred. 1960s: they sold margarine as the heart-healthy fat. It was loaded with the trans fat that actually stops hearts. Every one of these came with an expert's blessing and total confidence. The people telling you today which fat to fear are the institutional descendants of the ones who put radium in your water and a doctor's face on a cigarette packet. "The experts recommend it" has a body count going back a century.