To some he was a miraculous healer, to others a quack and a charlatan. He was an accidental pioneer in the early days of American radio broadcasting, but to most he’s remembered as the notorious ‘goat glands’ doctor. Dr John Romulus Brinkley was all these things and more, and his story throws light on the concept of xenotransplantation – the mixing of living cells, organs, or tissues between species – and how a conman can cash in on new – sometimes real, sometimes fake – medical developments to his own great advantage. Brinkley was a master of persuasion, in that he was able to make the population at large believe in his near-magic cure-all, using the power of developing mass media to reach a bigger audience than any tent show…
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Fortean Times (Digital) - 1 Issue, 444