Fun Fact Fridays #14 - No Solicitors! 💬

      Did you know that in the 19th century people would go door to door selling a "cure-all" called snake oil? If you have ever seen an old western/cowboy movie there has probably been a character selling some kind of elixir. This is the most accurate depiction of these snake oil sellers. Snake oil was said to be a cure-all by it's sellers, but was notorious for not actually working.

Snake Oil Salesman

       The original snake oil came from China. This oil was creating using the oils taken from Chinese River Snakes. They used this as a pain reliever for arthritis, bursitis, and other joint aches. It made it's way into North America in the mid 1800's and was sold door to door. Of course, there are no Chinese River Snakes in North America, so the contents were changed. North American snake oil consisted mostly of alcohol and was sold as an antiseptic. Very much like peroxide or rubbing alcohol, snake oil was used on scrapes or cuts, but it was not nearly as effective.
      The Backus-Page House has an original bottle with the original bottle, label, and contents displayed in our pantry room! Come check it out for yourself at the Backus-Page House Museum:

Snake Oil
Original Bottle, Label, and Contents

29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown, ON
(519) 762-3072





   

Citizen Scientists Wanted - Must Like Snakes

I can't believe I am writing a post about snakes (this is Angela writing by the way).  Snakes freak me out, but there are some species in John E. Pearce Provincial Park that need researching.  We are partnering with the park to restore the wetlands and there are plans to construct snake hibernaculum (the winter den for hibernation).  The task right now is to get YOU, our Citizen Scientists, to report to us at the museum, where you see snakes inside the park boundary.

We'll need to know when you saw the snake (date and time), where specifically in the park, and a picture would be very helpful to identify the species you see.  You can email the pictures and details to info@backuspagehouse.ca with the Subject "Snake Sighting!" and I'll be most happy to pass it along to the Ministry of Natural Resources staff.

There is talk of also holding a field day to teach volunteers and citizen scientists more about the snakes and their hibernaculum so we'll keep you up to date on that front.  For now just send in those pictures and sighting details to info@backuspagehouse.ca

I've included a map of the park to assist you with reporting the location.  You can give me the alpha-numeric area and any details you recall about the spot.  The more information we have the better.  

Snake Sighting Grid Map of John E. Pearce Provincial Park

Here's a YouTube video of our snake hibernacula expert Gregor.  https://youtu.be/LotuLkvkqTc

Thank you in advance for participating.