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1. 15. That Dr. Koch's Cure All cured all.
Starting in 1919, Dr William Frederick Koch
created a medication with a drug that he
claimed could cure “all human ills, including
tuberculosis” and cancer .But when doctors
tested the drug in 1948, doctors found that
glyoxylide, the drug in question,
contained little more that distilled water. Koch
treated cancer patients, many of whom died,
primarily with the drug.
Although the FDA was vocal in their disgust
with Koch, they couldn't find enough evidence
to press charges. Koch ended up fleeing to Rio
de Janeiro in the late '40s.

2. 14. That Classmates.com will find your classmates.
Before there was Facebook, people were
chomping at the bit to sign up for
Classmates.com and contact their old high
school friends and flames. The site eventually
introduced a "Gold" membership, which
allowed members to email their old friends.
Anthony Michaels was lured into the Gold
membership after Classmates.com sent him an
email saying that an old friend was trying to
contact him. That turned out to be a marketing
ploy, so Michaels filed a class action lawsuit for
false advertising.
Classmates.com ended up paying $9.5 million
— $3 per subscriber — in 2010.

3. 13. That Airborne cures colds.
Airborne — marketed as "the one designed by
a school teacher" — got failing grades when it
became public that there were no studies
supporting its claims to kill germs and bacteria
that caused flues and colds.
"It was so bad," David Schardt, a senior
nutritionist with the Center for Science in the
Public Interest,told NPR.

4. 12. That certain pills are "scientifically proven" to
increase the size of a certain part of the male body.
Both Extenze and Enzyte falsely promised to
give men a “big new swing of confidence” .
Extenze ended up paying a $6 million
settlement in 2010 , and Enzyte‘ s Steve
Warshak was sentenced to 25 years in prison
after he over-billed his customers.

5. 11. That L'Oreal's face cream will make you
look as good as Photoshop can.
The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority
banned this ad for being "misleadingly
exaggerated" due to excessive photoshopping.

6. The same goes for this Julia Roberts Lancome ad.

7. 11. That electric shocks cure AIDS and cancer.
Dr. Clark's Zapper made a series of ridiculous
claims that its supposed parasite-killing zapper
could cure cancer and AIDS.
Hulda Clark's book, "The Cure for all Cancers,"
states: "All cancers are alike. They are all
caused by a parasite. A single parasite! It is the
human intestinal fluke. And if you kill this
parasite, the cancer stops immediately."
The Swiss-based company agreed to pay U.S.
citizens refunds in 2004, and the director of
enforcement at the FDA called the device
"fraudulent."

8. 10. That gas is cleaner if it's "crystal clear."
Amoco launched a multi-million dollar
campaign in the '90s claiming that its gas was
more environmentally friendly because it was
“crystal clear” rather than a murky brown.
According to Mental Floss, "at the time the
country was going through a clear revolution."
Even Pepsi made a clear drink.

9. 9. That wearing sneakers makes you skinny.
Skechers' used celebrities like Kim Kardashian
to shill its Shape-up sneakers, claiming that
you only had to tie your shoes to lose weight.
The FTC disagreed, and the shoe company
ended up paying a $40 million settlement.
This ruling shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Just a year before, also working under the
assumption that people wanted to dress for
work rather than go to the gym, Reebok
claimed that its EasyTone shoes and clothing
would automatically make people lose weight.
It ended up settling for $25 million, and
everyone who bought the product was entitled
to a refund.

10. 8. That Hoover would fly people to the U.S. for free if
they bought a vacuum. (Read the outcome below.)

11. 7. That One A Day vitamins prevent prostate cancer.
Bayer had to pay hefty fines for claiming that
one of its vitamin ingredients, Selenium,
prevented prostate cancer.
In fact, studies have shown that Selenium not
only fails to prevent the cancer in healthy men
but can increase the risk of diabetes.
Bayer had to pay $3.3 million in Oregon,
California, and Illinois for corrective advertising

12. 6. That Rice Krispies will save your children from Swine Flu.
In 2009, Kellogg's Rice Krispies claimed, in big
letters, that the cereal "Now helps support
your child's IMMUNITY" by providing 25
percent of daily recommended antioxidants,
vitamins, and nutrients.
The FTC told Kellogg to halt these "dubious"
and unproven claims. Kellogg’s removed the
wording on the boxes and explained that
"While science shows that these antioxidants
help support the immune system, given the
public attention on H1N1, the company
decided to make this change."
One year before, Kellogg also got in trouble
with the FTC for saying that Frosted Mini-
Wheats increased kids' attentiveness by nearly
20 percent — without the studies to back it up.

13. 5. That Nutella is good for you.
For those who subscribed to President Reaga’s
“ketchup is a vegetable” belief system, Nutella
created ads that claimed that its delicious,
hazelnut spread is actually a nutritious part of
a kid's breakfast.
Still, a mother of a 4-year-old sued, and
Nutella settled for $3 million. People who
bought Nutella between January 1, 2008, and
February 3, 2012, could get reimbursed up to
$20.

14. 4. Another big advertising lie is that fast food
looks as good in real life as it does in ads.
Here's an advertised versus actual Whopper:

15. The same goes for Taco Bell ...

16. ... and McDonald's.

17. 2. That Listerine cures everything from
dandruff to cuts and bruises.
It couldn't. Obviously.
Listerine claimed to be a cure-all since 1921,
remedying colds and sore throats as well as
acting as an after-shave tonic.
It wasn't until 1975 that the Federal Trade
Commission ruled the ads misleading and
slapped the company with a $10 million fine to
pay for corrective advertising stating: "contrary
to prior advertising, Listerine will not help
prevent colds or sore throats or lessen their
severity."

18. Then Listerine said that it was as effective as
floss.
This claim also proved misleading.
A U.S. District Judge ordered Pfizer, Listerine's
maker at the time, to pull the ads in 2005.
Although a 2010 class action suit against
Listerine for the false advertising was thrown
out for going "overboard." The ads were pulled
quickly and, therefore, weren't exposed to a
lot of people.

19. 1. The classic lie, of course, is that cigarettes are
healthy. This old ad for "Asthma Cigarettes" claimed to
reduce bronchial irritation. "Not recommended for
children under 6," though.

20. Even Santa said cigarettes cured throat sores.