9. The Traveling Phrenologist
Phrenology, the pseudo-science of reading character from skull shapes, swept through Western towns as a popular spectacle. Traveling phrenologists offered bogus personality readings and health advice for a fee, often upselling “treatments” or self-help books to their curious audiences. This quirky scam reflects both the era’s fascination with science and its vulnerability to charlatans. Find out more at Smithsonian: Phrenology in America.
