Elisha Perkins

Elisha Perkins (January 16, 1741 – September 6, 1799) was an American physician who created a fraudulent medical device, the Perkins Patent Tractors. Although they were made of steel and brass, Perkins claimed that they were made of unusual metal alloys. Perkins claimed his rods cured inflammation, rheumatism and pain in the head and the face; he applied the points on the aching body part and passed them over the part for about 20 minutes. The device was later the subject of the first placebo research.