About this episode
This week, we celebrate April Fools' Day with a little medical trickery. First, we learn about Franz Mesmer's questionable 18th-century cures. Next we hear how fooling the brain is sometimes the only way to get accurate scientific results.
SHOW CLOCK
00:00 Opening Credits
00:31 Introduction
01:08 Mesmerism
05:06 Modern Placebos: A Necessary Hoax?
10:27 Closing Credits
CREDITS
Special thanks to Michal Meyer and Josh Kurz for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.
Get every episode summarized
Each time Distillations | Science History Institute publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Distillations | Science History Institute
Agnes Pockels and the Kitchen Sink Myth
Distillations | Science History Institute
Flemmie Kittrell and the Preschool Experiment
Distillations | Science History Institute
The CRISPR Babies
Distillations | Science History Institute
Humans and Monsters: An Interview with Surekha Davies
Distillations | Science History Institute