Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Things Most People Don't Realize Are Actually The Placebo Effect

Things Most People Don't Realize Are Actually The Placebo Effect
person wearing orange and white cat tattoo
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Placebos are most commonly used in medical trials, to compare if people have reactions to the actual drug being tested.

However, more often than not, many people who take a placebo still feel as if they have received some sort of therapeutic outcome after digesting or being injected with the placebo.

This is commonly known. as "the placebo effect".

But the placebo effect goes well beyond medicine.

Our minds are funny, and not always reliable creatures, as sometimes when they are simply told something will have a certain effect on us, they make the rest of our body believe it.

Even if literally nothing has actually changed.


Redditor El_CM was curious to hear everyday examples of the placebo effect which almost always go unnoticed, leading them to ask:
'What is just a placebo effect but most people don't realize?"

Simple Cures For Boo-Boos...

"I worked at a kids birthday party place for a couple years in high school."

"So many kids would cry because they fell over, bumped their arm, etc."

"Never anything bad. I’d say something like 'can you shake your foot around? Does it feel better?'"

"'How about jumping in a circle?'”

“'Alright we are going to blow on your hand so it feels better'” and then ask if they are ready to play again."

"Works like a charm."

"Also bandages for little boo boos."

"They think they are healed and get right back to being happy little kiddos :)"- amiemartian

Things Aren't As Bad As You Think...

"Your perception of bad luck."

"The human brain is predisposed to remember bad experiences more vividly than the good ones."

"Thus, for an example, you may say your luck is always awful at tolls, when in reality you only get stuck in traffic 20%-50% of the time."- mopeiobebeast

Season 3 Fml GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy

Going Through The Motions...

"When I worked/trained tech support, our agents would always get pushback from customers when we asked them to power cycle their phone, which nine times out of ten would fix their issue."

"So, I had them tell the customer to read them some numbers off the back of the battery, when they were still removable!"

"That we absolutely did not need."

"Then we told them we refreshed a few systems, and they put their battery back in and it's all fixed!"

"Alternatively, when batteries couldn't be removed, we'd tell them that if the phone was powered on while we did the update, it could ruin their SIM card."

"So they'd make sure to power off their phone."

"I'd do nothing."

"They'd turn it back on and it worked great!"

"But if I had TOLD them to power cycle their phones?"

"No way."- Demetre4757

Some People Believe Anything They're Told...

"So I’m sure this has happened to other people, but this question just reminded me of my principal."

"During meetings and such he uses the school auditorium, and most of the time I, senior now at the school, have to run the sound and lights."

"He’s extremely annoying about it, and ALWAYS asks for his mic to be turned up when in reality, he’s already extremely loud and will bust the speakers."

"I just pretend to turn it up and ask him if it’s good, and he speaks and says 'that’s perfect, thank you!'"

I swear he thinks I’m doing an amazing job and would bring me a coke or something for dealing with the meetings half of the day."

"Greatest placebo to use against others that I’ve done."- whalethings

Is This Thing On Mic Check GIF by OriginalsGiphy

Just Being Part Of The Action...

"When you give your young sibling an unconnected controller after he/she kept bugging to join the game."- sal00

Time Is Relative...

"Do commissioned creative stuff, if I deliver the same or next day, people don’t think I spent enough time on it."

"If I wait three days to deliver, people are happy because they assume I worked on their project nonstop even though I was done a day or two prior."-Reddit

"Round Like A Circle And A Spiral..."

"Loading spinners on web pages."

"I once had a user complain to me a web app was too slow, and it was pretty fast."

"So I tested him by making the animation spinner spin much faster."

"He went to my boss to praise me how much faster the web app was."

"Spin.js is what I was using."- hibikikun

spinner GIF by Tobias RotheGiphy

Fixed!

"I install semi truck bumpers."

"90% of the time a customer will say it looks off by 1/8 of an inch."

"I’ll make a noise with the impact gun on a bolt and say 'how’s that?'.

“'Yeah it looks great!'”

"Nothing moved whatsoever."

"Some guys are extremely critical I guess."- SpartanE78

When our mind is fed information we want to hear, we are inclined to believe it's true.

Even if our mind is actually the one deceiving us.

Meaning that yes, all those years we spend blowing on the inside of our Super NES cartridges to stop them from freezing actually did nothing whatsoever...

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Elon Musk
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk Dragged After Programming Grok To Claim He's 'More Fit' Than LeBron James

Billionaire Elon Musk was widely mocked after X users discovered he'd programmed his AI chatbot Grok to praise his physique by saying he's "fitter than" basketball star LeBron James.

Musk is actually on record saying that he wouldn't exercise if he could, that he's not been consistent meeting with his personal trainer, and that he would "rather eat tasty food and live a shorter life." But to hear Grok tell it, Musk is more fit than one of the top basketball players on the planet—and smarter than some of humanity's greatest minds.

Keep ReadingShow less
Two female co-workers arm wrestle while two male co-workers look on in shock.
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

People Break Down The Best Petty Drama Happening In Their Workplace

I work from home, and my co-worker is my dog, and it's a scene over here.

When I worked with others, there was rarely a respite from petty squabbles and the drama of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
Daniel Radcliffe
Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Daniel Radcliffe Praised For His Incredibly Classy Comments About The 'Harry Potter' Reboot

Daniel Radcliffe has an impressive résumé that includes roles in movies, television shows, commercials, and on stage, but even with his extensive experience, most people know him as Harry Potter in the eight-part Harry Potter movie series, the first adaptation of JK Rowling's seven-novel saga.

So it makes sense that people hope he'll give his blessing when it's time to pass the torch.

Keep ReadingShow less

Overrated 'Life Hacks' That Actually Make Life Even Harder

We've all spent some time looking for ways to make our lives easier.

But sometimes the hacks we see that promise a way to do something more simply or quickly are actually more complicated than just doing it the way we've always done it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eric Dane & Rebecca Gayheart
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Rebecca Gayheart Poignantly Explains Why She Called Off Divorce From Eric Dane After His ALS Diagnosis

Model and Jawbreaker actor Rebecca Gayheart recently set the record straight about her relationship with Grey's Anatomy alum Eric Dane.

Gayheart, 54, and Dane, 52, married in 2004 and share two teenage daughters. In 2018, Gayheart filed for divorce, but dismissed her filing in March 2025. Less than a month later, Dane publicly announced his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis.

Keep ReadingShow less