There has been a lot of sickness around my household, prompting me to try to figure out what I could do to prevent myself from getting sick. I found myself taking probiotic pills, even though the germs around my house were not the kind a probiotic could help against. I also drank vitamin C mixes and in general kept wondering about what other non-clinically-tested thing I could take that maybe marginally works. And then I remembered one thing that we know works very well in many situations – sugar pills, aka placebos. In fact, they sometimes work even when people know they’re taking a placebo (see here and here). So here’s my great business idea: someone should sell placebo pills that people can take when they feel sick.

Now I know what you’re going to say – there are many “placebos” out there in the form of homeopathic treatments and herbal remedies. Those things, however, are fairly expensive. Although there’s some evidence that more expensive placebos provide more relief (see here and here), the market needs some cheap placebos too. And the best part is that you don’t even have to deceive people. In fact, I was surprised to see that no one makes such a thing already (if you want to have a good laugh, google “placebo pills”). You’re welcome.

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