88: The Evolution of the Placebo & Postage Stamp Art

Chances are you know what a placebo is, but... how does it really work? And what can its evolution teach us about science, medicine, and ethics? And how much art can fit a tiny postage stamp? Well enough to fill a whole history of debate, drama, and ducks. Images we Talk About: Drafts of England's First Stamp Sydney Views Stamp The Train Stamp 2025 Duck Stamp Winners McBroom's Spite Duck Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:20) The Evolution of Placebos (00:57:13) Postage Stamp Art (01:41:17) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: The word placebo has escaped academic containment, fake mourners saying “I will please the lord”, placebo paint on birds wings, placebo as sham, The Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism, not that kind of animal magnetism, placebo as psychology, is this going to be a running bit, defining placebo not in reference to something else, “a person’s psychological response to being treated”, things like healing through time or pressure to answer are Not placebo effects, placebo effects are tricky to study, animals can get the placebo effect, goo goo ga ga am I in the contwal gwoup? conditioning rats that a smell means re…