An interesting article in Wired about the increasing effectiveness of placebos in clinical trials.

* The color green reduces anxiety, adding more chill to the pill.
* White tablets—particularly those labeled “antacid”—are superior for soothing ulcers, even when they contain nothing but lactose.
* More is better, scientists say. Placebos taken four times a day deliver greater relief than those taken twice daily.
* Branding matters. Placebos stamped or packaged with widely recognized trademarks are more effective than “generic” placebos.
* Clever names can add a placebo boost to the physiological punch in real drugs. Viagra implies both vitality and an unstoppable Niagara of sexy.

What’s the saddest is that most of the situations pictured were caused by humans.

Linky

I think that this sums up the last couple of days quite well.

What the hell is this all about? Check out Auto-Tune on Wikipedia. Although used to good effect here, Auto-Tune in music is shizen, just ask Jay-Z.

(hat-tip to Franzy)

In case you’ve been living under a rock…

Click below for the full size version.