Placebo (origins of technical term)

When you go to the doctor, you might get a medicine that makes you feel better because you think it will help you, even if it doesn't actually do anything. This is called a placebo.

The word placebo comes from a Latin word that means “I shall please.” This is because the original use of placebo was in a religious ceremony where people would say prayers to make someone feel better, even if they couldn't actually cure them.

In modern medicine, placebos are still used in studies to see how effective a real medicine is compared to just believing you are taking something that will make you better. It's a way for scientists to tell if a medicine is really working or if it's just the power of people's beliefs making them feel better. So, even if it’s just a sugar pill, if you believe it will help you, it might!