OT: Stupid "scientific" research

There was a TeeVee Nooz item the other day, where the story was, "Can duct
tape cure warts?"

Well, somebody did an experiment where they took a bunch of volunteers and
half of them got duct tape on their wart and the other half got "a placebo
patch". No difference was observed between the two groups.

Well, duh! What's a "placebo patch"? The point of the duct tape is that
it keeps air off the wart - wouldn't a "placebo patch" do the same thing?

Why didn't they have a control group that didn't get any patches at all?

And maybe a group that rubbed a potato on their wart and buried it in the
back yard?

Science has really gone down the toilet lately.
</rant>

Thanks!
Rich

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