WHAT SERIES SHOULD YOU WATCH ON NETFLIX AND PRIME?

I began to lose track of which season and episode I was watching on Netflix and Prime series, so I developed a tracking system on my computer.  I now know which episode in what season to watch any series.  I am now officially following 57 different series on Netflix and 55 on Prime.  Yes, you read that right...more than 100.  If I were to binge-watch all, it would take me a couple of months of constant viewing.  Of course, I have recently only focused on a few of the very best, so I have not looked at most of them at all during the past year and two.

I will soon more involve the following series:

• Prime
• The Devil's Hour, because Rotten Tomatoes reviewers gave it a 100% rating, and audiences 87%.  I was not impressed with episode 1.

• 
  The Terminal List because RT gave it 35/93 scores.  I like to at least watch one or two episodes if reviewers and audiences had such disparate ratings.  I usually agree with audiences.
• Season 6 of Billions, got a 100% score, but I would need to begin with Season 1 with only a 78 score.
• Bosch started at 84, but scored 100 for the five subsequent seasons.
• I watched two episodes of The Returned, but stopped because it is about zombies, and I just don't want to waste my time on this subject.  Has RT scores of 100/94.

• 
  The Americans got a 100% rating in Season 6.
• I'm into episode 5 of Mozart in the Jungle because it has 94/90 scores, with 100 in Season 4.  Like what I've seen so far.

• 
  Humans, a Swedish production with William Hurt got 100% in Season 3.  He passed away last year.
• Trapped, from Iceland, scored 100/96, and I saw episode 1, but was not impressed.
• Fleabag has 2 Seasons with overall 100/93 scores.

• 
  James May Oh Cook! got 100% in Season 1, with him in Japan for Season 2.
• Wayne has 100/98 ratings.  I watched one episode and don't remember why I did not return.
• American Princess has 71/100 ratings.
• Catastrophe got 100% in seasons 1, 2 and 3.
• Sneaky Pete got 100% in Season 3.

• 
  Eureka hit 100% in Season 5, but only 59 in Season 1.  Whoops...animation.
• The Expanse got 100% in Seasons 3, 4 and 5.  I saw an episode and did not want to invest my time viewing 62 episodes.
• One Mississippi got 100% in Season 2.
• Both Orphan Black (interesting sci fi) and The Man in the High Castle (about what might have happened if Germany/Japan won WWII) are into advanced seasons with high scores, but no 100%.  I'll someday return.

• 
  The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan (from 1967) earned 100% in its only season of 17 episodes.  Watch the first two episodes here.
• Endeavor got 100% in Seasons 5 and 7.  About murder in Oxford.  8 seasons might be a bit much.
• The Planets got 100/100, but I don't think it is now available for free.  
• That's one problem with Prime, for series come and go with little warning.
• 
  Netflix series are alway free and available.
• Many of the them I am currently watching are from South Korea and are not rated by Rotten Tomatoes.  Here are the best, some rated.

• 
  Extraordinary Attorney Woo, actually given 100/91 scores by RT.  Just completed episode 16, the last one, last night. Each is a little more than an hour long.  Worthy of those scores.  Here is an article about why it earned 100%.  She's an autistic savant, more specifically, with Asperger's Syndrome, and you'll fall in love with her.

• 
  Thirty Nine, /86, about three friends. Okay, but not as good as...
•  Something in the Rain, /86, a love story, also starring Son Ye-Jin.  Stand by Your Man will become one of your favorite songs.
• Crash Landing on You, /98, another Son Ye-Jin success.  10 episodes. Well worth your time.

• 
  Also completed Vincenzo, /94, about a Korean who grew up in Italy, became a consigliere for the Mafia, and returns home.  Really entertaining, but there are 20 episodes and they are all around an hour long...some up to 84 minutes.  Apprently, there will be a season 2.
• 
  Squid Game, /95, Korean survival game.  Only watched three episodes, and will soon return.  There will be a season 2.
• One Spring Night, /100, 16 episodes, each 70 minutes long.   Another love story, the male in Something in the Rain.  Haven't had time to start this series.
• 
  Home Town Ch-Cha-Cha, /100, opposites meet in a love story, 16 episodes, each 70 minutes long.  Same.
• Navillera, /100 ballerino, 10 episodes.
• Move to Heaven, /97, 10 episodes, ?
• Law School, /100, 10 episodes.
• The Uncanny Counter, /96, 10 episodes, sci-fi.
• Among the others.
• Breaking Bad, has been around for awhile in five seasons, with a couple earning 100% from RT.
• 
  Better Call Saul, 98/96, with Season 6 awaiting play.  Saw all earlier seasons and will definitely watch the final one.  Don't know why, because the story is about an almost lovable louche committing minor immoral swindles.  Bob Odenkirk is priceless, here with his life partner, played by Kim Wexler.  In the show, got his law degree from the fictitious University of American Samoa.  This is a prequel/sequel to Breaking Bad.  Has won more than 100 awards.
• 
  Makanai, 92/93, about geisha life in Kyoto for two newcomers. 9 episodes.
• Kleo, 100/62, from Germany, a spy story after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. 8 episodes.
• Paper Girls, 91/90, about time travel. 8 episodes.
• There are several worthy food series:
• Midnight Diner, 100/95, 3 seasons, and I might have seen them all.  Excellent
• Samurai Gourmet, /98, 13 episodes, 30 min.  I've watched about half of them.
• Street Food Asia, 100/82, 9 episodes.  I'm on #3.
• Ugly Delicious, 100/69,  8 and 4 episodes, David Chang.  I'm on e3 on s1.

• 
  Katla, 100/80, Iceland, 8 episodes, volcano eruption and mystery.
• Biohackers, 100/82, Germany, 2 seasons with 6 episodes, medical student mystery.

• 
  4400, 4 seasons, #4 is 100, comet returns to earth with super powers of previous occupants.
• Last Tango in Halifax, 94/89, 5 seasons, 6 episodes, I'm now in Season 3, episode 7.  Endearing.
• Life in Color, /90, documentary, David Attenborough, 3 episodes.  I'm on #2.
• Amend: the Fight for America, 100/87, Will Smith, Mahershala Ali, Samuel Jackson. Documentary.

• 
  Lupin, 97/78, 7 episodes, French comedy-mystery.  I'm on #3.  Okay.  Season 3 coming.
• Travelers, 100/95, time travelers, 3 seasons, 10 episodes each.  I'm on S1 e6. Fine.

• 
  Call My Agent, 97/98, 4 seasons, 6 episodes each, French comedy.  On episode 2 of season 1.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000, 87/97, 13 seasons, many 100%.  Great.  Have no idea where I am in this series.  Almost doesn't matter.  If you've never seen this, try it once, you'll be hooked.

• 
  Alice in Borderland, 83/90, Japanese, 2 seasons, 6 episodes each.  Video games.
• Fauda, 100/88, 4 seasons, 12 episodes each.  Israel intelligence.  I'm up to ep 5 of S2.  Excellent.
• Borgen, 100/93, 3 seasons with 10 episodes each, Denmark.  I'm up to e4 in season 1.

• 
  A Good Place, 97/89, 4 seasons with 12 and 13 episodes, Ted Danson, Kristen Bell, Heaven? I'm in e3 in S1.  Charming.
• Babylon Berlin, /92, 4 seasons, 8 and 12 episodes, German, spy.  I'm in season 3.  Worthy.
• Mindhunter, 97/95, FBI and serial killers, 2 seasons with 9 and 10 episodes.

• 
  Schitt's Creek, 93/92, with Seasons 2, 4, 5 and 6 at 100, but S1 only 68.  12 to 14 episodes.  Not sure where I am.
• Kim's Convenience, /86, 5 seasons of 13 episodes.  Not sure where I am.
• The Great British Baking Show, /86, though S6 100, 13 seasons of 10 episodes each.  I've seen a couple.

• 
  The Confession Killer, 100/91, 5 episodes, Henry Lee Lucas confesses, unsettling.
• Osmosis, 100/64, 8 episodes, Paris dating ap.
• Crazyhead, 100/79, demons, 6 episodes.
• Rectify, 95/91, S3 and S4 100, varying episodes, criminal released and his life.
• Rake, 100/82, 5 seasons, most 100%, Australian barrister with self-destructive tendencies.
• Lovesick, 98/91, 3 seasons, S2 and S3 100, intimate with many, goes back to tell them he has a sexually transmissible disease.

• 
  Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, 96/83, rescued from a cult after 15 year, new life in NYC.
• Abstract: the Art of Design, 100/90, 2 seasons, 8 episodes, different designers.
• Lenox Hill, 100/97, 9 episodes, medical profession.
• Middleditch and Schwartz, 100/96, 3 episodes, improv.

• 
  Derry Girls, 99/93, 6 and 7 episodes, Northern Ireland comedy of teen girls.
• One Day at a Time, 99/90, 4 seasons, 3 at 100%. 13 episodes for first 3, 7e for fourth?, Remake of One Day at a Time.
• Alias Grace, 99/88, 6 episodes, Canadian, Margaret Atwood novel, murder.
• Easy, 90/85, 3 seasons, 8 and 9 episodes, S3 100, Chicago life.

• 
  New Girl, 95/84, 7 seasons, 22-25 episodes each, #4, 5 and 7 100, Zooey Deschanel moves in with three single guys.
• Shameless, 82/82, 11 seasons, mostly 12 episodes, S 4, 6 and 8 100, but S10 only 20%.
• Love on the Spectrum, 100/89, 2 seasons, 5 episodes, Australian, seven young adults on the autism spectrum date.

• 
  Startup, 36/89, 3 seasons, 10 episodes, tech entrepreneurs and the FBI.
• Stargate SG-1, /89, 10 seasons, 1999-2006, space travel through a portal.
• Imposters, 93/90, 2 seasons with episodes. Con artist Maddie, beautiful and dangerous.

Binge Central provides the 85 best Prime Video TV shows as of this month.  I'll provide some details if not shown above.  The numbers refer to Rotten Tomatoes reviewers ratings.

• 
  #1    Fleabag  100
• #2    The Legend of Vox Machina  100 (2 seasons, a band of 8 heroes and magical forces, 100/96)
• #3    The Kids in the Hall  100 (8 episodes from Canada of a comedy troupe, 100/86)

• 
  #4    Lularich  100 (4 episodes, pyramid scheme, 100/89)
• #5    Lizzo's Watch out for the Big Grrrls  100 (Lizo searches for fat dancers, 100/57)
• #6    With Love:  Season 1  100 (family life, 100/71)
• #7    The Devil's Hour  100
• #8    Catastrophe  98
• #9    Invincible  98 (animation, 98/92)
• #10  Small Axe  97  (London's West Indian community, 97/75)
• #11  Bosch  97
• #12  Undone  97  (life after death repeats, 97/91...I think I saw a couple of episodes)
• #13  A Very English Scandal  97 (Hugh Grant, 97/79)

• 
  #15  One Mississippi 96
• #16  Sneaky Pete  96
• #18  The Expanse  94
• #22  Mozart in the Jungle  94
• #33  Paper Girls  91
• #53  The Man in the High Castle  84
• #73  Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan  73

Here is the Binge Central 100 best list for Netflix as of this month.  I have an aversion to animated films.

• #1    The Baby-Sitters Club  100 (S1 10 episodes and S2 8e,100/84)

• 
  #2    Heartstopper  100 (8 episodes, young love, 100/96)
• #3    Aggretsuko  100, animation
• #4    ?????
• #5    Mo  100 ( two cultures, Palestinian refugee  100/88)
• #6    The Dragon Prince  100, animation
• #7    Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts  100, animation
• #8    Arcane  100, animation
• #9    Blood of Zeus  100, animation
• #10  Maya and the Three  100, animation
• #11  Cyberpunk  100, animation
• #12  The Order  100 (dark family secrets, 2 season, both 100)
• #13  Hilda  100, animation
• #14  Katla  100
• #15  Big Mouth  99%, animation
• #16  Derry Girls  99
• #20  Lupin  97
• #24  The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt  96

• 
  #25  The Queen's Gambit  96, a chess movie...very good
• #26  Unorthodox  96,  new life away...also very good
• #30  Squid Game  95
• #33  Kobra Kai  94...saw a few episodes, did not return, might later
• #40  Peaky Blinders  93
• #41  The Kominsky Method  93...saw one episode, featuring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin, who passed away...will return.

So with all those choices above, what should you watch.? Here is one example of me wavering. 

I'll end with Prime's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan,  now into season 3, but has not scored super well on Rotten Tomatoes to gain my attention.  Season 1 got a so-so 75 reviewer's score.  However, the audience gave it an 88.  Season 2 plummeted to 67/58, so that was easy to avoid.  Season 3 is up to 85/78, somewhat enticing me to watch.  Each season has 8 episodes, running from 45 minutes to a little more than an hour, so where should I start?  Doing the multiplication, that would mean almost 24 hours if I start at the beginning.  And there will be a Season 4, so make that 32 hours. There must be a dozen Korean/Spanish/other series hovering near or at 100, so I'm already spreading myself too thin.

Jack Ryan premiered on 31August2018 on Amazon Prime Video, starring John Krasinski.  For those who remember Ryan, there have been films starring Alex Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine.  There are now three seasons, with a fourth to come as the last.  Ryan is heroic, but vulnerable.  Michael Pena will appear in Season 4 as Ding Chavez, another Clancy hero, to become Rainbow Six, a spin-off.

To summarize:

• 
  Season 1 has Dr. Ryan as a low-level CIA analyst who is wrenched from the security of his desk job into the field to ferret out dubious bank transfers carried out by a rising Islamic extremist group named Suleiman.
• Season 2 finds him in the middle of political warfare in corrupt Venezuela.
• Season 3, said to be the best, has Jack investigating a plot to recreate the former Soviet Union by detonating an untraceable nuclear bomb in a former Soviet territory.
• Season 4, when Abbie Cornish as Jack's romantic interest Cathy Mueller returns, where Ryan saves the world again.  Pena also joins the full-time cast.
• You can read all the details in Wikipedia.

All three seasons are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, so you can immediately binge watch.  Me, I'm still thinking about that.

I was supposed to shop today for a variety of items.  However....guess what?

-

EGGS....and SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES

Okay, why are eggs so expensive?  Actually, if the media did not inform me, I would not have noticed.  However, the average person in the U.S. eats nearly an egg a day (278/year), and is troubled by a doubling of the price.  From the New York Times this morning:

One reason is the price of feed:

But grain prices were higher a decade or so ago, and there was no effect on the cost of eggs then.  

So what about avian flu?  Yes, there were outbreaks last year, and 44 million egg-laying hens were killed.  43 million similar birds were sacrifice eight years ago, and the price of eggs did jump, but not quite as much now.  Further, 44 million hens only account for 10% of all egg-layers.

Some might actually turn to alternatives, but eggs are eggs and can't really be substituted.  Anyway, people today go shopping and barely notice a $5 item.  We'll survive this crisis.

Oh, another piece of news.  There are reports that 200,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the Ukraine war.  President Vladimir Putin, on the 80th anniversary of their triumph in World War II, vowed that Russia will be victorious again.

However, Wikipedia shows lower numbers.  Maybe when you add wounded this could be.

Changing the subject again, I've always liked Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.  The song was written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical Roberta.  The first recorded performance was by Gertrude Niesen (left), under the orchestral direction of Ray Sinatra, Frank's second cousin.  The B-side was Jealousy, another of my favorite.  Well, not this one.  The song I remember was actually titled Jalousie, composed by Jacob Gade in 1925.  The first hit recording of SGIYE, however, was by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in 1934.

My all-time favorite is by Irene Dunne, who performed the song in the 1935 film Roberta, co-starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Randolph Scott.  If you click on that, you can see the whole film, rated 86/66 by Rotten Tomatoes.  Here, Dunne singing Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.

Lovely to Look At was a 1952 film remake, with Kathryn Grayson's Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.    My second favorite.

Most remember the 1958 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by the Platters, which hit #1.  I used this version because it has the lyrics about what the song is all about.  This second version shows them singing.

There have of course been numerous also popular renditions:

• 
  Benny Goodman Orchestra.
• Glenn Miller recorded this song in 1944, but soon died in World War II, and this performance wasn't released until 1995.

• 
  Nat King Cole sang it.
• Jo Stafford.
• Blue Haze in 1972.

By now you know that the the so-called greatest of all-time Tom Brady finally retired from football as the oldest starting quarterback at the age of 45.  Well, there is a new film, 80 for Brady, with his participation, and starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sally Field and Rita Moreno.  Their combined age is 335.  Now you know the reason for the title.  Rotten Tomatoes reviewers did not like it, giving it 64%, but audiences scored it at 88%.  Good preparation for the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 12.

-

THE COVID-19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY WILL END IN THE U.S. ON MAY 11

   From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

          DAY  USA  WORLD    Brazil    India    South Africa

2020

June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82

July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572

Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130

Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82

Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85

Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118

Dec    30       3880    14748       1224       299      465

2021

Jan     14       4142    15512       1151        189     712

Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398

Mar      2       1989     9490        1726       110      194

April     6        906    11787         4211       631       37

May     4        853     13667        3025      3786     59 

June    1        287    10637         2346      3205      95

 July    7         251      8440        1595        817      411

Aug     4         656    10120        1118        532      423 

Sept   22      2228      9326          839       279     124

Oct      6       2102      8255          543       315       59

Nov    3        1436      7830         186        458       23

Dec     1       1633      8475          266        477       28

2022

Jan     7        2025      6729         148         285     140

Feb     2        2990   12012          946        991      175

Mar     2        1778     7756          335         173       28 

Apr     1          439      4056         290          52       12

May    5          225      2404         151            ?        64

June    2         216      1413         130          10        31

July    6          316      1627         335           35       12 

Aug    4          311       2138         258          70         ?

Sep    1          272       1732         174            ?         ?

Oct     6          281       1305         119            9         ?

Nov    3          167         980           16            ?         ?

        25            88         985           71             3        ?  

Dec    3          149       1029         131            3         ?

          8          194       1320         104             6       86

        15          147       1295         124             4         ?

        22          289       1637         165             9         ?

        28          296       1768         337             2         ?

Jan    5           220       1611         183            ?         ?

        11           408       1645           96            ?         ?    

        12           270       1470         128            ?         ?

        19           225       1775         480            ?         ?

        26           351       1361           92            1         7

Feb    1           221       1261         126            ?         ?

Summary:

• 
  This might be the last time I show this table, for reporting of data is becoming more and more uneven, and China is not even included.  All signs point to that country dominating the world for two months.  It's probable that China has had more cases and deaths than the rest of the world, combined since December, and could well have been much, much worse.  Want to know more about China and covid?  Here is a rather thorough report, dated 2February2023.  Note that China Briefing emanates from Beijing, so you can determine yourself if all the truth is here.  However, the parent company, Dezan Shira & Associates, has foreign roots.

• 
  But for the record, yesterday Japan had the most new deaths with 308, USA #2 221 and Germany #3 154, while Japan was #1 in new cases with 55,538, Taiwan #2 with 31,765 and USA #3 with 24,388.

• 
  The sense is that these countries are the ones that do the most accurate reporting, so therefore are at the top.  However, Time magazine just reported that the U.S. still doesn't have good COVID-19 data and why:
• Hospitalizations, for example, are confusing and confused with other ailments.
• Dr. Leana Wen thought that deaths are likely overcounted, while others say this is undercounted.
• Reporting of state data to the CDC is uneven and subject to interpretation.
• Reporting of city/town data to their state is poor.
• Doctors don't have a national set of criteria for determining whether covid caused the death.
• There is very little testing done in hospitals for various reasons.
• There is a lack of demographic information.
• We seem to be chasing every variant and boosting everyone when this might not be necessary.
• There is insufficient data on what underlying cause is important, and what is not.  Turns out that high blood pressure is particularly bad, but this bit of info is NOT used in determining hospitalizations.

On top of all that, the Biden Administration has announced that our pandemic will no longer be considered a national or public health emergency.  

• Thus, on May 11, you're mostly on your own.  
• That's more than symbolic, for this means the government will stop footing the bill for all things related to covid, like tests, vaccines and treatments.  
• This will certainly affect those without an adequate medical plan--for states will now be able to dis-enroll marginal citizens, whatever they determine those might be.  Perhaps 15 million will no longer qualify for Medicaid.
• Any supplements to the needy will be discontinued.
• Private insurers will only assist in certain restricted circumstances.   
• That category called in-network or out-of-network providers will confuse everyone.  
• But it might not be all that bad for a while regarding vaccinations, for there remains the fact that they do prevent deaths.
• Part of this White House motivation is that Congress has not authorized more funding for much of the above, and the House will absolutely not be cooperative into the foreseeable future.
• Pfizer and Moderna will likely charge from $82 to $132/vaccine dose, about 3 to 4 times more than was paid by the government.  But those enrolled in a major medical plan will still have any upcoming vaccinations covered.
• Liability insurance for pharmacists regarding vaccinations will expire.
• Interestingly enough, much of telehealth will continue.
• Further, it is appearing that Paxlovid and other antiviral drugs will remain covered by Medicare.  This today cost the government $500/course.
• You might think Biden's declaration should not affect immigration or student loans, but it will in strange ways.  Keep track of what is happening to Title 42 and the forgiving of student loans to understand why.
• As "poorly" as U.S. covid reporting might be today, it will only get worse.
• No doubt, having heard that the pandemic is essentially over on May 11, fewer people will wear masks and bother about vaccinations.  Will there thus be another bump in the summer?

So what can you do....now?  For sure, stock up on free at-home COVID-19 tests.  Medicare and most medical plans reimburse the cost of up to 8 at-home tests/person/month.  Also ascertain about those free government issued tests.  Of course, these tests have expiration dates.  What are they?  Click here.

To end, if you are set to take an annual dementia test, we are now into 2023, a Thursday, February the second, or 2.  Valentine's Day is coming, but this is not a leap year.  2024 is.

If divisible by 4, it is a leap year.  Well, not quite, for 1700, 1899, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300...following this pattern...are not.  Go to this site for the mathematics of leap years.  So until 2100, every coming Summer Olympics will be in a year that has February 29.

-

THE POWER OF THE PLACEBO EFFECT

The placebo effect is a beneficial health outcome resulting from a person's anticipation that an intervention will help.  Placebo is Latin for I shall please.  Two related examples are self-fulfilling prophecy and the Pygmalion Effect.

The placebo response rate could be as high as from 35% to 40%, according to the Journal of American Medical Association.  Medical News Today has reported that this effect could range from 16% to 71.4%, depending on the ailment.  

• A more caring approach can enhance the effect.  In the case of Parkinson's disease, where 16% showed significant improvements, sometimes lasting for 6 months, the reason was due to dopamine release in the striatum.  
• The placebo effect is at the interface of biology and psychology.  

• 
  There is now more information on why acupuncture and reiki do help some people.  
• Doctors are more and more being taught that if science cannot separate a medicine from a placebo, shouldn't they use this information to some advantage?

According to Harvard:

• Your mind can be a powerful healing tool when given the chance.
• Placebos will make you feel better, but will not cure you. 
• Effective for pain management, stress-related insomnia and cancer treatment side effects like fatigue and nausea.
• They won't work to lower your cholesterol or shrink a tumor.

In testing a medical therapy, whether it be a pill or treatment (like ultrasonics), one group takes the pill in consideration, but others will instead be given a placebo pill or no real ultrasonic, just some noise.  This process can check the real effectiveness of the pill.  Even the administering doctor many times does not know the details.  Something called double-blind placebo control trials seem now to be the standard.  Government regulatory agencies now require the use of the placebo effect, as immoral as some might think it is.  About the ethics, in 2002, the World Medical Association established conditions when the placebo effect can be utilized.

There is a second method that uses natural history groups:

• Active drug.
• Placebo drug.
• Natural history group who receives no treatment of any kind.

The expectation is that the placebo group will fall somewhere between an "effective" drug and one where no drug is given.

Some history, in 1747, James Lind, the ship's doctor on the HMS Salisbury conducted the first clinical trial when he investigated the efficacy of citrus fruit to prevent scurvy.  The placebo ranged from vinegar to weak sulfuric acid to cider.  The other half were given two oranges and one lemon each day.  Only the citrus acid group managed to avoid scurvy.

More about placebos:

• Remember that time can heal, whether you apply medication, placebo or, as in this case, nothing.
• If a patient in treatment sees any sign of getting better, it tends to ignore the negative and focus on the positive.  Like the Hawthorn Effect, we change our behavior when we know we are being watched, in this example towards optimism.

• 
  Most of us have personally experienced being administered pills or shots, where our health improved.  When we are given a placebo, we hope to expect the same cure.
• Studies show that post-operative patients whose painkillers are distributed by a hidden robot pump need TWICE as much drug as when they see a nurse applying the drug.

• 
  Can't imagine this actually happening, but research suggests that fake surgeries, where the surgeon makes some incision, not doing anything else, is more effective than placebo pills.
• There is a term called the NOCEBO effect where negative expectations make people feel worse.  so your state of mind makes a big difference.  A good case for optimism.

• 
  Originally, it was thought that our brain was at the center of bringing about the placebo effect, for doctors have fooled the brain by changing from real medication to placebos, and the pain reduction continued, even though there was no chemically-added reason for such a reaction.  In essence, our brain learned to associate taking a pill with relief, and started to produce the chemicals to kick-start that relief.

• 
  We more and more learn that our body organs can act independently of the brain, for in one test, participants were given a sweet drink along with a pill that contained an immune suppressant drug for a few days.  Without notice, the drug was swapped with a placebo, and our body still showed a decreased immune response.  The decreased production of interleukin in cells continued, with no apparent influence of the brain.
• Not only pills, but when someone sees people get relief from a device, such as during an electroshock experiment, a similar placebo response occurs when this viewer is hooked up to the machine.  The power of positive thinking.

• 
  Acupuncture?  Depends on who is doing the administering.
• In an experiment with 260 participants, the group that interacted with someone who empathized with the patient got the best results for irritable bowel syndrome.
• Better than the group where that person showed no warmth, and also with the third that still awaited attention.

• 
  In short, placebos work best for symptoms at the murky boundary between the physical and psychological:  helpful for pain, nausea, asthma and phobias from ailments like smoking, dementia, depression, obesity hypertension, insomnia and anxiety.
• For example, asthma patients were sorted into four groups:  inhaler with albuterol, inhaler with a placebo, something called sham acupuncture in that there was no actual body intrusion and nothing.  Here were the results:

Even though participants experience the above, a subsequent check of lung functioning showed the following:

In short, this experiment seemed to indicate that those symptoms modulated by the mind work best for placebos and non-traditional remedies like acupuncture.

In any case, there is ample evidence that placebos can result in release of opioids and other endomorphins (chemicals that reduce pain) in the brain.  In addition:

• 
  The periaqueductal gray matter, a region of the brain key for pain management, shows increased activity under the effect of a placebo.
• Patients with Alzheimer's disease start to show a diminished placebo response due to degradation of their frontal lobes.
• 
  Deception works, but if a doctor actually tells a patient all he is providing is a placebo pill, would this work?  Ted Kuptchuk of Harvard did for irritable bowel syndrome and lower back pain.  Symptoms actually got better.  The explanation is that we all have deep-seated conditioned memory, and just your doctor providing this identified placebo can have a positive effect.

Will placebo therapy, deceptively or not, be integrated into the medical profession?  There seems to be more of this and Eastern medicine (which is not really scientific) entering standard practices.  Kuptchuk says this would change the mostly art of medicine into the developing science of medicine.  Just the opposite of the traditional attitude today.

Well heck, if placebos work for medicine, what about in sports?  Here is an article that suggests sprint performance be enhanced.

Finally, the placebo effect only works if you are convinced it will work.  There are devices sold today that probably only work because of the placebo effect.  Are they ethical?  Legal?  They are in the realm of Eastern medicine and neuropathy, and also gaining in credence.

I found one fairly comprehensive 2019 study of 100 active duty and retired service men and women with chronic pain undergoing treatment at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.  Researchers compared three treatments:  Tennant Biomodulator, traditional Chinese acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).  They all showed a 16% pain reduction.  There must have been some logic to the fact that the result was the same for all three.  No placebo group was utilized.  Too bad, for if they also saw a 16% improvement, that would have pinpointed the reason.

The report said that 126 million Americans (38%) suffer from chronic pain, leading to an annual loss of $635 billion to the U.S. economy.  If a safer solution can be found, opioid problems can be reduced.  So these non-traditional practices can play an important role in our daily life.

The report is rather comprehensive and should be read if you have an interest in this subject.  In summary:

• All three interventions produced significant reductions in chronic pain over 6 weeks of treatment.  The biomodulator was only used at the most basic setting.

• 
  There was no effect on PTSD and depression symptoms.
• While the pain reduction was only 16%, whatever that means, there was a sense that they all should be considered by the general public, for they carry low risk, and are a heck a lot safer than opioid use.
• As the Tennant Biomodulator can be operated at home without medical supervision, it was recommended to be included in a larger scale test to explore the more advanced features.  Interestingly enough, a placebo group was advised to be added to the next trial.

I'll end with a comedy routine.  Someone from Maui...no, Mali....no, Malawi.

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