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Placebo Effect Science Prank 4-Panel Comic

This is a 4-panel web comic that uses the placebo effect as the core of its joke. In the first panel, a male doctor asks a seated patient to list any side effects from the medication he was given. The second panel shows the patient looking concerned as he describes headaches, sweating, and nausea. In the third panel, the doctor and his female assistant laugh at the patient, revealing they gave him a placebo and mocking him as 'gullible'. The final panel depicts the two medical professionals high-fiving and cheering 'SCIENCE!' triumphantly, while the patient sits stunned and betrayed. The humor stems from the absurdity of medical practitioners pranking a patient to demonstrate a scientific phenomenon, highlighting that the patient experienced real physical symptoms purely because he believed he took an active medication.
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Dialogue

Male Doctor
TELL US WHAT SIDE EFFECTS THE MEDICATION CAUSED
Patient
HEADACHES... ...SWEATING... ...NAUSEA...
Male Doctor
GUESS WHAT DUMMY! WE GAVE YOU A PLACEBO! SO GULLIBLE
Male Doctor
SCIENCE!
Female Assistant
SCIENCE!

Overview

This is a 4-panel web comic that uses the placebo effect as the core of its joke. In the first panel, a male doctor asks a seated patient to list any side effects from the medication he was given. The second panel shows the patient looking concerned as he describes headaches, sweating, and nausea. In the third panel, the doctor and his female assistant laugh at the patient, revealing they gave him a placebo and mocking him as 'gullible'. The final panel depicts the two medical professionals high-fiving and cheering 'SCIENCE!' triumphantly, while the patient sits stunned and betrayed. The humor stems from the absurdity of medical practitioners pranking a patient to demonstrate a scientific phenomenon, highlighting that the patient experienced real physical symptoms purely because he believed he took an active medication.

Origin notes

The comic is an original creation by the web comic artist 'Skeleton Claw', as confirmed by the watermarks '@SKELETON_CLAW' at the bottom left corner and 'SKELETONCLAW.COM' at the bottom right corner. It is a digital illustration web comic, likely published first on the artist's personal website (skeletonclaw.com) and shared across social media platforms like Twitter/X, Instagram, or Reddit, where independent web comic artists typically distribute their work to reach audiences.

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