The Artistic and Cultural Significance of Postage Stamps

Chances are you know what a placebo is, but... how does it really work? And what can its evolution teach us about science, medicine, and ethics? And how much art can fit a tiny postage stamp? Well enough to fill a whole history of debate, drama, and ducks.

Images we Talk About:
Drafts of England's First Stamp
Sydney Views Stamp
The Train Stamp
2025 Duck Stamp Winners
McBroom's Spite Duck

Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:02:20) The Evolution of Placebos
(00:57:13) Postage Stamp Art
(01:41:17) Outro

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We also learn about: 

The word placebo has escaped academic containment, fake mourners saying “I will please the lord”, placebo paint on birds wings, placebo as sham, The Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism, not that kind of animal magnetism, placebo as psychology, is this going to be a running bit, defining placebo not in reference to something else, “a person’s psychological response to being treated”, things like healing through time or pressure to answer are Not placebo effects, placebo effects are tricky to study, animals can get the placebo effect, goo goo ga ga am I in the contwal gwoup? conditioning rats that a smell means reduced pain, the internal and external factors of placebo, the placebo effect is actually doing things in your brain, of course we talked about that before on episode TWENTY EIGHT, Ella loves brain action, you can consciously fail a placebo but unconsciously pass it, the nocebo effect, it may be just in your head but your head is a lot of things, the murky ethics of placebos, doctors are mostly prescribing harmless placebos when patients ask for one, Caroline & Ella’s sleeping pill and recovery position placebos, HOLY SHIT PLACEBO EVOLVED INTO CHARIZARD HELL YEAH, some placebos work when you tell people it’s a placebo, placebo pills take 2 twice daily, wait is this actually just about the importance of transparent and accessible and trustworthy medical care?? the American Philatelic Society, Tom used stamps as stickers, Ella’s friend’s giant mimic stamp, the public was aroused by post office reform - not just us! every contestant of the first stamp contest was revoked, it took 4 artists to design the first stamp, no monarch stamps unless they’re hot, the Universal Postal Union is the second oldest international organization, the absolutely HATED train stamp, philatelic propaganda, Operation Cornflakes, the Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee’s incredible process, so you’re saying we can’t make an Iraq War stamp, so you’re saying the UK can make a 9/11 stamp, stamps are of the most visible pieces of art, the duck stamp is the only art competition sponsored by the government,  the super bowl of wild life art, are you a celebrity if oyu haven’t won a DEGOT? stamp advisors with reduction glasses, duck stamp royalty, Broome’s incredible spite art, stamps didn’t have to be art - but we’re glad they are.

Sources:
The Americal Philatelic Society
The Postal Museum London: The Penny Black
Swiss National Museum: Stamps
Wiki: Postage Stamp Design
Linns Stamps: New South Wales Pictorial Stamp
Smithsonian Postal Museum: International Philately
Universal Posta Union
2011 Book: Book of History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of America
US Postal Service: Creating U.S. Postage Stamps
The Postal Museum London: Stamp Design
WWT: Duck Stamps
Scientific America: The Duck Stamp
Fish and Wildlife Service: 2024 Duck Stamp Winner
Million Dollar Duck Video- Taylor and McBroom Rivalry
New York Times: Rising to Glory on the Wings of Ducks
Print Magazine: The Extraordinary Design Journey of a Stamp—From Quasi-Secret Society to Perforated Perfection
Image: The First Stamp Design Evolution
Image: 1869 Pictorial Stamp- 3 Cent Train Stamp
2024 Duck Stamp Entries
Image: McBroom: Comrade Tim Taylor
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Etymology of Placebos & Placebo History
Placebo Review
Wikipedia Placebo in History
Beecher's The Powerful Placebo
The Powerful Placebo: Fact or Fiction?
Nature Overview: Placebo - Honesty Fakery
Textbook Chapter: Placebo Analgesia in Rodents
The Neuroscience of Placebo Effects
Benedetti's Great 2 Placebos Experiment
NPR on Prescribing Placebos
Guardian on Prescribing Placebos
Kaptchuk's Great Open Label Placebo Study
Finniss et al. Placebo Review