The First Case of a Placebo in Homeopathy

The first case I could find of somebody using a placebo in a medical trial happened in 1784. Louis the 16th's wife, Marie Antoinette had been quite taken by the wooings and the seducings of Dr. Mesmer. In France, they just want to tickle you with a feather duster in your undercarriage. It cures everything, even headaches. And Washington, uh, owned a set of tract metallic tractors.