A pharmaceutical company (ScienceZion) wanted to test a new drug developed to
lessen the effects of the common cold. To test this drug. scientists tested one
hundred (100) volunteers, each of whom was suffering the effects of a cold. Fifty of
the people were given the drug, while the other fifty were given a placebo, a sugar
pill. None of the participants knew who was taking which pill.
All participants received a pill at 8:00 a.m. daily for the first three days of the study.
All participants lived in the same environment, with the same climate, eating the
same diet, and having the same level of activity. The severity of the cold, hence the
effectiveness of the pill, was determined by the number of tissues each person used
within a twenty four (24) hour period. At the end of a seven (7) day period it was
concluded that those with the sugar pill used the same amount of tissues as those
who had taken the new wonder drug.