Placebo Me...

Stud told me about placebo buttons today. Apparently there is a large percentage of Walk buttons at pedestrian crossing in America that don't actually do anything when pressed. The Walk light does change but is automatic and when people see them change, they attribute it to their pressing of the button. It's partly to give people the illusion of control and also the lights were made automatic but the cost of replacing the housings with buttonless versions was not cost effective.

Lift Open Door buttons are another example. Pressing the door buttons on some lifts won't do anything unless a key is used in conjunction with them and are designed for maintenance and emergency services. You just attribute the button push to the action of the door opening or closing.

I use placebos on my children all the time. In fact Bethany's skint knee today rolled out the Daddy's special cream to put in the bath water so it doesn't sting when it gets wet. Daddy's special cream is in fact his after shave moisturiser but the effect works.