In the late 1700s, German physician Anton Mesmer was enthralling Europe, curing conditions from nervous disorders to blindness, or so he claimed.
According to Mesmer, an invisible magnetic fluid animated all living beings, and disturbances to it caused illness.
For so-called treatment, Mesmer had his clientele form a chain around a contraption filled with water he allegedly magnetized.
Then, with waves of his hands, patients would fall into fits that would supposedly restore their health.
Some, however, were skeptical, including King Louis XVI, who tasked renowned researchers with interrogating Mesmer's methods in 1784.
They conducted science's first-ever blind placebo trial, informing participants that they were receiving the magnetized treatment, though they weren't, and vice versa.
The committee ultimately concluded that any positive outcomes weren't attributable to magnetism.
Instead, they were results of the participants' own imaginations, responding to suggestions about the treatment's effectiveness.
Mesmer disappeared, but the tantalizing takeaway remained.
And decades later, Scottish surgeon James Braid began utilizing aspects of mesmerism, minus the magnetism.
