­Researchers, doctors and laymen alike have long known of the power of the placebo. When people believe a sugar pill is going to cure their ills, they tend to feel better after taking one. Of course, if the malady is more serious than a head cold or anxiety, a sugar pill may trick your mind into believing in its curative powers, but the rest of the body won't be so easily be fooled. The placebo effect depends upon the hyping and selling of a worthless bill of goods, and that's something that charlatans can deliver. Once you have a crowd believing that your jar of colored water will cure all their aches and pains, statistically about one-third of those who buy your product will be completely satisfied and spread the news of your miracle cure for you. By the time the remaining two-thirds catch on, you -- the fraud -- have moved on to the next town, the next cure or the next world.