As Told to Charla Lautar
Dear Dr. Lautar:
I wonder if you could help me. Recently, while walking in the Pyrenees with two friends, both professors of psychiatry, I
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| John W Knutson |
told the story [my] father told me…several times as well as others. The professors thought it was a wonderful example of an accidental and excellent experiment. They asked if there was any published reference for it. I’ve searched the Web and haven’t found one.
I know it was a long time ago ― probably around 1950, or soon after. Please, could you suggest people or places I could contact?
Thank you,
Paul Knutson
knutson@blueyonder.co.uk
This is the story Paul wrote:
Water Fluoridation Implementation as an Accidental Placebo
Dad never actually called it a placebo. He told many stories about the fluoridation trials and implementation, the congressional hearings, and the many names he was called.
Some time after Grand Rapids, the PHS was implementing [water fluoridation] in another city, and the “switch on” was due to take place at, say, 4 p.m. on Monday. But there was a glitch in the machinery and they weren’t able to get things ready for Monday. Rather than announce the delay (and have to then announce the new date), they said nothing and switched on a day late.
On the Monday evening the phones didn’t stop ringing, with people complaining of the taste, stained teeth, headaches, etc. The newspapers and the anti’s had a field day (or a field “few hours”) before the change was revealed.