Learned a new word today -- nocebo -- which I never knew existed.

Yeah, I heard it before, but a nocebo effect of taking aspirin has made me think I had forgotten it.

Good word, Proof! And, it reminds me about that fabulous Boing Boing Blog. I'll add it to our thread on good blogs. I have a special affection for them because they printed one of my OEDILF limericks once:

The arteries carry the blood;
Without them our bodies would flood.
They're elasticized — sorta;
The chief's the aorta.
If it ruptures, that's all for you, Bud!

A nocebo (Latin for "I will harm") is something that should be ineffective but which causes symptoms of ill health. A nocebo effect is an ill effect caused by the suggestion or belief that something is harmful. The term 'nocebo' became popular in the 1990s. Prior to that, both pleasant and harmful effects thought to be due to the power of suggestion were usually referred to as being due to the placebo effect.