This advertisement is a fake*, but it still got my attention. Why? Because I can imagine a scenario where a product like this exists, and where a company would try to use the pseudoscience behind homeopathy to market the product.





If you can't see the text, it reads: Evessla, the homeopathic birth control pill. Up to 100% effective, no side effects, and made with real human fetus. (wtf?)





The small print?





" * When used in conjunction with a condom or withdrawal. Effectiveness is reduced if sexual intercourse occurs during ovulation. Do not consult your family doctor. Fetal ingredients obtained strictly from miscarriages."





Ok, so why is this ad even plausible?

The "law of infinitesimals" in homeopathy states that dilution of the medical ingredient increases the curative power of homeopathy medications. The medical ingredient often gives the "opposite" side effect of the desired result. For example, you'd take a homeopathic dose of caffeine as a sleep aid. In our Evessla example, you'd take a... well, you get the picture (and hence, the joke).





Back to the law of infinitesimals: this means that a part-per-million solution of a substance is more medicinally powerful than a part-per-thousand solution, which has in turn more curative power than a part-per-hundred solution. In contrast, many of our modern drugs are ineffective in small quantities and the efficacy increases with dosage.





Let us put modern medicine aside and consider the dosages involved in homeopathy.

Homeopathic medicines come in 12x, 24x, 28x dilutions ("28x" means the solution has been diluted 28 times) . If a substance were to be diluted 30 times, this means that there would be one part medicine to one trillion quadrillion parts water (or other inert ingredient). That's a 1 with 27 zeros, or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.





water. Nothing more. Yet, it is sold, and What does this mean? It means that a homeopathic solution is effectively. Nothing more. Yet, it is sold, and people buy it . Homeopathy defies the laws of physics and chemistry, but due to effective marketing and a proper lack of FDA involvement, homeopathic "remedies" continue to be sold alongside legitimate medications. Evessla, while fake, serves as a great discussion point for skeptics and homeopathic practioners alike, poking fun at the implausibility of homeopathic medicine.



