Funny joke, but it’s not really a trick when it’s part of an agreed to trial. There are most definitely unethical examples when a placebo was administered without it being an agreed to potentiality. However, I wouldn’t want to brand all placebos as tricks.
(P=120 ∧ T=40 ∧ ¬(P∝T))⇒(P=60 ⇒ T=40)