THE FIRST DOCUMENTED CONTROLLED TRIAL IN HISTORY

Abstract

The first reported controlled human trial was conducted 2500 years ago by the Biblical judge Gideon Ben Yoa sh, who challenged God’s Angel: “I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that Thou wilt deliver Israel through me, as Thou hast spoken”. In the control part of the trial he asked the Angel to keep the wool dry while the ground around it will be soaked with morning dew. It is unfortunate that these principles were not practiced for thousands of years thereafter, as many medical challenges could have been solved earlier.