American investigators sought to determine whether or not a novel method of placebo acupuncture can be differentiated by subjects from real acupuncture treatment. A single-blind RCT trial with an independent observer was performed. Forty-nine healthy subjects over the age of 18 years were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups: 24 subjects received real acupuncture and 25 subjects received placebo acupuncture. Placebo acupuncture was performed by administering a blunted acupuncture needle through a foam pad at the LI 4 acupoint. The blunted needle touched but did not penetrate the skin. Real acupuncture was performed by administering an acupuncture needle through a foam pad at the LI 4 acupoint. The needle pricked and penetrated the skin to a depth of 10–20 mm. A simple questionnaire followed, asking whether the subject believed they received real or placebo acupuncture. Twenty-two (88%) of the 25 subjects who received placebo acupuncture believed they received real acupuncture. Nineteen (79.2%) of the 24 subjects who received real acupuncture correctly determined they received real acupuncture. The Fisher exact test showed an insignificant difference between real and placebo acupuncture treatments. Subjects were not able to differentiate between real or placebo acupuncture, thereby validating this novel method of administering placebo acupuncture as a good control for acupuncture-naive patients.