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Human magnet
Revision as of 22:45, 12 January 2020 by LeftyGreenMario (talk | contribs)
Not to be confused with crank magnetism.
Human magnets are people who can stick various metallic objects to their skin for some time, allegedly due to some kind of "magnetic" properties.
While it's a neat parlour trick, this is nothing paranormal. The "stickiness" is explained with literal stickiness - the natural skin secretions of these people make their skin unusually adhesive. This also explains why "human magnets" can "attract" non-magnetic materials like aluminum and plastic. James Randi has dealt with several of them and suggests using talcum powder to dry the skin before testing. Another possibility is using a thin sheet of (dry) plastic - in both cases, the thin layer of material wouldn't be a problem for a true magnetic field.
External links
- Archive copy at the Wayback Machine "Same Old Magnetic Flummery", Randi's SWIFT Commentary, 27 August 2004
- 'Magnetic' boy shows off skills (video), Telegraph.co.uk, 13 May 2011
- Talcum Powder Cures Magnetism, Randi's SWIFT Blog, 17 May 2011