Did You Know There’s A Reward Of $1,000,000 For Anybody Who Can Prove That…

Did You Know That There's A Reward Of $1,000,000 For Anyone Who Can Prove The Existence Of Paranormal Activity?

The challenge started in 1964, when magician James Randi was told by a parapsychologist to “put [his] money where [his] mouth is” (via JREF). And that’s how The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge by the James Randi Educational Foundaiton (JREF) started.

The premise is simple: if anyone can demonstrate supernatural or paranormal ability under mutually-agreeable scientific testing standards, the demonstrator will be paid $1,000,000.

The challenge only started off as $1,000…then $10,000. Lexington Broadcasting was so intrigued by the concept that they upped it to $100,000. Finally, Randi’s friend, Rick Adams, donated $1,000,000 for the prize.

Since then, a thousand have applied and failed. The most recent was 32-year-old Chinese salesman Fei Wang (pronounced “Wong”), who said “he could transmit a mysterious force a distance of three feet, unhindered by wood, metal, plastic or cardboard. 

The energy, he said, could be felt by others as heat, pressure, magnetism or simply “an indescribable change” (via Wikipedia). On July 2014, Wang hand-selected nine participants to receive his “force.” Each person was blindfolded on stage while Wang and a control person were behind a curtain. 

A die was rolled to see whether Wang or the control would transmit the energy to the participant’s hand, which was encased by a cardboard box. Once the energy was transmitted, the participant removed his/her blindfold and had to state whether they felt any energy and who it was from if they did. 

In order for Wang to win the million dollars, he had to be selected by eight out of nine people. After two participants, Wang lost. Despite this, he said he will try again next year as the “energy is mysterious” (via NY Times).

Think you have what it takes to win the big prize? Make sure you check out the challenge at JREF’s website by clicking HERE.

source:timesofeducation

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