I'm preparing questions for upcoming interview on my site Mind-Energy.net with Miroslaw Magola, the magnetic man. Miroslaw seems to possess a rare gift to "glue" objects to himself. These objects are not only metal and he demonstrated his ability also with gloves and talc on his hands. If you want to ask the man some questions, please do so before I send them to him (couple of days).

To get a glimpse into his ability, read my report on Miroslaw Magola, which I wrote in last October. You can write your question suggestions here.

I suggest you do not advertise forums that compete with this one in an attempt to direct traffic from here to your site... I believe this is called spamming and coming from someone with such a low number of posts it is clear the only reason why your a member here is to get people to populate your site.

Ok, I removed from my post the link to the forum. I just have a thread there as well.

Thanks

Anyway about this magnetic dude, if he can do what he claims how come he doesn't go to the scientific community to figure out whats going on. Or alternately he could win that million dollar prize.

From some of the info on other websites about him it seems that he actually was tested by scientists and skeptics. I even think he was tested by Randi. But I don't know much about the results of any of them. But here's a quote from his webiste:



I am going to ask him for further details on these different researches that took place.

Randi invited Magola to apply for the Million Dollar Challenge some years ago, but according to Randi, discussions ended when Randi suggested he would insist on the use of talcum powder. Randi discusses this correspondence fairly briefly here and here. You'll also see on that latter link discussion of another 'magnetic man'. It seems claims of such abilities are old news. And since Magola has lied about the involvement of Randi, as many people who have backed out of the MDC do, I see no reason to believe anyone else has 'tested' his 'ability'.

Mind, will you be meeting Magola in person? I would suggest that you bring some talc yourself and request a demonstration (certainly don't let Magola supply it!). I would also suggest you ask him why he stopped replying to Randi, and why he seems to have lied about it. You could request copies of correspondence from Randi, and request that Magola show you his side of the correspondence too.

I would also suggest that you remind Magola that if he did want to reapply for the MDC, he has only two years left before the prize is withdrawn by the JREF.

Maybe also ask where any investigations performed by scientists may be published, since there's probably a Nobel Prize in there for someone in the vastly unlikely event that he be found to be anything other than a charlatan.

Unfortunately, I won't be meeting him in person. As far as I understand he lives in Germany and I don't. I'll be sending him questions by email.
He is also not a good english speaker and I could tell that from my short correspondence with him so far.

He pointed me to a print magazine which should be published in central Europe (in German) with a recent interview they had with him where he talks about the Randi issue, but of I of course,
1) I can't buy it since I don't live in Europe
2) I don't read german.

If anyone one lives in Germany, Switzerland or Austria and can buy the magazine it could be great.
Its URL is: www.mysteries-magazin.com

I will cerntainly ask him of any research he's been through and if he can point me to publications of them.
I'll ask him if Randi as well.
Maybe I'll be able to contact some of the scientists that supposedely inspected him.

Thank you for the pointers, Nucular.

Also, here is a YouTube video of Magola seeming to cover an object in talcum powder before sticking it to his hand.

Unbelievably, he simply wipes it off before he does the trick. It doesn't even pass as a good magic trick, at least in that demonstration.

I'm not a professional magician yet I find the video quite convincing even if he wipes off some of the talcum.
He had enough talcum there to exclude sweat or glueing. I'd like you to explain me how he could do this, since I can't find a simple explanation.

Also, see the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlu5BnnNJSc&NR=1.
It looks quite good with people on stage and everything.
He's also seen there "glueing" non-metal objects, like tape cassette case and a cup.
There are also other people to whom he seems to transfer the power and "stick" something to their foreheads.
No sound, unfortunately, but I guess it wasn't in English anyway.

Another good video (from Japan, with little chilren. not Magola) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwklubddE4Y&NR=1.

Like any magician, he likely has at least two or three different methods, which of course throws us off the scent - "look, he can't be doing it that way because of that... but then here he can't be doing it that other way because of this!"

My feeling regarding the video I posted is that with a bit of practice, we could all learn to wipe enough talc from the middle of those lightweight aluminium bowls to leave room for a suction effect with the palm. A bit of sweat and a talc-free circle in the middle, and that's all you need. You don't need the whole base of the bowl to be clear, just enough. Which he clearly has.

The video you posted just again looks to me like a magician's tricks. Notice how he doesn't allow the participants to hold the lid thing, even after it's stuck to their heads - it's probably very slightly tacky. The very last glimpse of the video shows him stroking it in front of the participant, very quickly - I imagine he's saying something along the lines of "you see, not even sticky!", which leaves the participant with the impression that she has established that it wasn't sticky.

But anyway, I think when I say 'magician', I'm being needlessly grand - I see barely anything to explain away here. Maybe it's just me.

And of course, I should point out that even if there was not a ready explanation from those videos, this does not imply that it's a magic power - I could link to David Copperfield flying and say "explain that then". I posted the first video because I'm amazed at the front of simply wiping it away before the effect.

What about the Japanese video?

Any video can be hoaxed which is why I do not consider them to be of any real value at all.

Sorry, missed that one before.

As AG says, videos are very poor evidence of anything.

But you don't need to assume the entire video is fiction - just that Dad's got the same tricks up his sleeve that Magola's got. That is, a little glue and some sweat. And some hope for his family as performers, perhaps. At no point do we see anybody inspect the objects, and at no point do they even show the camera. Even the 'psychic' spoonbenders make a bit of a show of 'this is just a normal spoon' - these guys don't even bother.

Or, maybe something slightly odd is happening, and things really are sticking to people. Maybe some people have particularly viscous sweat and so are naturally a bit sticky (I think I know a few). Thing is, until it's amply demonstrated that there's a phenomenon to explain, there's no point trying to explain it.

What are your thoughts on this, Mind?

Yes, I know that videos are poor evidence, especially self-produced videos (there's a good example on youtube of someone making an almost perfect video of psi wheel turning and then much later admitting it was a trick to see how people will believe anything that they see). But there are some interesting "evidences" of things "Glue"ing to people, including irons and other heavy objects. But I've only seen these things on TV and never read any scientific paper.

Since Magola claims that he has been checked by scientists, the first thing I want him to do is to show the research papers, where they were published etc.
Although his videos look good, they are all self produced, so it is wrong to blindly believe it's all true.

I hope this clarifies my position on this issue a bit, Nucular.

It does indeed, thanks. I don't think we're too far away from one another on this. To be honest, I very much doubt that any scientific paper has been written on this, since a) I can't find one, and B) it really, really looks to me like a very simple trick. I am, as ever, prepared and eager to be proved wrong.

Incidentally, I haven't checked out all the names on the list, but a couple check out to be proper scientists (or at least have the same names as proper scientists!); I couldn't find any record of a couple more; and I already know the name Jack Houck from his rather silly spoonbending parties (he's somewhat credulous, and I have no doubt that he may have 'endorsed' Magola).

Many bona fide scientists and researchers will have publicly available contact details - it might be an interesting exercise to ask Magola for details of the 'investigations', and then contact the individuals themselves to ask whether they realise their name is associated with him.

I have already emailed him a "preliminary" question asking for clarifications on the scientific inspection of his ability. Let's see if and how he answers it.

Hi,

I have finally published my interview with him along with some quotes from other researcher plus additional videos and photographs.

See at Interview with Miroslaw Magola

I'd like to know your opinion.

Thank you for posting the link. That was very kind. It is a good read, and I am unsure what to make of the subject.

I was especially interested in his dealings with Randi, whose "challenge" is the subject of debate hereabouts.


I have often written here that people who consulted with their lawyers beforehand would receive just this advice. It was gratifying to see my thoroughly non-psychic prediction confirmed.

Best wishes.

An afterthought on this ability

Back in January, a poster here reported that he had what he called "sticky palms," that is, small objects stuck to his hands, and not because he was doing any surface tension or suction tricks that he knew of.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum...howtopic=117221

It turns out that there is a natural condition called mucoid sweat - long story short, the affected person sweats what amounts to a glue.

Throughout your posts and story there is talcum powder. I have no idea wnat happens when talcum powder is combined with mucoid sweat. I do know, however, that talcum powder is often combined with real glues in order to fill voids (cracks or scratches) or make small objects.

Although the effect of talcum powder on my hands would be to help ensure a dry, low friction surface, maybe mucoid sweat would create a different surface condition. Alternatively, the combination might create a somewhat dimensionally stable paste from which a serviceable temporary suction cup might be fashioned.

I don't know, but maybe it is a lead if you decide to continue your investigations.