Question 047: Levitation - REPLY

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The finger levitation stunt has been a parlor trick used for centuries to prove a variety of things. All it really proves is that four average people can lift one average person. It was described by Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) in his famous Diary as being done by French schoolgirls upon a corpulent pastry chef, and it was an old trick even at that time.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average male weights 190 pounds and the average female weights 163 pounds. Let us assume the person being lifted is a 200 pound male. Each of the lifters would only have to lift an average of 50 pounds, an easy weight to lift with two hands, even for a woman. Even though two fingers are used, the weight is not on just the two fingers, it is mostly on the hands. Males tend to be stronger than females, so they can lift more. This is why two females are not put on the same side. If a female on one side could not lift her entire share of the weight, the male could easily lift the extra weight.

The world is full of weird people and strange beliefs. When people cannot achieve in the real world, they tend to invent something at which they can achieve, such as inventing some outlandish theories and then making themselves experts on the subjects. When put to the test by impartial scientists using standard scientific testing procedures, all these people with outlandish theories and claims either refuse to be tested or, if they do test, they fail miserably.