Walking On Hot Coals

How can people walk barefoot on hot coals without getting burned?  Is it some mind trick?

Actually it's just science... and you can do it, too!

Physicist David Willey from the University of Pittsburgh physics department and 20/20 anchor John Stossel show how it's done:

Willey laid out 165 feet of lumber and set it aflame. As [they] waited for the lumber to turn into hot coals, he said that anyone can "fire-walk" in their bare feet, provided they keep moving, because when you touch burning wood or charcoal, the heat doesn't go instantly to your feet. You'd be burned if you walk on hot metal, but wood and charcoal don't conduct heat very well.

Hot coals can (slowly) roast a marshmallow and burn at a temperature of approximately 1000 degrees F. But it's a poor thermal conductor, so it takes a while to "conduct" (move) the heat from itself to whatever it's touching.  If you keep walking at an even pace on the coals your feet won't keep in contact with any coal long enough to burn them!  Plus, and this is pure speculation, the fact that the skin on your feet is so thick probably delays the heat transfer as well.

You're not so scary anymore, are ya?

Haunted Houses

Halloween Week Day #5: Haunted Houses

I think all of us, at one time or another, have felt like there was a mysterious presence in our homes. Maybe it was when we were little and heard noises coming from the closet. Or maybe it was when we spent our first night alone and could have sworn there were footsteps on the stairs. Or maybe it was when we stayed at an old farmhouse and saw strange shadows dancing across the walls...

Spooky noises or sights, especially at night, can come from a variety of non-ghost-related sources:

- Air trapped in a radiator can make a squealing or hissing noise.

- Changes in humidity can make the wood in the floorboards expand and contract creating squeaking sounds.

- Leaky windows can make curtains billow.

- Drafts moving through houses can sound like breathing or even swing doors on their hinges.

However, Canadian neuroscientist Michael Persinger believes that these effects are a result of actual "ghosts" based on his electromagnetic studies. He found fluctuating electromagnetic wave patterns in areas around the "haunted" properties. As far as I understand, there is theory that a person's conscious is contained in the electromagnetic field generated by their brain. Therefore, if a conscious ("thinking") spirit is moving through a space, the electromagnetic patterns in the room will shift with it.

Our friend Stephen James O’Meara has another explanation: "These [electromagnetic changes] could be due to anything from underground minerals or even solar activity such as fluctuations in sunspot activity." A person's temporal lobe (in their brain) can be sensitive to the small vibrations associated with these electromagnetic field fluctuations. It's so faint that one may not be consciously aware of the vibrations, but still feel that someone is moving around them. If the field is strong enough, it can also cause hallucinations!

O'Meara does admit, however, that both his and Persinger's explanations of these phenomena are theories, so I'll leave you to choose which to believe. In the words of O'Meara, "Until scientists find the answer, believers won't 'give up the ghost'!"

(to hear the interview that inspired many of this week's posts, please tune into the NPR podcast of 10.22.09's "Here and Now" at this link)

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Werewolves

Halloween Week Day #4: Werewolves

Stephen James O'Meara, author of Are You Afraid Yet?: The Science Behind Scary Stuff, also gave a potential explanation about the origins of werewolves.

He thinks that werewolf legends were inspired by two medical conditions:

1. Hypertrichosis: a genetic disorder where an unnatural amount of hair covers the entire body or a specific area, like the face.

and

2. Split Personality Disorder: a psychiatric disorder where someone can display or act out multiple identities. In some cases, one of the identities may be a "wild animal", and the person might chase after other animals or even attack them.

Imagine the misfortune of a person who happens to be suffering from both of these ailments! And imagine the stories that people would make up about them!

Sorry, Michael J. Fox. Your condition was just misunderstood!

Zombies

Halloween Week Day #3: Zombies

Oh those sneaky blowfish, bringing back people from the "dead".

Certain cultures like to eat blowfish, particularly the Japanese, in soups. Raw puffer meat, or sashimi fugu, is also sometimes eaten because of its intoxicating effect.

If someone eat too much of it, however, the meat can be deadly. Its poison can cause dizziness, vomiting, and numbness of the mouth. This is likely followed by a rapid heart beat, decreased blood pressure, paralysis, and a coma. If the person is one of the lucky ones and stays alive for 24 hours, he or she has a good chance of survival, but the coma can last several days. Worst of all, the person is typically aware of being in the coma, but due to the paralysis, can't communicate!

Before modern medicine, the decreased heartbeat and coma presented itself as death. The poor victim would then be treated as deceased. But lo and behold, a few days later at the funeral (if not too late!), he or she would wake up! To the distress of loved ones, the only explanation they could come up with would be "It's a zombie back from the dead!"

The lengths people will go through for delicious food. :)

Vampires

Halloween Week Day 2: Vampires

Here is another interesting fact from Stephen James O'Meara, author of Are You Afraid Yet?: The Science Behind Scary Stuff:

People who used to be labeled as "vampires" probably had a horrible blood disease called Porphyria. Victims tend to have very photosensitive skin so when they get exposed to the sun, their skin boils and blisters. As a result, they often only leave home at night.

Also, the disease turns their teeth red, so it looks like they've been biting necks, and their urine is a purplish red, so they appear to have drank blood. It didn't help that early doctors recommended that the patients drink blood from slaughterhouses to treat the condition!

According to O'Meara, it is likely that Bram Stoker got his idea for vampires by studying people with Porphyria.

On a side note, if blood-seeking vampires did exist, garlic would prevent their attacks. Garlic does a nice job of covering up the scent of blood. Helpful hint: keep some garlic around in the summertime to ward off mosquitoes!

Are Black Cats Lucky?

Black cats have a long history of symbolism in the world. The most well-known in the United States is summed up well by Wikipedia:

The black cat in folklore has been thought to shape shift into humans to spy and bring information and ingredients (such as rosemary) to their witches to use in spells.

Therefore the cats are considered "bad luck" or a "bad omen" (and as a result are the least adopted kittens in the US!).

However, the award-winning astronomer Stephen James O'Meara debunks some of these myths in his book Are You Afraid Yet?: The Science Behind Scary Stuff. He claims that black cats may actually be good luck (as quoted in his interview on NPR's "Here & Now"):

"[Researchers have found that black cats] have a specific gene which helps them to fight diseases so they [live] longer. In fact, humans have the same gene within our own bodies and it may actually help us lead to antidotes."

Good! I knew I always found black cats intriguing for a reason. :)

Next week as Halloween approaches, I'll throw in some more Halloween mystery explanations. Enjoy!