# More utter stupidity from the NY Times (Fellating Uri Geller) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797 "2023-07-09T03:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/81 "2023-07-11T16:57:50Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > It depresses me that Gardner and Randi are dead but Geller is still being taken semi-seriously, in some quarters at least I have an issue of the Twilight Zone magazine with an article about Randi. It’s titled Truth’s Bodyguard. I attended a lecture he gave at the Franklin Institute\* a few years back. He was a good man. - Ben Franklin was also known for debunking scammers OTTOMH Dr Mesmer and the Mechanical Turk spring to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/82 "2023-07-11T17:03:46Z")
I second this emotion. Not to hijack, but I feel the same way about Daniel Ellsberg and Henry Kissinger. Roderick Femme made an excellent point in a recent thread about the use of certain terms around oral sex as being inappropriate. I think his comment applies to the title of this thread as well. I can’t find it to link to it. It is reminiscent of George Carlin’s riff on “fucking is nice; we should say, ‘Don’t fuck you! Ever again!’” Or words to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/83 "2023-07-11T17:50:50Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > When I was a child a friend of my father’s had privileges at the Magic Castle and we got to go I was lucky enough to go to The Magic Castle twice as an adult. Luckily, because I was an adult. It was a lot of fun, but it was mostly hokey old-timey magic. It was the nostalgia that made it fun. I think I got more pleasure from the dinner at Yamashiro’s. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/84 "2023-07-11T18:52:41Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > I seem to remember reading somewhere that a lot of the people who tried for the prize (whether con men or not) would claim that the presence of skeptics interfered with the exercise of their “powers”. Yes, that was another aspect of it - the ones who finally did get it together enough to conduct an actual test would always have an excuse for why they failed. There were a few cases where “Randi isn’t allowed to be in the room” was a condition of the test. At least once, someone claimed that Randi _himself_ was psychic, and used his powers to affect the test. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/85 "2023-07-11T19:15:33Z")
I was always under the impression that the idea of the million dollar prize was that those who refused to even try were obviously charlatans. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/86 "2023-07-11T19:48:43Z")
> [@SwissMan](#): > > Johnny Carson consulted with James Randi beforehand; Randi gave him the simple advice to provide the spoons for Geller to bend, and to make damn sure that Geller got anywhere near them prior to the taping. Geller couldn’t set up his party trick, so of course he couldn’t do it! on another Johnny Carson show, Randi gave some simple advice that caused Geller to fail totally, and make a fool of himself The challenge was to have Geller look at 20 identical sealed metal containers, and using his psychic powers to identify which one was filled with water. (the containers were the little metal cylinders in which camera film was sold) Randi’s method to disprove Geller’ was simple: he told Carson to glue the containers to the table top. Randi knew that Geller’s method was to subtly kick the table and see which container moved. Geller totally freaked out, squirmed in his chair like a little child, totally embarrassed, and refused to “use his powers”. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/87 "2023-07-11T22:12:19Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I have an issue of the Twilight Zone magazine with an article about Randi. It’s titled Truth’s Bodyguard. I attended a lecture he gave at the Franklin Institute\* a few years back. He was a good man. Back in the 90’s when I was working for AT&T and Lucent during the Bell system’s last gasp, they invited Randi to come in and give a lecture at our facility in New Jersey. It was a great lecture, I was glad to see him in person. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/88 "2023-07-11T23:36:09Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Randi’s method to disprove Geller’ was simple: he told Carson to glue the containers to the table top. Randi knew that Geller’s method was to subtly kick the table and see which container moved. Seems like that would spoil the reveal. After Geller fails to pick the container with water in it, wouldn’t Carson be expected to open the container and pour the water out, to prove that there was one? Can’t do that if they’re glued down. > [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > Back in the 90’s when I was working for AT&T and Lucent during the Bell system’s last gasp, they invited Randi to come in and give a lecture at our facility in New Jersey. It was a great lecture, I was glad to see him in person. Was that the old Bell Labs facility? I read a book about that and it sounds like an amazing place in its heyday. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/89 "2023-07-11T23:42:52Z")
Actually it was the old facility in Whippany. Not Bell Labs, but a pretty cool place to work anyway. Until the collapse of course, but that’s a subject for one of the workplace rant threads. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/90 "2023-07-11T23:45:25Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Randi’s method to disprove Geller’ was simple: he told Carson to glue the containers to the table top. Randi knew that Geller’s method was to subtly kick the table and see which container moved. That isn’t what happened. Here is a video of that appearance. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zD7OgAdCObs/maxresdefault.jpg "Unforgettable Uri Geller Appearance | Carson Tonight Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD7OgAdCObs&t=448s) You can see them pick up the metal cylinders as he eliminates them. I’m not sure what was done to foil him, but it wasn’t gluing. Possibly just the simple fact that Carson’s prop folks provided everything, and not someone working for Geller who was a co-conspirator. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/91 "2023-07-12T03:59:09Z")
that’s interesting Here’s an article .[Bending Spoons and Bending Minds | Office for Science and Society - McGill University](https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history/bending-spoons-and-bending-minds) which describes the same Carson show, and says: > [@](#): > > The appearance was a total fiasco. Geller was [unable to produce anything](http://youtu.be/qqCJDpNnHNI). He didn’t feel right, he said, the energy just wasn’t there that night. But it was quite apparent that the psychic powers had actually failed Geller earlier. Otherwise, he would have known that Johnny Carson was an amateur magician and that the show’s producers had consulted Randi about how “psychic” feats could be carried out using magicians’ tricks. Geller couldn’t bend the spoons supplied by the show, he couldn’t determine which sealed film canister contained water because on Randi’s advice the canisters were firmly attached to the table. Geller’s usual trick of imperceptibly shaking the table to see which canister moved did not work. Only Geller was visibly shaken. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/92 "2023-07-12T04:10:25Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m not sure what was done to foil him, but it wasn’t gluing. I just re-watched the video, and I’m making a guess about the gluing.: The one time that they do pick up a canister, it is not Geller who touches it…it’s the other person sitting next to Geller. So it may be that the glue was strong enough to hold the canister in place without wobbling, but weak enough that giving a good twist and firm pull would detach it from the table. If the other person is in on the trick and acts like any good performer , with confidence, then nobody would notice. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/93 "2023-07-12T07:22:57Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > If the other person is in on the trick and acts like any good performer , with confidence, then nobody would notice. That was Dick Cavett. I have trouble believing that he conspired to bring down Yuri Geller. The more likely answer is the author of that article got it wrong. In 1995 or thereabouts when that article was originally written, they couldn’t just watch it on YouTube and misremembered the event, or just repeated an unverified legend from the time. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/94 "2023-07-12T07:41:18Z")
This seems as good a time as ever to supply [this little comedy gem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTd4dkeEvFU) from Fry and Laurie. Stephen Fry has been a long time and outspoken sceptic and fan of James Randi. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/95 "2023-07-12T15:47:25Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I was always under the impression that the idea of the million dollar prize was that those who refused to even try were obviously charlatans. What has always slayed me about these scammers is this. If you could PROVE paranormal abilities, you’d be the richest human who ever lived in a span of six months. The $1 million prize would be an appetizer for the barrels of money that would soon be yours. You could be elected head of state. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/96 "2023-07-12T15:52:09Z")
The scammers themselves are already making more money than they should, so that’s not really on the scammers, is it? That’s on the rubes who fall for the scams - the ones who don’t realize that simple fact. The scammers themselves know they’re faking it, they don’t need to advertise it. It’s not dissimilar to people who think some brokers have near-magical stock picking abilities or can do it themselves. If those brokers were really so magically good at picking stocks or if it were so easy to do in general, they’d be making that money for themselves instead of earning commissions selling financial products. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/97 "2023-07-12T15:57:10Z")
Some people just don’t like to admit they’ve been fooled. There are threads in the SDMB that I sometimes go back to and read for fun. This thread is one of them. > [@When a Mentalist or Sherlock Holmes "read" someone](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-mentalist-or-sherlock-holmes-read-someone/713160): > > When a mentalist or Sherlock Holmes “read” someone is that real or is it pure fiction ? In other words, can you look at a persons clothes, dialogue and body language and determine that they are a recently unemployed accountant who loves the Dallas cowboys? Or a off duty chef who is nervous about proposing to his girlfriend? That’s completely bogus, right? The fun starts on post 39, in which a long time member recalls a magic trick he observed at a party. Several people that know their stuff try to tell him how the trick was performed, even going as far to associate a particular word used in the trick with a prop (a book) that is commonly used in magic acts. And the person that posted about the trick consistently refuses to believe them……because he doesn’t think he would fall for the misdirections he fell for, I guess. It was very amusing. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/98 "2023-07-12T17:01:59Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > That was Dick Cavett. I have trouble believing that he conspired to bring down Yuri Geller. Ricardo Montalban, actually. Johnny thanks him by (first) name near the end of the clip. Could the containers have been fixed to the table by magnets on the bottom? Though I think they said they were aluminum, so that wouldn’t work too well. I tend to agree it’s probably a case of misremembering. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/99 "2023-07-12T17:17:36Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > Ricardo Montalban, actually. [https://thetvdb.com/series/the-tonight-show-starring-johnny-carson/episodes/5469089](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-tonight-show-starring-johnny-carson/episodes/5469089) [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EdLQ3YFU8AAitFq.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EdLQ3YFU8AAitFq.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797/100 "2023-07-12T17:44:41Z")
I guess I misremembered that the other cans were weighted (maybe with sand?) so that they wouldn’t move any more than the water-filled can would. Maybe because that is the way I would have done it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-utter-stupidity-from-the-ny-times-fellating-uri-geller/986797.md?page=6)