# "That's Incredible" telekinesis fraud guy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155 "2004-01-18T22:45:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/1 "2004-01-18T22:45:59Z")
A long time ago (1980ish maybe), on the grandaddy of reality shows, “That’s Incredible” I remember there was a guy who claimed he had telekinetic abilities. He would demonstrate his powers by making telephone book pages mysteriously turn, balanced pencils move, and plant fronds “shake” from several feet away, all apparently by willing it telekinetically. They had him on the show a couple of times and even tried to debunk him with “controlled experiments”, all with dubious success. Eventually he was exposed, or exposed himself, I don’t remember. It turns out he had spent some time in jail and perfected a breath technique whereby he could direct strong puffs of air undetected and turn book pages and cause movement in other objects. My question is, does anyone remember him, and if so what was his name? Can’t find any information about his technique either…it’d be a great illusion to learn! (I’m a close-up magician.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/2 "2004-01-18T23:44:30Z")
His name is James Hydrick. ---
**Author:** ![Zaphod7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/df788c/32.png) [@Zaphod7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaphod7)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/3 "2004-01-18T23:47:24Z")
i remember the guy and the funny thing is i was thinking about this exact same thing the other day. I can rememeber his name but as far as i can remember he had a small moustache and longish dark brown hair. I remeber they tried one of them with a glass container and he still made it move i think. He was actually around in the seventies as far as i can remember but the exposure came out in the 80’s or later his hair was very seventies style, hmm i will try to fins out for you. Zaphod ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/4 "2004-01-19T00:02:35Z")
He was exposed/debunked by a chap named Dan Korem - he was able to make a folded dollar bill (balanced over a pin point) to turn, even when it was covered by a fishtank; Korem noticed that the tank wasn’t exactly snug to the table and taped up the gap with duct tape, whereupon Hydrick was unable to perform. A similar situation occured with telephone directories - hydrick was able to turn the pages, but not when there were polystyrene chips scattered around it. He eventually admitted what Korem had suspected all along - he has perfected a breathing technique that allowed him to deliver very precise and powerful puffs of air, without seeming to move or even open his mouth (apparently he would lie on his bunk in prison and blow air in such a way that the prison guard, on his way out of the door, thought someone had touched him on the back of the neck). ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/5 "2004-01-19T00:04:16Z")
That was extremely cool for two reasons; first, a debunking where you don’t expect one, plus it was fun trick to practice. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/6 "2004-01-19T00:10:18Z")
I knew about this guy, the curious thing is that I did remember seeing Ripley’s believe it or not" (the one with Jack Palance) as the ones that showed how he was exposed as a fraud! (The most recent Ripley producers are more gullible) This site points to James Randi as the one that showed James Hydrick to be a fraud in the “That’s My Line” show out of all places: [http://www.totse.com/en/fringe/dreams\_auras\_astral\_projection/psi.html](http://www.totse.com/en/fringe/dreams_auras_astral_projection/psi.html) > [@](#): > > While Hydrick was fooling the gullible he was not fooling > magician and psychic investigator James Randi. As Randi recounted > the incident in the The Skeptical Inquirer (Summer 1981), “What > of the pencil and page tricks? Well, my jaundiced eye recognized > these as rather tired old tricks…Hydrick was simply blowing the > page over, and he spun the pencil around by the same means. Not > immediately evident are these facts, however: First, the blast of > air from a half-open mouth takes time to get to the props, and > Hydrick made sure he turned his head away from the pencil and the > page after giving a sharp puff of air, so that he was facing away > when the action occurred. Second, one blows not directly at the > prop but at the table surface.” > > Randi immediately offered Hydrick his prize of $10,000 for > proof of one paranormal demonstration under proper conditions of > observations. Hydrick accepted Randi’s offer and agreed to be > tested on the TV show “That’s My Line.” During a rehearsal > practice session with Hydrick the day before the actual taping > Randi had the session, unknown to Hydrick, videotaped, with a > highly sensitive microphone aimed and focused at Hydrick’s mouth, > and with the amplifier turned up far beyond normal voice level. > Randi’s microphone recorded monumental blasts of air every time > the page moved or the pencil turned. > > For the actual taped show Hydrick was allowed to perform each > trick once without any controls; then he was required to submit > to a controlled test designed by Randi. John Palmer, a member of > the Parapsychological Association and two UCLA scientists were > called in as judges of Hydrick’s abilities. The prize check was > held by “That’s My Line” host Bob Barker, and was to be > surrendered to the proper person at the close of the test. > > Randi’s simple but controlled test involved emptying a small > can of styrofoam particles around the open book. In this way, any > blowing would show up as a massive movement of the particles. In > case Hydrick claimed that his power could not differentiate > between the pages of the book and the styrofoam particles, Randi > was prepared to place a simple germ-mask on his face, which would > in no way interfere with his breathing or his psychic functions > but would prevent one thing-blowing. Not only did Hydrick fail to > perform with the styrofoam particles in place, but he refused > altogether to use the face mask. > > Hydrick spent ninety minutes trying to move the page of the telephone book without success. > > The judges were polled, and all agreed absolutely that Hydrick > had failed to show them anything paranormal. What was Hydrick’s > reply? “This isn’t a magician’s trick. I just can’t come up - > bang bang - and its over. I have to be where I can work with > something small than big to build up my own self. It isn’t a > trick. It has to be done…It’s mental power.” > > A few months later Hydrick again agreed to undergo testing of > his psychic abilities. This time proper controls were used and he > failed to exhibit any psychic powers. Hydrick giving in to a lost > cause confessed to magician Danny Korem. Korem was part of the > team testing Hydrick. Also present was Hugh Ainsworth, a former > bureau chief for Newsweek. Hydrick began his confession by > talking of his fascination with magicians at the age of nine. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/7 "2004-01-19T00:31:10Z")
Ok, now that I see **Mangetout** ’s post, It looks to me that what I saw in Ripley, was the taped confession of Hydrick made by Korem’s team. Although Randi showed how Hydrick was doing it, Hydrick did not confess then. From the Ripley show, I do remember a microphone was attached to his chest, and Hydrick realized his breath blasts would be detected. After other tests proved he had no powers, he trashed things around and then confessed after calming down. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/8 "2004-01-19T00:46:42Z")
I have Korem’s book and the odd thing is that I don’t remember him even mentioning Randi - I’ll have to give it another read sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/9 "2004-01-22T10:54:04Z")
I Re-read Korem’s book _[Powers](http://www.ifpinc.com/New%20Materials.htm#Powers%20Book)_ on the train yesterday and he does mention Randi a few times, but mainly in the context of Hydrick’s hatred toward him - Randi - true to form - was pretty hard on Hydrick, although to be fair, he didn’t know about Hydrick’s psychological issues and history as a victim of child abuse - to his credit, on learning of this, Randi offered his full support. Korem is something of an anomaly because, although he presents himself as a hard-nosed skeptic of Randi’s ilk, he is actually a Christian and has personal belief in the supernatural - the final one-third of the above mentioned book is an exploration of the resurrection of Christ, although there’s nothing particularly novel about what he says there - it’s the same arguments used by Josh McDowell and Simon Greenleaf. ---
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-incredible-telekinesis-fraud-guy/225155/10 "2004-01-22T15:43:21Z")
Why did the idiot claim to be telekinetic? I mean, lets face it, that’s a damn good trick!