# What do you guys think of the Immortality rings? Think it workes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2001, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137 "2001-03-15T21:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kriss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kriss)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/1 "2001-03-15T21:19:38Z")
Do you guys think it workes? I got Neo rings from doing that sponser thing and so far nothing happened. I think it must have been a waste of time or something. I dont feel nothing. Just the same old me as I have always been. All these people claim that they work. Can strong mangnets really heal you or is it all just bs to make your mind think that its the magnets healing you when its really your mind and you are not aware of it? ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/2 "2001-03-15T21:40:55Z")
[Here’s](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/990618.html) an article from the archives which talks about it. It looks like further studies need to be done before anything accurate and conclusive can be said. The name “Immortality Rings” certainly smacks of wishful thinking though. As far as it all being in the head, mental outlook certainly seems to play a role, at least at times, in a person’s physical health. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/3 "2001-03-15T23:33:10Z")
Here’s a link to a very good article on Magnet Therapy from _Skeptical Inquirer_. [http://www.csicop.org/si/9807/magnet.html](http://www.csicop.org/si/9807/magnet.html) Allow me to quote a couple statements from the conclusion. > [@](#): > > Claims of therapeutic effects of permanent magnets should still be regarded with considerable skepticism. Most of the many testimonials to the effectiveness of magnetic therapy devices can be attributed to placebo effects and to other effects accompanying their use. and > [@](#): > > The more extreme claims of magnetic therapy, such as curing cancer by hanging supermagnets around your neck, are not only nonsense but also dangerous, since they may divert patients from seeking appropriate treatment from mainstream medicine. Magnetic jewelry and most other magnetic-therapy products probably are harmless beyond a waste of money. Please note that this article addresses health claims only. To impute a power of “immortality” to magnets is just, well, ridiculous, as I’ll be able to tell you from my deathbed in several hundred years. ---
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/4 "2001-03-16T04:10:28Z")
I believe in immortality rings. I believe in Santa Claus. I believe in the Easter bunny. I believe in pyramid schemes. I believe I can make $5000/month part time from home. I believe in the Tooth Fairy. I believe in Voodoo dolls. I believe. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/5 "2001-03-16T06:34:13Z")
Ah. . . . Ah. . . A. Chiu ---
**Author:** ![Kriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kriss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kriss)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/6 "2001-03-16T08:17:22Z")
Thanks for the info. I appericate it. ---
**Author:** ![SpyderA48](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@SpyderA48](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyderA48)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/7 "2001-03-16T14:44:33Z")
Look, anything which provides medical benefits will be approved by the medical community, usually certified by Underwriters Laboratories and the AMA. Scams are popping up like crazy these days, almost a much as back in the early 1900s, when folks sold electric energizers that could heal almost anything but in reality, were just boxes with lots of lights, switches and buzzers that did nothing. Some of these gadgets produced ‘invisible energies’ to cure your ills, but in reality produced nothing but riches for the maker. Magnetic therapy was debunked ages ago, when they sold electromagnetic belts. Organic iron in the body does not respond to magnetism. Any chance of magnetics affecting the body would have to come from massive fields generated by megavolts of power and even then it is doubtful if it would cure anything. Copper bracelets are useless. The energizer, a muscle stimulator, was taken off of the market because it did not produce the effects claimed and cost over $100. Crystal power is a myth. Magnetic insoles are a fake. Emotion crystals, sold in bracelets in stores, are not only bunk, but often instead of being made of rock crystal, like they’re supposed to be, are made of colored glass beads. Silver suspension is bunk. You pay something like $20 for a 1 ounce bottle of silver suspended in water, but the actual amount of silver in the solution is like 1 part per million, probably the same dilution you’d get by stirring water with a touch of citric acid in it with a silver spoon. Most of the herbal claims are exaggerated, take a long, long time to work and can have interactions they don’t tell you about. So, you’ve got to be careful there. Like, the much touted brain enhancer, Gingko Bilboa does not enhance your intelligence nor brain power. What it does mainly is thin your blood to allow more oxygen to get into the brain. If you are taking blood thinners already, that can cause a problem or if you take large doses of products like aspirin or containing aspirin. TV psychics are fake!!! If you think you’re chatting with a gorgeous babe on a 900-sex number, like they show in the ads, you’re mistaken. Most are dogs or plain, hired for their voices and communication skills and that girl you chat with might not even be female. If it’s almost too good to be true, then it’s not worth buying. Currently, we have no immortals that we are aware of. We do have a large amount of folks willing to sell you ‘snake oil cures’ and take your money. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/8 "2001-03-16T15:17:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kriss \* > \*\*I dont feel nothing. Just the same old me as I have always been. All these people claim that they work. \*\* Tell me: are you still alive? What? Not dead yet? Well then, they MUST be for real! I wear the newo rings too, and I’m not dead either! Isn’t immortality fun? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/9 "2001-03-16T15:40:16Z")
These things smack of voodoo science. A. Chiu reminds me of someone who I’m not sure even exists, [Dr. Irving Matrix](http://www.prometheusbooks.com/site/catalog/populars16.html). Martin Gardner wrote of the doctor’s adventures several times in _Scientific American_, beginning in 1960. These articles featured the doctor conning people with a supposed perpetual motion machine and a pyramid scheme which involved selling pyramids. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_griffin-kentzel/32/14787_2.png) [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/10 "2001-03-16T18:30:21Z")
[hijack] Hahahahaha . . . that’s where our **DrMatrix** got his username, **Jeff**! [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/11 "2001-03-16T21:54:27Z")
We’ll find out when everyone who bought one dies. ---
**Author:** ![dave316](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dave316](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dave316)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/12 "2001-03-16T23:55:51Z")
magnets will not keep you alive my refrigerator has several magnets on it and it stopped working ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2001, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-guys-think-of-the-immortality-rings-think-it-workes/58137/13 "2001-03-21T14:55:36Z")
Never made the connection until Saturday. 🙂