Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1899-11-28
lNyEsrloArlNo AN olo THICK.
-FOUR MEN USING ONE FINGER, LIFT A
HEAVY PLATE.

"A few Of 10 have lately been expert
menting with the old trick OF lifting peo-
ple on one'ds finger tips" said . young
man who lives Vt = fashionable boarding
house on st. Charles street. "Our pur-
pose Was 70 obtain some accurate intelli-
gent data ON very mysterious phenome-
non, and we kept . Careful record OF
everything we did. Some OF the results
we're very surprising. We began by
lifting = living person. One OF our
party lay down at full length on an ex-
tension table and two OF us stood at each
side, opposits his shoulders and knees.
At . given signal all i've took ten deep
breaths In unison, then each OF the four
ut the sides placed one finger Of the right
hand under the PROSTATE mans body
and lifted, meanwhile holding our breath.
In the majority Of trials, say three out
Of fivc, he came up without perceptible
effort, and several times he WAS lifted 40
high a. we could stretch our arms.
There 10 absolutely no sense Of weight
and the thing IL 80 absurdly easy that
each man Ut the table 10 bound TO feel
vaguely suspicious that he has been
tricked and that the others really do the
lifting. | feel so myself until common
sense convinces me that 1t WAS utterly
impossible. The lIghtest OF our subjects
weighed l49 pounds and no four people
on earth could ordinarily lift = man OF
that size on their finger tips without
visible strain.
Ave tried q great many variations, but
the plan have described WAS the only
one that proved generally successful.
The essential point seemed to be 10 Sc
cure certain rhythm In breathing, and
whenever we hit the line II was made
with unfaillng certainty; but II any one
OF US "broke STEP so 10 speak, the ex-
pertinent failed. We were all deeply 10
earnest, so we had no trouble on account
OF giggling or Mysteries. | Was lifted
repeatedly myself, and the feeling Ia In
describable. Floating In water Ia ~ near
as can come 10 It.
AFTER great many experiments with
living people," continued the speaker,
"we tried inanImate objects. We took u
square iron plate weighing lS4 pounds,
formerly used In q hearth, and placed u
on stool. -Four OF US stood at the
corners and went through the same
routine that have already described
breathing In unison and then suddenly
lifting. TO our great surprise this ex-
pertinent proved fully rs successful rs
the other, and In forty record trials the
plate went up twenty-six times. Such
test, by the way, Is dangerous, because
II there Is the slightest catching Of the
breath while the heavy object lifted Ii In
the air II instantly comes crashing down
| with It's full weight. Several OF US mar
rowly escaped being hurt by the iron
slab and that suggested another and
very interesting device. We took large
spring steelyArd, graduated up to zoo
| pounds, and made IL self-rcgistering by
attaching u bit Of pencil TO the pointer
aud putting y slip Of paper over the
scale. Then we hooked IL into ring In
the door and fastened the other end Il
the under side OF short piece OF plank
The plank WAS supported across a
couple Of chairs and We tried lifting II
exactly rs We did the iron slab. That
nut a tension on the steelysrd and ths
effect was exactly as II We were lifting
something that grew heavier and heavier
the higher IL went. Our breathing hsd
no effect whatever on the spring, but the
apparatus, while crude, was valuable In
showing our normal lifting power.
ave found we were unable TO get above
twelve pounds without clearly percepti
bic effort, and to register twenty pounds
required pronounced ,exertion. OI
course, we could push the board up OF
our four finger tips until the pointer
stood at 100, but that Was = gymuastis
feat that strained every muscle. W.
found that the raising OF the ls+-pount
slab required infinitely less apparen
force than the registering OF ten oil
twelve pounds on the steeiyard. Tha
disposes OF the theory that the weigh
WAS 80 divided we didn't feel It,
Now, how Is one TO account for al
this. To me IL IL unsccouutAble. i
looks like clear inversion Of the law o.
gravitation, aud the experiments are q
simple that any 1--we people who ar
serious and sensible can perform then
without the slightest trouble. The!
recall very strongly 10 my mind the
deviation trick of Indian jugglers.
Zone might say, In regard TO lifting
living person, that some sort OF electric
sympstsy wAs established, that tn
phenomenon WAS In some way due 4
animal magnetism, but how about tn
iron piates The metal has certain hxe'
gravity, aud how that gravity can b.
modified or overcome by anything W,
might do. no matter what, IL n problem
that battles conjecture. Our rhythmi
breathing undoubtedly has direc
bearing on the result, because we ar
unable to accomplish anything withou
IL, but why g? and owy'-New Orlesn
Tunes Democrat.