Connect with us

Popular Science

The Experiment That Tried to Weigh the Human Soul

It’s a little complicated to weigh a dying person on a hospital bed, but that didn’t deter Duncan MacDougall. In the early 20th century, MacDougall’s unique bed-scale detected that 21 grams left the human body at the moment of death. He had finally discovered it: the weigh of the human soul … or so he…

Published

on

It’s a little complicated to weigh a dying person on a hospital bed, but that didn’t deter Duncan MacDougall. In the early 20th century, MacDougall’s unique bed-scale detected that 21 grams left the human body at the moment of death.

He had finally discovered it: the weigh of the human soul … or so he thought.

Read more about the cultural legacy of MacDougall’s flawed but influential experiment:

Continue Reading
Advertisement
9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. @benmcreynolds8581

    April 7, 2026 at 3:10 pm

    I learned about this from one of my all time favorite TV shows “Dark Matters: Twisted But True” ~I highly recommend checking this show out. I almost never see anybody talk about this show..

  2. @piconano

    April 7, 2026 at 3:14 pm

    God created this universe so that he could live in it as life, everywhere possible.
    There is no I. I am a part of God that will never die. Soul or not.

    • @littlefrank90

      April 7, 2026 at 5:12 pm

      good for you

  3. @Absbor

    April 7, 2026 at 3:19 pm

    Meanwhile ebay: “you’re not allowed to sell something which doesn’t exist or parts of a human body.”

  4. @wizzelhoart

    April 7, 2026 at 3:27 pm

    was a great Movie. Del Toro was amazing

  5. @Richthofen80

    April 7, 2026 at 4:02 pm

    Haver-hill… someone not from massachusetts lol.

  6. @Jolfgard

    April 7, 2026 at 4:42 pm

    So 21 grams of what exactly? What is the carrier, or at least the physical correlate to a soul? And via which channel is it emitted from the body? I mean, if we can reliably replicate the phenomenon, the next step is trying to THOROUGHLY explain it.

  7. @Baylow94

    April 7, 2026 at 5:10 pm

    6:19 One Piece Mentioned! Yo-Ho-Ho-HOOOOOOO
    The One Piec is REALLLLLLL

  8. @likealeica

    April 7, 2026 at 7:00 pm

    So Vsauce2 finally finished her transition, and she looks way better than I expected

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Popular Science

The Radioactive “Miracle Water” That Killed Its Believers

If you lived in the 1920s, you might have found a pamphlet advertising “the greatest therapeutic force known to mankind.” Radithor was a tiny bottle of clear, colorless water that claimed to cure acne, anemia, heart disease, poison ivy, impotence, asthma, and any other malady you could imagine. There was only one side effect: DEATH.…

Published

on

If you lived in the 1920s, you might have found a pamphlet advertising “the greatest therapeutic force known to mankind.” Radithor was a tiny bottle of clear, colorless water that claimed to cure acne, anemia, heart disease, poison ivy, impotence, asthma, and any other malady you could imagine.

There was only one side effect: DEATH.

So, why did 1920s Americans go gaga for radioactive water? Well, it’s complicated.

Host: Annie Colbert
Reported by: April White
Editing and graphics by Avital Oehler
Written and produced by Matt Silverman

Continue Reading

Popular Science

What’s Really Underneath This Massive, Noisy Siberian Crater?

In a remote area of the Siberian tundra, there’s a place that locals call ‘The Gateway to Hell.’ In the summer, its peaceful waterfall sounds are interrupted by the booms and crashes of falling earth. And while it‘s not actually a portal to another dimension, the Batagay Crater (technically a “megaslump”) is an unsettling mark…

Published

on

In a remote area of the Siberian tundra, there’s a place that locals call ‘The Gateway to Hell.’ In the summer, its peaceful waterfall sounds are interrupted by the booms and crashes of falling earth.

And while it‘s not actually a portal to another dimension, the Batagay Crater (technically a “megaslump”) is an unsettling mark of our changing world.

Read more about the crater here:

Hosted by Annie Colbert
Reported by Lauren Leffer
Editing and Graphics by Avital Oehler
Written and Produced by Matt Silverman

Continue Reading

Popular Science

Man accidentally gains control of 7,000 robot vacuums

Sammy Azdoufal just wanted to steer his DJI Romo with a gaming controller. Read the full story on Popular Science:

Published

on

Sammy Azdoufal just wanted to steer his DJI Romo with a gaming controller.

Read the full story on Popular Science:

Continue Reading

Trending