Magneto boy

[Stitch]

Well static boy anyway

Although he styled himself 'Magneto Man', Joe Falciatano from New York appears to be generating a big static electrical charge - no one knows why - and has already hit the headlines for his ability to crash his school’s computers just by touching them


http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/11/magneto_man_joe_falciatano/

So anybody got any suggestions as to the cause?

[remirol]

Well static boy anyway

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/11/magneto_man_joe_falciatano/

So anybody got any suggestions as to the cause?

Shuffling his feet on the carpet while wearing wooly slippers?

[PrincessIneffabelle]

Super-dry skin and battery-operated socks?

[LTC8K6]

Winter?

[Stitch]

Very drole.

It seems to me this has to be more than just ordinary static. The metal case of the PC is earthed and so touching that wouldn't cause any undue issues with the internal working, indeed I've had a static spark from a PC on many occasions without any undue effect.

[KateHL]

Ordinary static can do more than you think. My friend was down here for Mardi Gras and got shocked by his rental car door while he was holding his camera. Wiped out his memory card. It's not a big leap to think a battery on top of that could wipe out a PC.

[tsg]

Very drole.

It seems to me this has to be more than just ordinary static. The metal case of the PC is earthed and so touching that wouldn't cause any undue issues with the internal working, indeed I've had a static spark from a PC on many occasions without any undue effect.

Unless it isn't grounded properly. We had a server in the office that would reboot if you walked to close to it. It turned out the grounding strap inside the case had come loose.

[Nero]

Don't you lot listen to the Skeptic's Guide To the Universe podcast, this was covered off last week.

http://www.theskepticsguide.org/

[hipparchia]

I once zapped a computer with static- luckily, it was an obsolete machine that belonged to the university.

That fluffy thing called "polar" with jackets and sometimes shoes are lined? Great source of static.

[Overman]

http://image.comicvine.com/uploads/item/2000/1466/44406-scarlet-witch_400.jpghttp://home.nikocity.de/alexy/Quick.JPG

Sorry, just had to!

[yairhol]

Instead of giving all of your lame excuses, isn't it a more reasonable explanation to believe this boy does really have magnetic powers?

[Stitch]

Don't you lot listen to the Skeptic's Guide To the Universe podcast, this was covered off last week.

http://www.theskepticsguide.org/

Err nope, but RRS feed now added to agregator! Thanks

[Blue Mountain]

The skeptical rogues' (from the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe) take on this was confirmation bias. The kid gets a minor reputation for having things go haywire when he's around. Next thing you know, any time anything goes wrong with a computer, everyone's looking around to see if Joe's in the room. If he is, well, that has to be the cause of the problem.

[Minarvia]

I'll have to listen to that episode.
This thread reminds me that Sylvia Browne claims that her grand-daughter can cause computers to go haywire or get blown out or something like that. It's the high psychic energy she has, of course. :rolleyes:

[dudalb]

Well static boy anyway



http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/03/11/magneto_man_joe_falciatano/

So anybody got any suggestions as to the cause?

He's a Mutant.

[quarky]

I blame micro-soft for most of my computer glitches.

I wonder if Joe works for them?

[MoonDragn]

About 10-15 years ago I remember seeing a tv show that showed this asian guy who had an unusual magnetic personality. Metal objects would become attached to his skin. He literally put spoons, forks, and even a iron on his body and it stuck there.

I wonder what the scientific explanation of this could possibly be? Free ions in the bloodstream causing the iron rich hemoglobin to be polarized with a magnetic field?

[Georg]

About 10-15 years ago I remember seeing a tv show that showed this asian guy who had an unusual magnetic personality. Metal objects would become attached to his skin. He literally put spoons, forks, and even a iron on his body and it stuck there.

I wonder what the scientific explanation of this could possibly be? Free ions in the bloodstream causing the iron rich hemoglobin to be polarized with a magnetic field?

Or simply a trick? Randi debunked that a while ago.......

j9YXKypQ-fg

[MoonDragn]

ahh can't get the audio of this thing at work. Guess I'll have to see it at home. I knew it had to be faked.

[AgeGap]

Related? (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=105370)

[TX50]

Or simply a trick? Randi debunked that a while ago.......


The debunk is so elegant too. Just a dab of talc and "oh dear, special
power all gone!" Almost as good as the one where he used polystyrene
beads to out the clown who claimed to turn pages by telekinesis (he was
actually just blowing the pages across).

[Jekyll]

About 10-15 years ago I remember seeing a tv show that showed this asian guy who had an unusual magnetic personality. Metal objects would become attached to his skin. He literally put spoons, forks, and even a iron on his body and it stuck there.

I wonder what the scientific explanation of this could possibly be? Free ions in the bloodstream causing the iron rich hemoglobin to be polarized with a magnetic field?

Close... It's normally demonstrated by someone with sticky skin leaning slightly backwards.

[MoonDragn]

Close... It's normally demonstrated by someone with sticky skin leaning slightly backwards.

I knew it had to be something like that. It did look like he was throwing this stuff awfully hard at the target. It does make sense, since there is a certain amount of surface cohesion with fluids and surface tension.

[Olowkow]

At dinner with a lot of friends, we often get into the silliness of hanging spoons off our noses. Same thing. Anyone else ever done this?