Jell-o Emits Brain Waves Identical to Humans

[porch]

March 17, 1993, technicians at St. Jerome hospital in Batavia test a bowl of lime Jell-O with an EEG machine and confirm the earlier testing by Canadian Doctor Adrian Upton in 1969 that a dome of wiggly Jell-O has brain waves identical to those of adult men and women. In 1969, Dr. Upton connected an electroencephalograph (EEG) to a dome of lime Jell-O, only to find the readings to be almost identical to those of healthy human beings.

This is a quote I've found repeated over and over on the web. The only source it seems to trace back to is the site for the official Jell-o Museum. I honestly have little idea what a brain wave is, or exactly what an EEG measures, but let's just say I'm having a hard time swallowing this.

The rumour seems harmless for the most part (presented as a "random" factoid), except in the context of one rather nasty, anti-psych webpage:

http://psychwatch.blogspot.com/2005/02/science-proves-peoples-brains.html

Anyone ever hear this one before?

[IXP]

I don't know, I have seen some posters on this forum whose brain-waves might not be distinguishable from a bowl of jello.

IXP

[porch]

Well, I'm composing an email to Dr. Upton to get his take on the matter. Who knows? In 1969 maybe he was on the cutting edge of electrical jello studies, also known as "happenings".

[Ivor the Engineer]

This is a quote I've found repeated over and over on the web. The only source it seems to trace back to is the site for the official Jell-o Museum. I honestly have little idea what a brain wave is, or exactly what an EEG measures, but let's just say I'm having a hard time swallowing this.

<snip>

If your having a hard time swallowing Jell-o I'd recommend you go see your physician.;)

[Btodd]

I think the larger, more important discovery would be that of Jell-O having brains in the first place. Did I miss a meeting?




ETA: By the way, that page also links you to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a Scientology front-group. Anti-psychiatry is one of the main tenets of the cult, and they're about as concerned with being factual to psychiatry as a Young Earth Creationist organization is about biology.

[AgeGap]

Alpha wave frequency is 8-12Hz. Anyone know roughly the frequency of a wobbling Jell-O.

Although I work in a neuroscience unit I don't think I could access the EEG machine for this. Could test it on an ECG machine though. May need a lot of gain.

[Ivor the Engineer]

Alpha wave frequency is 8-12Hz. Anyone know roughly the frequency of a wobbling Jell-O.

Although I work in a neuroscience unit I don't think I could access the EEG machine for this. Could test it on an ECG machine though. May need a lot of gain.

I think you're probably onto something there. My guess is the brain-like EEG readings from Jell-O are caused by movement artifacts caused by vibrations from motors, traffic, etc.

[Kopji]

This might explain why Jello is the state snack food of Utah. Cannibals!


Apparently the state's capital, Salt Lake City, has earned the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita consumption of Jell-O not only in the US, but in the whole world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1156021.stm

[leon_heller]

Brains are supposed to have the consistency of thick porridge. Perhaps someone should put some electrodes in a bowl of porridge.

Leon

[sillyhead]

This explains a lot of folks I know online... :)

[Kopji]

The source of the snippet is probably the Jello Museum website.
They do not provide references:

http://www.jellogallery.org/jellohistory3.html

You would think that if the story were actually true someone would be interested in explaining the effect.

[AgeGap]

I think you're probably onto something there.
Not just a pretty face.:D

My guess is the brain-like EEG readings from Jell-O are caused by movement artifacts caused by vibrations from motors, traffic, etc.
I was thinking more along the lines of giving it a wobble and measuring the result. The quote in the OP said "wiggly Jell-O". I took this to mean wiggling Jell-O. Give it a slap and ride the waves, to misquote the punchline of a joke I first heard at school.

[Kopji]

...Spontaneous activity is measured on the scalp or on the brain and is called the electroencephalogram. The amplitude of the EEG is about 100 µV when measured on the scalp, and about 1-2 mV when measured on the surface of the brain. The bandwidth of this signal is from under 1 Hz to about 50 Hz... As the phrase "spontaneous activity" implies, this activity goes on continuously in the living individual.

http://butler.cc.tut.fi/~malmivuo/bem/bembook/13/13.htm


The article would lead me to think that a statistical EEG analysis would be able to tell the Jello from a human. Also, a clinical measurement would be done from many more points.


...it can be a useful diagnostic tool, but usually must be accompanied by other diagnostic tests to be definitive.
http://science.jrank.org/pages/2347/Electroencephalogram-EEG.html


Cutting edge research is being done with MRI, not EEG mesaurements. Interesting article:
http://www.radiologytoday.net/archive/rt_062705p22.shtml

[Tanstaafl]

I wasn't inclined to follow the CCHR or other links, but the whole web page sure seems to have the stench of scientology about it.

[leonAzul]

I've submitted the following to snopes.com:


At this URL:
<http://www.jellogallery.org/jellohistory3.html>
there appears the follow quote:

March 17, 1993, technicians at St. Jerome hospital in Batavia test a bowl of lime Jell-O with an EEG machine and confirm the earlier testing by Dr. Adrian Upton that a bowl of wiggly Jell-O has brain waves identical to those of adult men and women.

Is there any substance to it, or is it just a spoof? Is there even a peer-reviewed publication of the alleged experiment?


To be continued...

[ToddH]

Ohhh, sounds like a good way to distract zombies when the zombie apocalypse comes. Give them Jell-o in place of our braaaaiiiiinnss. :)

[EchoWars]

Interesting.

This would explain the behavior of my ex.

[Jeff Corey]

I recall this from grad school and I'll try to track it down. A container of jello with a simulated arterial pulse produced EEG-like artifacts.

[Jeff Corey]

Got it.
Kennedy, J.L. (1959) A possible artifact in encephalography, Psychological Review, 6,347-352

[AbleSugar]

leonAzul: Good thinking. hope they come through.

[Miss_Kitt]

This is the only place on the Internet where you'd find a thread like this!!!

Gawd, I love the JREF!!

This totally juices the piglet!!

[Jeff Corey]

Here is the abstract of Kennedy (1959)http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=1961-01783-001
and a replication http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=/iel5/10/4121550/04121556.pdf?temp=x

[AbleSugar]

Thanks for the link.

[Drs_Res]

Well, considering old L.Ron hooked up a plat to one of his e-meters™....

BTW, how long do you think it would take a bowl of lime Jell-o to reach OT VIII ?