How many have so far taken Randi's challenge?

[plindboe]

Any help appreciated. :D

[Hydrogen Cyanide]

I don't have the exact numbers, but there have been several who have tried -- and many have been written up in the weekly commentary. The ones I remember most is the one with the little girl who claimed to be able to read blind-folded (another one is detailed in Randi's book Flim-Flam and the Yellow Bamboo fiasco.

There is section on this forum dedicated to the challenge applications. Check here:
http://forums.randi.org/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=68

With further discussion here:
http://forums.randi.org/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=16

editted to clear up some formatting

[plindboe]

(Ooops, I notice that I placed this thread in the wrong forum, sorry 'bout that)

HC, thanks for the reply and links.

What I'm interested in, is an estimate about how many, it doesn't have to be precise at all. Are we talking about tens, hundreds or thousands of people who has over the years been tested by JREF and people connected to the foundation?

[H3LL]

I understood it to be zero.

All have failed the preliminaries.

[plindboe]

Originally posted by H3LL
I understood it to be zero.

All have failed the preliminaries.

How many have taken the preliminaries then?

[Hydrogen Cyanide]

That would be hard to say.

I recently read Flim-Flam which was published in 1982 -- and there is the mention of the challenge there, at a paltry $10,000. Included in that book was description of at least a couple of instances where folks attempted to get that money but left dejected and without a check.

So, in the last 25 or so years, there must have been lots and lots of challenges.

Hmmm.... according to this the Randi Challenge started in 1964:
http://www.parascope.com/articles/0197/randi.htm ... over 40 years and no winners.

Has anyone been counting?

To see the mess, check out the Commentary here:
http://www.randi.org/jr/061804remote.html ... there are lots of challenges.

[plindboe]

Thanks again HC for the very enlightening replies.

I recently read in a commentary that Randi had tested hundreds of dowsers, and I believe the vast majority of applicants are dowsers(90% I think), so I can imagine "hundreds" might be the answer to my question.

[Hydrogen Cyanide]

Originally posted by plindboe
Thanks again HC for the very enlightening replies.

I recently read in a commentary that Randi had tested hundreds of dowsers, and I believe the vast majority of applicants are dowsers(90% I think), so I can imagine "hundreds" might be the answer to my question.

Well dowsers are pretty much a dime a dozen.

The book Flim-Flam has a detailed section on them.

They can also be tested in groups -- as shown in this Scientific American Frontiers:
http://www.pbs.org/saf/transcripts/transcript802.htm#3