Breatharian Tested - Video

[Richard]

Some of you may know that the reporter in this story, Richard Carlton, died a few months ago. A great loss to the skeptics.

Anyway, here he is putting a crackpot to the test.

http://tinyurl.com/o7mh3

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breatharian

[Psi Baba]

Some of you may know that the reporter in this story, Richard Carlton, died a few months ago. A great loss to the skeptics.

Anyway, here he is putting a crackpot to the test.

http://tinyurl.com/o7mh3

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breatharian
Excellent video. Thanks for posting that link. She is such complete liar. I think she knew they wouldn't let her go beyond a point that would be irreversibly dangerous and figured she could hold out long enough so that she wouldn't have to admit she's a total liar. Gotta love the excuses--pollution robbing her of nutrients! Ha! Even in that low-res video you can see the difference in her physique compared to how she looked in the earlier interviews. I've never seen Richard Carlton before. He's amazing. We could use more people like that in the media.

[Lisa Simpson]

"There's not that many of them around, because they keep dying." That is a classic statement.

[ferd burfle]

My thanks too, Richard.

What a nasty piece of work she is, blaming the woman who died by questioning her "motivation" and "integrity". Sickening.

Ferd

[Richard]

I've never seen Richard Carlton before. He's amazing. We could use more people like that in the media.

He was also in on the Carlos Hoax : http://tinyurl.com/gp4n5

I meet Richard Carlton about a year ago and asked him about Jasmuheen the breatharian. He was of the opinion that she was a fraud, as in she knew she was a lair, where as I thought, after watching the report a number of years ago when it was broadcast, that she might be self deluded. Maybe Carlton was right.

[CFLarsen]

Excellent video!

It really shows how dangerous false beliefs are.

As for Jasmuheen? She knows perfectly well what she is doing. She is a crook of the worst kind.

[Azrael 5]

Interesting video.Should be posted everytime someone brings up the subject of Randi refusing to test the breatharian.
Stupid woman.As horrible as it reads,I would have kept her for another week,see what her excuse was then.She would have to beg for water then.
I think this is the same woman who was on "This Morning" in UK a few years ago,claiming she got nourishment from the sun.

[rjh01]

Warning. The video size is 60MB. Just in case anyone has any limit to what they can download.

[Moochie]

I wasn't enamoured of Carleton, but he did do some damned good stuff.

M.

[delphi_ote]

It would be great if that same test was conducted, but food and water were left out in an obvious place with hidden cameras all over it. Let her think she's sneaking food and water. Ask her over and over again if she's really surviving on air and sun. Let her repeat again and again that she's not eating any food.

Then edit the video so it's just her saying "I'm surviving on air!" interspersed with clips of her sneaking food.

[Moochie]

It would be great if that same test was conducted, but food and water were left out in an obvious place with hidden cameras all over it. Let her think she's sneaking food and water. Ask her over and over again if she's really surviving on air and sun. Let her repeat again and again that she's not eating any food.

Then edit the video so it's just her saying "I'm surviving on air!" interspersed with clips of her sneaking food.

You are very wicked!

M.

[Moochie]

I feel that subtlety is the best course for exposing these people. Allow folk to discover their own "A-ha!" point. The lesson usually has deeper roots that way.

M.

[rjh01]

It would be great if that same test was conducted, but food and water were left out in an obvious place with hidden cameras all over it. Let her think she's sneaking food and water. Ask her over and over again if she's really surviving on air and sun. Let her repeat again and again that she's not eating any food.

Then edit the video so it's just her saying "I'm surviving on air!" interspersed with clips of her sneaking food.

Just put a hidden camera in her kitchen. Illegal but it will expose her.:D

[CFLarsen]

Interesting video.Should be posted everytime someone brings up the subject of Randi refusing to test the breatharian.
Stupid woman.As horrible as it reads,I would have kept her for another week,see what her excuse was then.She would have to beg for water then.

No, she wouldn't. I think she is crazy enough to risk death more than risking defeat. She has way to much invested in this.

A former housewife. Now a major star - at least in her own mind. What was it she claimed, 100 million supporters?

She wouldn't stop until she was dead.

[rustytunes]

I feel that subtlety is the best course for exposing these people. Allow folk to discover their own "A-ha!" point. The lesson usually has deeper roots that way.

M.
I agree. Just like Richard Carlton's report did not draw a conclusion.

[CodeComplete]

Haven't seen this video but I saw an interview with some bretharian woman's family a while back.
The daughter was asked if she had even seen her Mum eat and she replied to the effect that she had seen her eat chocloate and drink water. She then added that her Mum didn't need to eat chocloate, it was just that she liked the taste. And she didn't need to drink water, but her throat gets dry sometimes.

[JohnboyMN]

She then added that her Mum didn't need to eat chocloate, it was just that she liked the taste.

Pretty much the same thing happened in this video. The reporter asked her if she ever ate. She said "Of course I do. It's pretty boring if you never eat. But I eat because I like to, not because I have to."

She also tried to shirk any responsibility for people who die when they try to live on air.

(Paraphrasing): "I only put the information out there. I'm not responsible if someone actually tries to use the information."

[sophia8]

Just put a hidden camera in her kitchen. Illegal but it will expose her.:DHer husband, interestingly, is a non-Breatharian. and her kitichen is always stocked with food. So if anybody spots her in her house with food in her hands she can always say "Oh! This plate of burgers? It's for my husband!" I suspect she actually eats in the bathroom, or someplace else where nobody could see her.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

After about 12 and a half minutes, I almost felt a bit sorry for her as she so obviously didn't look well....

But I guess she had hoped and maybe knew they would stop before it really hurt her.

Edit: She is obviously a fraud though, and the small chance she was just delusional will have been blasted out of the water by the trial.

[kieran]

She was so obviously slurring and mumbling her words, and incredibly low on energy at the end of the test that any fool could see she was not able to survive on air alone. A final interview - after she had seen that video herself -would have been a better end to the piece.

However, she has a very lucrative business riding on her ability to survive on air alone. So she will stick to her "bad air near busy road" excuse and claim victory in the test. Her view will be that the testers abandonned the test because they were not getting the result they wanted. I guess she will reject any measured physical deterioration as being part of her normal physical processes due to her breatharian subsistence. :boggled:

(On the polluted air excuse: it would have been good to ask her how long her body usually takes to recover when she has been in a polluted environment - as she was still deteriorating in the clean air. :confused: )

I suspect that she won't subject herself to another test ... too much to lose - and this kind of idiocy is excluded from the JREF prize for obvious reasons, however I think a couple of testing protocols have emerged if any such situations arose again.

Conduct the tests in an obviously unpolluted location - nip that excuse in the bud
Record the medical readings (heart rate, dehydration, blood pressure) regularly in the period leading up to the test so that the participants normal variation is known. Then any serious deterioration is less contestable.
Make the candidate perform some simple physical exercise - preferrably requiring hand-eye co-ordination - before and during the trial so that a quantitative comparison can be made. She made a big deal of her physically active life-style during the early part of the video (yoga, spinning round, etc) but she became a virtually bed-bound zombie after a few days without food - she would claim that is a subjective view, so it would be nice to get her to face up to the deterioration in ability.

I'm not advocating such a test - just hypothetically pointing out how the excuses could be countered.

[veggie doll]

No, she wouldn't. I think she is crazy enough to risk death more than risking defeat. She has way to much invested in this.

A former housewife. Now a major star - at least in her own mind. What was it she claimed, 100 million supporters?

She wouldn't stop until she was dead.

If she did die then it would at least prove that she couldn't live on air alone.

[veggie doll]

Have any Breatharians ever said anything about all of the people in the world that are dying of starvation? Like, that they could survive if only they were taught how, and were more motivated?

Someone should ask this woman if she believes that her lifestyle [the one she claims to live] could be adopted by people in third world countries to solve world hunger.

[TheChadd]

I'm sure she would say that it could :)

[rjh01]

But the pollution in the third world would not allow them to live without food. Even the light polution would be enough.

Or some other pathetic excuse as to why it would not work.

[SwissSkeptic]

I suspect that she won't subject herself to another test ... too much to lose - and this kind of idiocy is excluded from the JREF prize for obvious reasons, however I think a couple of testing protocols have emerged if any such situations arose again.
(snip)

While it's true that JREF usually don't conduct tests that could put the life of the applicant in danger, this is what Randi had to say about Jasmuheen:

Hey, I'll do that test, first making sure that Jasmuheen is totally satisfied about the circumstances, and meeting all her requirements, including location, atmosphere, and ambiance. I'll also get a comprehensive waiver from her that says she won't bring legal action against anyone if something goes wrong, that she's a competent adult, that she will tell us when and if she has any problems, and that she will close off the test at any time she wishes. But I won't allow the test to be terminated unless Jasmuheen herself says she wants it to be stopped!

Why am I so heartless? You should know that to date, three of her followers have starved to death by following her instructions. If she has the wisdom to command them to die, she should have the smarts to know when she's going down that slope, as well.
(...)

http://www.randi.org/jr/070105quality.html

[dogbite666]

I used to hang out on her forum a few months ago, I actually managed to get to converse with Jasmuheen herself and attempted to pressure her into accepting Randi's challenge he offered her personally in one of his weekly postings on Swift.

She was very good at dodging the offer but eventually she was forced to close the forum down as all she was getting was pressure from me and another guy called Tim.

It makes me feel like I've done some good, maybe even saved some people from getting into this stupid cult.

Victory to the skeptics!

[patnray]

Conduct the tests in an obviously unpolluted location - nip that excuse in the bud
Record the medical readings (heart rate, dehydration, blood pressure) regularly in the period leading up to the test so that the participants normal variation is known. Then any serious deterioration is less contestable.
Make the candidate perform some simple physical exercise - preferrably requiring hand-eye co-ordination - before and during the trial so that a quantitative comparison can be made. She made a big deal of her physically active life-style during the early part of the video (yoga, spinning round, etc) but she became a virtually bed-bound zombie after a few days without food - she would claim that is a subjective view, so it would be nice to get her to face up to the deterioration in ability.

Regarding point 1, if you just focus on removing the "pollution" you leave room for other excuses. To completely exclude wiggle room, have her stay in the test environment for a couple of days without cameras or observers, with plenty of opportunity to cheat. Then ask her, just before the real test begins, if there is anything at all in the environment that interferes with her ability to absorb nutrients. She'll still make excuses for her failure, of course, but it will be even less credible...

[kieran]

Regarding point 1, if you just focus on removing the "pollution" you leave room for other excuses...
Yep - you are right. Much better protocol ...

[eri]

I thought that Randi wouldn't test breatherians because a conclusive test will kill them (or at least cause major health problems). Was there some other test she would be able to take to prove she can live on air without actually dying?

[Jackalgirl]

Some of you may know that the reporter in this story, Richard Carlton, died a few months ago. A great loss to the skeptics.

Anyway, here he is putting a crackpot to the test.

http://tinyurl.com/o7mh3

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breatharian


WOW. That was ever so awesome a segment. I really am impressed. Thank you so much for that link!

-- Kat

[rjh01]

I thought that Randi wouldn't test breatherians because a conclusive test will kill them (or at least cause major health problems). Was there some other test she would be able to take to prove she can live on air without actually dying?

Simple. Just put cameras in her kitchen without letting her know. Then you will see here eat three meals a day.

Or get a good looking bloke to chat her up and get a dinner date. Need I say more?:D

[jk143]

Have any Breatharians ever said anything about all of the people in the world that are dying of starvation? Like, that they could survive if only they were taught how, and were more motivated?

Someone should ask this woman if she believes that her lifestyle [the one she claims to live] could be adopted by people in third world countries to solve world hunger.

It seems they have, or more correctly Jasmuheen herself has:

selfempowermentacademy.com.au/light.htm

Can't yet post URLs so you have to copy and paste...sorry.

[I'll_buy_that]

She's a fraud, no question. she distances herself from the people who read her book instead of making excuses such as "they didn't work hard enough" she drinks water and tea, her fridge has food in it.

the test after a few days shows her health deteriorating, so she has never done it before despite the fact that she writes books about it, creates websites about it and preaches it.

she doesn't practice what she preaches, plain and simple.

furthermore it is just a plain stupid thing to believe in. we get hungry and we eat, we perspire and we drink. All animals need food and water. simple.

[MWare]

I would imagine it's quite possible she's had some form of eating disorder, even before her rebirth as a guru. I'm no expert in this type of thing, but I could imagine a situation where she actually has binge and purge sessions that she blacks out (intentionally or otherwise). After all eating disorders are all in the mind...aren't they?

Definitely a great link. I think he should have let her starve. I would imagine that she would hit a point where she was unable to function, but still not past the point of recovery. If he couldn't get her to admit it, let her body admit it for her. If she could bring litigation against the network for putting her in this position, the same arguments could then be used against her to put her in litigation for the people who died because of her.

[Tamazon]

I so need to learn how to do that! Cooking and eating is way too time consuming. And imagine how much money I could save.

Have Penn & Teller done an episode about breatharians yet? They really should.

[SirPhilip]

As for Jasmuheen? She knows perfectly well what she is doing. She is a crook of the worst kind. I have to wonder, in 20 years will there be any esoteric tradition, martial art or ascetic practice around the world not to be completely taken out of context by these egotistical fools.