Anyone know the history of how the challenge came about?

[Questioninggeller]

I got my copy of "Film-Flam" today, which is a very old copy (I bought it used). I immediately started flipping through it and starting reading certain chapters, including the last chapter about the frauds who tried to get the money.

Anyway the prize in the book is $10,000 for anyone who can prove the paranormal. I was wondering when it became one million, and when it became called JREF? I looked over the site and I failed to find anything, so if you have a link or could fill me in on the history, thanks.

[afree87]

Randi was asking for donations in the late 1990s (when he ran an Internet mailing list which was originally about Uri Geller, but eventually became the Commentary). He got large donations from a lot of people, but I believe most of the million came from a single, anonymous contributor.

[JimTheBrit]

Originally posted by Questioninggeller
I got my copy of "Film-Flam" today, which is a very old copy (I bought it used). I immediately started flipping through it and starting reading certain chapters, including the last chapter about the frauds who tried to get the money.

Anyway the prize in the book is $10,000 for anyone who can prove the paranormal. I was wondering when it became one million, and when it became called JREF? I looked over the site and I failed to find anything, so if you have a link or could fill me in on the history, thanks.

"The James Randi Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1996" from the 'About the Foundation' (http://www.randi.org/jref/index.html) page.

"Randi first challenged professed practitioners of the paranormal in 1968, offering $1,000 to anybody who could prove they have psychic powers. No one claimed it. So he upped the prize to $10,000, then to $1 million. It wasn't real money at first, just an amount pledged by hard-nosed skeptics from around the world. Then "a very wealthy gentleman in one of the northern states" made a donation of $1 million to Randi's cause. The money now sits in an investment account in New York City, collecting interest while Randi fields calls from potential contenders."
Source (http://www.clevescene.com/issues/1999-11-04/feature.html)

[Questioninggeller]

Originally posted by JimTheBrit


"The James Randi Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1996" from the 'About the Foundation' (http://www.randi.org/jref/index.html) page.


Thanks.