MASS TELEPATHY TEST

Manawatu Times, Volume LII, Issue 3577, 7 April 1927, Page 11

MASS TELEPATHY TEST

OLIVER LODGE’S EXPERIMENT. an army op listeners-in. LONDON. -February -23. Most "wireless listeners —at least those who sit up later than 11 o'clock —took, part in the experiment in mass telepathy a few night ago. Locked in a room in Tavistock Square, London,- were. Df. «fi, WoolleY..; tary of the Psychical Research : So;-. ciety, and five other and women whose names were not divulged. The telephone in ; the room had been disconnected: the window fixed so that it could not bo opened. They had no means of communication with the outside world. In deep - armchairs round a large writing table the six people concentrated their eyes" and minds on five objects separately by Dr. Woolley at five-min-ute intervals.., In the meantime Sir Oliver- Lodge, at the head of the British Broadcasting Company,* spoke to the world . largo, explained the experiment,- .'and announced the exact time Dr.'^|polji6y; and his colleagues cenoentfiatfe'd!' on *i>o v» r * ious objects. > v One of the listencrs-in, after relating what took place, says:—“We posted out answers early next morning and all through the night the six members of- the Psychical Research Society kept their lonely yiglb They were locked up somewhere in Bloomsbury until 9 o’clock next morning, so that answers could bo posted • before there was any .possibility of any of them . revealing thd secrets. Tho most vivid impression left on the mind after this mass, experiment yvas of tho. heavily-weighted postman and the sacks of letters which would find their way to those Tavistock-rooms before 4S hours bad gone by.” ■ ! - ■ ■ ~' - - Ten thousand letters reached the society by noon on the day after the experiment. Half an hour later four postmen appeared on the scene with sacks j crammed with more letters, and hardly had these been deposited in the hall when the General Post Office rang to ask what should bo done with the thousands of additional letters that were hourly pouring in from town and country. The objects sele’oted for the experiment were received in the newspapers later.- Th first object was a playing card—the two of clubs in green on a black background. The second was a Japanese print, depleting a skull and two birds with some green grass in the foreground. The third was three gprays of lilac held out in a hand. The fourth was another playing card —tho nine of hearts in red on a black background. The last was an effort to produce an impression of the comical Dr. Woolley wore a grotesque mask with a bowler hat on his head! Tho last effort, which surely would have presented tho most difficult task for thought-readers, appears to have had some success. Dr. Woolley said; "A number of members of the society have been trying to sort out the letters throughout the day. I have been able only to throw a curs-

ory glance over- these letters, but,, "I am told at least one person gave si full description of me wearing my mask and my bowler hat!” >