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Weekend


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July 16, 2004

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. Can you imagine circumstances where the loud dripping of plain water into basins set beneath your bed frightens you to death? Clue: You're blindfolded and strapped to the bed.

    A. In 1936, in India, recounts Nobel Laureate Bernard Lown in “The Lost Art of Healing,” an astonishing experiment was conducted on a prisoner condemned to die by hanging. He was given the choice instead of being “exsanguinated,” or having his blood let out, because this would be gradual and relatively painless. The victim agreed, was strapped to the bed and blindfolded.


     
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