The Dark side of Science: The 21 grams Experiment 1907 weighing the soul (Short Documentary)

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Ever wondered if the soul has a weight?

The 21 grams experiment was a flawed and unethical scientific study published in 1907 by Duncan MacDougall, a physician from Haverhill, Massachusetts.

MacDougall hypothesised that souls have physical weight, and attempted to measure the mass lost by a human when the soul departed the body.

MacDougall attempted to measure the loss of mass of six patients at the moment of death.

One of the six subjects lost three-quarters of an ounce (21.3 grams).

The results of the study have been used by multiple religions organisations as proof of the soul.

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[PlainlyDifficult]

Any future suggestions for dark side of science videos? Let me know 👇

[Jaeden_Phoenix]

"The 21 Grams Experiment" sounds like what my friend Dave gets up to behind the bins outside the Tesco on Ewell Road on a Friday Night at approximately 2:45am.

[SlyPearTree]

"... if we have a soul then it must hold a physical space and therefore can be weighed." That's the first flaw in the whole experiment, supernatural things aren't beholden to the laws of logic or physic or science, etc..., that's what make them supernatural. If the supernatural existed that is.

[theravenseye]

"The soul must have weight" It's a big assumption to make right off the

[skakid]

It's easy to measure the weight of the soul:

Step 1: Weigh yourself, note measurement
Step 2: Dye hair ginger
Step 3: Weigh again, compare measurements.
Step 5:???
Step 6: Profit.

[erinhollow]

"Duncan McDoogle" is too funny a name for a death experiment man

[yayforeffort]

"How would you rate this experiment? "

I think calling it an experiment is being generous as fuck is how I would rate it.

[tfrowlett]

I’ve got one request for a dark science experiment: the Loftus experiment on parental guidance and how it affects child speech development. IIRC, it left a lot of kids with lisps by the end of it, but it showed the importance of good parenting.

[AnthonyHandcock]

I'm wondering how he knew the 21g was the soul leaving the body as opposed to a demon, the chakras or the love of bacon sandwiches.

[AlokR]

While the "souls must have weight" issue has been pointed out by several in the comments, no one has yet talked about how "time of death" also is an issue. At the time of the experiment time of death had a clear, unambiguous definition. Due to advances in medicine, when exactly death occurs is itself a not-so-easy question

[whistlerwade]

I'll admit it here, I was way older than I should have been when I found out consumption was Tuberculosis and not death by over eating...

[limaofarofa]

I'm rating this at 21 grams of the ethical scale.

[jtgd]

“Animals have no souls” he says with no evidence at all

[anuradhapriyankara]

If these people were still alive they would probably say erasing your hard drive would make the computer lighter 😂

[boogelliotgm]

I’m guessing the 21g would be the last amount of air exhaling as the lungs collapse. Even on a normal exhale, the lungs don’t collapse completely. If you watch someone take their last breath, it’s remarkable how much the chest shrinks down after all the air is expelled.

Depending on the size of the dog and the experiment, detecting the amount of air leaving a dog’s lungs on last exhale may be less detectable; method of euthanasia could make a difference as well. If a paralytic were used, the lungs could collapse a bit before death.

[MalleusSemperVictor]

I think we really have an unhealthy relationship with death and the eventual steady decay of all things. Everyone dies and you will, too. Sometimes, you'll die sooner than others. The only thing one can hope for is that it doesn't hurt.

[JesseMcCullough]

You should do George R Price next. He provided a mathematical proof of what is today known as Hamiltonian Spite, that individuals favor those they are related or attached to and will engage in behaviours to insure their success at the expense of others. Price was so disturbed by his equations that he spent the rest of his life trying to prove it was wrong and it led to him taking his own life.

[margarethall]

I have spent half of my life on the bathroom scales worrying about my weight. Cursed be he who expects me to go into eternity being weighed.

[itaybron]

Honestly as far as early 20th century medical experiment go the weight of the soul is incredibly tame.

[ChrisMonson]

I'm blown away by your ability to pump out great content week after week without end. I don't know how you do it, but keep up the great work!