List of prizes for evidence of the paranormal
In 1922, Scientific American offered two US $2,500 offers: (1), for the first authentic spirit photograph made under test conditions, and (2), for the first psychic to produce a "visible psychic manifestation." Harry Houdini was a member of the investigating committee. The first medium to be tested was George Valiantine, who claimed that in his presence spirits would speak through a trumpet that floated around a darkened room. For the test, Valiantine was placed in a room, the lights were extinguished, but unbeknownst to him his chair had been rigged to light a signal in an adjoining room if he ever left his seat. Because the light signals were tripped during his performance, Valiantine did not collect the award.[1]
Since then, many individuals and groups have offered similar monetary awards for proof of the paranormal in an observed setting. These prizes have a combined value of over $2.4 million dollars.[2]
Prizes
# | Organization | Prize money | Details |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Abraham Kovoor's challenge | Rs. 100,000 (Sri Lankan Rupees) | Abraham Kovoor offered the prize money starting in 1963.(US$883 approx) |
2 | Alfredo Barrago's Bet | €50,000 | (US$75,000 approx) |
3 | Association for Skeptical Enquiry (United Kingdom) | £13,000 award | (US$23,000 approx) |
4 | Australian Skeptics | AU$100,000 | (US$90,000 approx) for proof the existence of ESP, telepathy, or telekinesis. |
5 | Basava Premanand | 100,000 (Indian Rupees) | |
6 | Center for Inquiry West | US$50,000 | For "a demonstration of so-called paranormal ability scientifically tested onstage"[1] |
7 | Independent Investigations Group | US$50,000 | |
8 | Fayetteville Freethinkers | US$1,000 award | |
9 | Finnish Association of Skeptics | €10,000 | (US$15,000 approx) (Money partially from Hannu Karttunen and Iiro Seppänen) |
10 | Indian Skeptic 100,000 Paranormal Challenge | 100,000 Indian Rupees | (US$2,500 approx) |
11 | James Randi Educational Foundation | One million US dollars | Largest prize money in US dollars. (Also see the Sima Nan prize.) |
12 | Kazakhstan Commission for the Investigation of Anomalous Phenomena (KCIAP) | US$1,000 | |
13 | Les Sceptiques du Quebec (Canada) | CA$10,000 | (US$10,000 approx) |
14 | New York Area Skeptics | US$2,000 | Awarded to the successful completion of the James Randi Educational Foundation prize winner. |
15 | North Texas Skeptics | US$12,000 | |
16 | Philip J. Klass (now deceased) | US$10,000 | For proof of an extraterrestrial visit to the Earth. |
17 | Science and Rationalists' Association of India | Rs. 20,00,000 | Prabir Ghosh will pay Rs. 20,00,000 to anyone can demonstrate a supernatural power in his presence.[2] (US$50,000) |
18 | Scientific American | $2,500 | Two US$2,500 offers: (1) for the first authentic spirit photograph made under test conditions, and (2) for the first psychic to produce a "visible psychic manifestation." (From 1922) |
19 | Sima Nan (China) | 10,000,000 yuan | (US$1,200,000 approx) Can be won in conjunction with the James Randi Educational Foundation prize.[3] |
20 | SKEPP (Belgium) | €10,500 | (in association with the Sisyphus project) award (US$15,000 approx) |
21 | Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World | NZ$50,000 | (US$35,000 approx) |
22 | Swedish Humanist Association | SEK 100,000 | (US$15,000 approx) |
23 | Tampa Bay Skeptics | US$1,000 | |
24 | Eesti Skeptik (Estonia) | 10,000 Estonian Kroons | (US$1,000 approx) |
25 | Eng. Sanad Rashed and Dr.Ahmed Khaled (Kuwait) | 5000$ | for proof Ouija boards function as claimed. |
26 | Bitva Ekstrasensov (Russia) | No money. Prize is the chance to participate in the James Randi challenge with full media and academic support. |
None has been claimed yet.
See also
Part of a series on the |
Paranormal |
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References
- ^ "Randi $1,000,000 paranormal challenge". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ Larsen, Claus (September, 2003). "Get Rich Quick or Save the World". Skeptic Report. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
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