An article by Snopes in 2013 said the experiment was flawed because the methods used were suspect, the sample size was much too small, and the capability to measure weight changes too imprecise, concluding: "credence should not be given to the idea his experiments proved something, let alone that they measured the weight of the soul as 21 grams." [4] The fact that MacDougall likely poisoned and killed fifteen healthy dogs in an attempt to support his research has also been a source of criticism. [3] [4] Aftermath [ edit ] a b Hood, Bruce (1 June 2009). Supersense: From Superstition to Religion – The Brain Science of Belief. Hachette. p.151. ISBN 978-1849012461. Wass, Mike (10 August 2015). "Niykee Heaton Gets Serious With Dark, Sprawling "21 Grams": Listen". Idolator. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017 . Retrieved 16 July 2017. In 1911, The New York Times reported that MacDougall was hoping to run experiments to take photos of souls, but he appears to not have continued any further research into the area and died in 1920. [4] His experiment has not been repeated. [5] Similar experiments [ edit ]

MacDougall teamed up with Dorchester's Consumptives' Home, a charitable hospital for late-stage tuberculosis, which at that time was incurable. MacDougall built a large scale, capable of holding a cot and a dying tuberculosis patient. Tuberculosis was a convenient disease for this experiment, MacDougall explained in his paper, because patients died in "great exhaustion" and without any movement that would jiggle his scale.Sum, Ed (16 February 2016). "A Historical Analysis & Review into The Empire of Corpses". Otaku no Culture. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017 . Retrieved 16 July 2017.

Also at Rotherfield is the very rare Incredulity of Thomas, possibly once part of a Passion Cycle, but equally possibly a detached and separate subject from the first. MacDougall threw out Case 4, a woman dying of diabetes, because the scale wasn't well calibrated, in part due to a "good deal of interference by people opposed to our work," which raises a few questions that MacDougall did not seem eager to answer in his write-up. Case 5 lost 0.375 ounce (10.6 grams), but the scale malfunctioned afterward, raising questions about those numbers, too. Case 6 got thrown out because the patient died while MacDougall was still adjusting his scale. MacDougall, Duncan (1907). "Hypothesis Concerning Soul Substance Together With Experimental Evidence of the Existence of Such a Substance". Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. 1 (1): 237. ISBN 9785874496289.This panel may have formed a single image for private devotion or it may have been part of a larger scene depicting the ‘Last Judgement'. The archangel Michael was one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. People throughout Europe revered him for his powers of protection and because of the part he was thought to play at the Last Judgement. a b c d e Roach, Mary (6 September 2012). Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Penguin. ISBN 978-0241965016.

The usual depiction of the Last Judgement at this time is one of Christ seated on a throne surrounded by the Apostles who sit in judgment with him. The dead are seen below rising from their tombs. On the right of Christ angels conduct those who have been judged favourably to heaven. On the left, devils carry the damned down to the torments of hell. St. Michael holding the scales often appears in the lower foreground of the image. In Christian teaching, at the Second Coming of Christ the dead will rise from their tombs and be judged and sent to heaven or to hell. The Archangel Michael holds the scales of judgment and weighs the souls of the resurrected. A righteous soul will weigh the balance of the scales downward. In this panel we see small devils trying tip the balance in their favour. At this time, depictions of the Last Judgement usually show Christ seated on a throne surrounded by the Apostles, who sit in judgment with him. Below, the dead rise from their tombs. On the right of Christ, angels conduct the favourably judged souls to heaven. On the left, devils carry the damned down to the torments of hell. St. Michael often appears in the lower foreground of the image, holding the scales.

Anubis in Modern Culture

a b c d Wiseman, Richard (1 April 2011). Paranormality: Why We see What Isn't There. Macmillan. pp.32–34. ISBN 978-1743038383. In December 2001, physicist Lewis E. Hollander Jr. published an article in Journal of Scientific Exploration where he exhibited the results of a similar experiment. He tested the weight of one ram, seven ewes, three lambs and one goat at the moment of death, seeking to explore upon MacDougall's purported findings. His experiment showed that seven of the adult sheep varied their weight upon dying, though not losing it, but rather gaining an amount of 18 to 780 grams, which was lost again over time until returning to their initial weight. [10] In 2009, Hollander Jr.'s experiment was subjected to critical review by Masayoshi Ishida in the same journal. Ishida found Hollander's statement of a transient gain of weight was "not an appropriate expression of the experimental result", though he admitted "the cause of the force event remains to be explained". He also warned about possible malfunctions of the weighing platform in two of the cases. [11] While MacDougall believed that the results from his experiment showed the human soul might have weight, his report, which was not published until 1907, stated the experiment would have to be repeated many times before any conclusion could be obtained. [4] [5] Reaction [ edit ] The New York Times article from 11 March 1907