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rockrelf says, "I
wonder how many of the bicycles and cars this guy 'stopped'
were driven by alert drivers who were able to hit the brakes
before turning this nincompoop into roadkill. One would think
a person of average intellect, or even average stupidity, would
jump four feet to safety at the last moment, as they realized
the 'mind trick' wasn't working."
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(September 1989, USSR) The Soviet Union is home to a growing number of
psychics and mentalists. One of them, E. Frenkel, became convinced that he
could use his powers to stop vehicles in their tracks. He believed that "in
extraordinary conditions of a direct threat to my organism, all my reserves
will be called into action."
Frenkel started small -- a bicycle here, an automobile there -- before
graduating to streetcars. Finally, he devised an ultimate test of his
psychic power: he would halt a freight train in its tracks.
The engineer of the train that ran Frenkel over saw him toss his
briefcase aside, and step onto the tracks with arms raised, head lowered,
and body tensed. The engineer applied the emergency brakes, but it was too
late.
The mentalist psyched himself out.
DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2012
Submitted by: Grim
Reference: Associated
Press, October 1989
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