Source: @Twitter
James Randi, one of the best-known magicians and escape artists in the world has died, his foundation said. He was 92 and died of natural causes. Canadian born James Randi had spent decades challenging paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.
James Randi began his career in the 1940s as a magician and later called himself ‘The Amazing Randi’. James Randi, who never believed in the paranormal and the faith-healers later chose to devote most of his time to investigating such claims. James Randi was best known as the world’s most tireless investigator and demystifier of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.
He holds the record for beating the legendary Harry Houdini‘s record of being in a sealed box underwater for one hour 44 minutes. Some of his other tricks include escaping from a straightjacket while hanging upside down over Niagara Falls and another when he was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
He exposed Peter Popoff the German-born American televangelist and faith healer.
Peter Popoff used to falsely claim to be conversing with God about those suffering from ailments in the audience. James along with his undercover surveillance expert exposed him and showed how Peter was using an earpiece to receive radio messages from his wife, to receive names, addresses, and ailments of audience members.
Randi, along with sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov and astronomer Carl Edward Sagan, formally co-founded the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) what is now known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry to investigate claims of paranormal phenomena and promote scientific inquiry.
In 1964 Randi, on a radio show had offered US$1,000 of his own money to anyone who could demonstrate evidence of paranormal abilities. The prize money grew to a million dollars, but so far has not been claimed by anyone.
Randi received numerous awards and recognitions and wrote several books including The Truth About Uri Geller, The Faith Healers, Flim-Flam!, and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural.
In 2014, a documentary on James Randi’s life exposing fake psychics and con artists was released. It was titled An Honest Liar.
Sign up for the QuackTrack.org newsletter below!
