Archives for "January, 2010"
Uri Geller – A Sceptical Perspective
Late in 1995 I interviewed Uri Geller for the Reading University student newspaper, Spark. The interview was published in February 1996. For most of the interview, Mr Geller was charming and polite. However, towards the end of the interview, he became unhappy by my questions about his record of litigation. This culminated in the two [...]
How does Uri Geller do it?
“Uri Geller” in The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience, ABC-CLIO (2002) Uri Geller is the Israeli metal bender and psychic illusionist who became a sensation in the early 1970s. Geller has convinced many people, including several scientists who have tested his abilities, that he possesses genuine psychic powers. Skeptics point out that skilled conjurors can replicate [...]
The Last Hangman (part 1)
The first of a two-part 1994 interview with a former British executioner In 1964 the last two men in Britain were hanged for murder. The following year, parliament voted to abolish capital punishment, with overwhelming public support. The most famous public hangman, Albert Pierrepoint, had already retired having executed more prisoners than any other British [...]
The Last Hangman (part 2)
The second of a two-part 1994 interview with a former British executioner More than thirty years after the abolition of capital punishment in Britain, the clamour for its reintroduction seems to have abated. The cherished goal of the hanging and flogging lobby remains unfulfilled. In the summer of 1994 I interviewed Britain’s last surviving executioner, [...]
The World’s Loneliest Isle
The British dependency of Tristan da Cunha is 1320 miles from its nearest inhabited neighbour. This article describes what life is like on this remote volcano in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. My thanks to the former administrator of the island, Philip Johnson, for sharing his experiences. When Rhodesia became the last African state [...]