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A bent spoon.

Spoon bending is the apparent deformation of objects, especially metal cutlery, either without physical force, or with less force than normally necessary. It is a common form of stage magic, and a variety of methods are used to produce the illusion.

Spoon bending attracted considerable media attention in the 1970s when some people claimed to have the ability to cause such events by paranormal psychic means. The most notable was Uri Geller, who performed by bending metal spoons as well as metal keys and several other objects and materials. Geller's performances were attributed to stage magic by critics such as James Randi^[1] and Martin Gardner.^[2]

Stage magic

Fork bent by James Randi.

Causing spoons, keys, and other items to appear to bend without any physical force is a common stage magic trick that has many variants. An article in The New York Times profiled the neuroscience connections of stage magic and perception. In the article, science reporter Benedict Carey explained what experts who authored a paper in Nature Reviews Neuroscience on the neuroscience of magic tricks had to say about spoon bending:

Any 7-year-old can fool her younger brother by holding the neck of a spoon and rapidly tilting it back and forth, like a mini teeter-totter gone haywire. The spoon appears curved, because of cells in the visual cortex called end-stopped neurons, which perceive both motion and the boundaries of objects, the authors write. The end-stopped neurons respond differently from other motion-sensing cells, and this slight differential warps the estimation of where the edges of the spoon are.^[3]

When the result is a single bend or break, it is usually at the point where the object would be easiest to bend by hand. In many cases, the trick uses misdirection, a basic tool of the stage magician. The performer draws the audience's attention away from the spoon during the brief moment while the spoon is being physically bent. The typical bend, where the bowl meets the handle, requires relatively little force. The magician then gradually reveals the bend.^[4]

Other methods use a metal spoon that has been prepared so that a simple flick will cause it to bend or break. This can be done, for instance, by repeatedly bending the spoon at the desired spot, until the metal cracks and weakens. If the spoon breaks, the magician holds together the two halves of the spoon as if it were unbroken, then slowly relaxes the grip, making the spoon appear to bend before splitting in two.^[5]

If a magician has control over the viewing angle, the trick can be done by using a spoon that is already bent at the start of the trick. The spoon is initially held with the bend along the viewing angle, making it invisible. The magician then turns the spoon slowly to reveal the bend.

Spoon bending and the paranormal

Due partly to the publicity surrounding Uri Geller in the 1970s, bent spoons have become a common visual symbol of the paranormal. It is shown, for example, in The Matrix, when a young boy bends a spoon to demonstrate the unreality of a computer simulation.

While many individuals have claimed the paranormal or psychokinetic ability to bend spoons or manipulate other objects, spoon bending by mental powers alone has not been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scientific community. Magician and skeptic James Randi has offered a prize of one million dollars to people who are able to demonstrate paranormal abilities such as spoon bending.^[6]

Notable claimants of spoon bending events

Author Michael Crichton described his successful experience with spoon bending in his 1988 book Travels:

I looked down. My spoon had begun to bend. I hadn't even realized. The metal was completely pliable, like soft plastic. It wasn't particularly hot, either, just slightly warm. I easily bend the bowl of the spoon in half, using only my fingertips. This didn't require any pressure at all, just guiding with my fingertips. I put the bent spoon aside and tried a fork. After a few moments of rubbing, the fork twisted like a pretzel. It was easy. I bent several more spoons and forks. ... I had bent a spoon, and I knew it wasn't a trick. I looked around the room and saw little children, eight or nine years old, bending large metal bars. They weren't trying to trick anybody.

— Michael Crichton , Travels, 1988, pages 319–320

Parapsychologist and author Dean Radin has reported that he was able to bend the bowl of a spoon over with unexplained ease of force with witnesses present at an informal PK experiment gathering.

I was much more skeptical about such claims until one day I personally folded the bowl of a large, heavy soup spoon in half with a gentle touch, and with half a dozen witnesses present. I later tested to see if I could do this again with a similar spoon using ordinary force. I couldn't budge the bowl without the assistance of two pairs of pliars and some serious leverage. So I have good reason to doubt the usual skeptical assertion that all cases of metal-bending are conjuring tricks or due to unconscious use of force.

— Dean Radin ,  Entangled Minds, page 331

Maureen Caudill, a trainer associated with the Monroe Institute, claims it is significantly easier to achieve when performed in groups rather than alone. ^[7]

See also

• Anomalous operation
• Nickel titanium
• Pigasus Award
• Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam

References

External links

• Photos of spoon bent by Dean Radin—Includes a description of the event.
• Follow-up comment from Michael Crichton: Crichton comments on the controversy over spoon bending
• Michael Shermer Spoonbending. Michael Shermer bends back the bowl of his spoon. Shermer believes he was able to do this because of excitement and adrenaline.
• Mass Spoon Bending in Australia: Video from Sydney Skeptics in the Pub where everyone is bending spoons.
• Demonstration on a Norwegian news channel: Guest Svein Rygh bends a spoon.

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