/oss/taxonomy/term/3940/all en /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/story-behind-21-grams <p>The April 1907 issue of American Medicine featured a paper by Dr. Duncan Macdougall describing his experiment whereby the beds of dying patients were placed on a sensitive balance. Believe it or not, he was trying to weigh the human soul! The paper was titled “Hypothesis Concerning Soul Substance Together with Experimental Evidence of The Existence of Such Substance.” Macdougall of Haverhill, Massachusetts placed six dying patients on the specially constructed balance and concluded that at the moment of death there was a loss in weight of about three quarters of an ounce, or 21 grams.</p> Wed, 19 Jun 2019 15:45:37 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7802 at /oss