show_no_mercy

I read/heard somewhere that we immediately lose 21 grams when we expire. I even think there was a movie of the same name. Thoughts?

Tetlepanquetzatzin

That we lose 21 grams is an old myth. It is true that there is a movie with that title, though.

Shadowy Man

21 Grams was a good movie. I recommend seeing it.

travc

The "mass" of a soul (or life force or whatever) being 21 grams is a myth with roots as old as the philosphic mercury (or philosopher's stone)... actually, pretty much the same myth

breathilizer

Myth.

Here's another myth: God.

This is fun. Who has the next turn?

PoodleLovinPessimist

Me me!

Myths, Misconceptions, and Superstitions About Spiders

quester

If so, we gain it right back when we inspire!

Epictetus

Dr. Duncan MacDougall was the dude who "discovered" the mass of the soul. 21 grams was actually an average. Some souls were heavier, some lighter. So obesity exists even in the spirit world. This is what we now know as a "Great Soul."

sbaii

I read somewhere that the same experiment was done with dogs with the same results.

Rhaedas

If there was enough conclusive results to say that yes, upon death all living beings (even bacteria?) lose something measurable by wieght...

Then the next questions would have to be, where is this mass normally, and where is it going? Why for a fleeting moment is a supernatural thing natural?

But of course the results aren't consistent, and are easily contributed to natural causes and/or mismeasurements (I believe there were even cases where the measurements were "fudged", ie leaning on the scale).

And back to a point, what organisms have been measured and have/haven't lost mass? If dogs do the same thing, what does this say about souls being exclusively a human thing? Perhaps it has something to do with expiration of air, biochemical production or the ceasing of it, etc.