Uri Geller, cheater or not?

From January 26, 2008, Uri Geller can be seen on the Dutch television channel SBS6. In 2007, Uri Geller made a comeback and developed his own television program. In this article you can read more about Uri Geller and his ‘gifts’ and the television program. Nothing is what it seems… are Geller’s gifts real or is he deceiving us while we are right on top of it? Judge for yourself by reading this article and perhaps by watching his show ‘The new Uri Geller’.

Uri Geller

• Geller’s gifts
• Short Biography
• Skeptics about Geller’s gifts
• Television

Geller’s gifts

Uri Geller calls herself a paranormalist and claims, among other things, that she possesses the following gifts:

• Being able to ‘see’ and copy drawings made by someone else via telepathy.
• Breaking, softening, and bending metal and other solid objects without exerting physical force. Such as bending spoons, keys, etc. Sometimes also plastic and glass.
• Making watches that were broken work again.
• Influencing Big Ben in London to stop it from walking.
• Compass needles influence by mental power.
• The ability to erase computer storage media such as floppy disks.
• Growing seeds (mainly radish seeds) into plants of a few centimeters in just a few seconds.
• Being able to find the location where valuable minerals are by using his powers.

Short Biography

Uri Geller was born on December 20, 1946 in Tel Aviv, Israel. As he himself says, Geller discovered his gifts at an early age. When he was five years old, a spoon spontaneously bent up and broke without him exerting any physical force. At school, Geller could set watches ahead of his classmates and his gifts allowed him to read test answers. Geller had to serve as a paratrooper in the Israeli army, he fought in the six-day war with Egypt in 1967 and was wounded there.

From 1970 Geller became successful and started performing. At first for a small audience, but he soon became better known. From 1972 onwards, Geller became known in Europe where he managed to stop a cable car and an elevator. Uri Geller showed his powers on television for the BBC in 1973. In 1975 the book The Geller Papers was published , containing the results of tests that Geller underwent in a laboratory in the United States. After this, things quickly went downhill for Geller. Skeptics rebelled against what Geller claimed he could do. Articles were published

in the English-language magazines New Scientist and Time accusing Geller of cheating. Both New Scientist and Time invited Geller to give him a chance to prove himself. He didn’t show up at New Scientist and he didn’t make an impression at Time. This was partly due to the presence of James Randi , a magician. James Randi exposed Geller and soon it was known everywhere. Guy Lyon Playfair defended Geller from the skeptics in his book The Gellar Effect . No one had proven that Geller was deceiving people, Playfair claimed. As a result, Geller made a comeback in 1986. In the same year he also had his wealth (house, car, swimming pool, etc.) photographed for the magazine Esotera.

In 2004, Uri Geller stars in a television commercial in Europe for Knorr. Geller developed a television show in 2007.

Skeptics about Geller’s gifts

Geller’s best-known tricks are bending spoons without exerting physical force and restarting clocks (watches) that no longer work. However, there are simple explanations for these tricks.

Running stopped clocks:

This trick does not work with digital clocks, as Geller himself says before he starts practicing his gifts. Which also makes sense when you understand that non-digital clocks have gears that are lubricated with oil to keep them running smoothly. As the watch ages it naturally shows wear and tear and the gears may run less and less smoothly and eventually stop. By holding the watch in your hand for a while, it warms up, the oil heats up and the gears start running again.

Bending spoons, keys and other metal objects:

Geller uses various methods to divert his audience’s attention from the spoon to something else. He moves a lot, talks incessantly, changes from one experiment to another, makes sure there are different objects near him. He does everything he can to focus attention elsewhere. When the audience is distracted, this gives him the opportunity to manipulate things.

Once this has been achieved, Geller keeps this hidden from his audience for a while by holding the object in a certain way so that the bend is not visible. When everyone’s attention is back, he allows the bow to take place in a miraculous way.

Dropping spoons off the television:

Televisions make vibrations due to the sound of the speakers. If the sound is loud enough, for example during the countdown during the show, the vibrations may cause the spoon to fall off the television. Because the television produces extra vibrations, for example due to the bass sound. If you place the spoon on the television again (or at any time during any program) and turn up the volume, the spoon will also fall off.

These are just a few of the many tricks that Geller can perform and can be easily explained without involving someone with paranormal gifts. James Randi, magician and well-known critic, has shown several times that he can do the same as Geller by performing tricks . During his 2007 show Phenomenon, a judge challenged Geller to read what was in a sealed envelope. However, Geller could not do this and gave up.

In Israel during his show he is caught trying to move the compass needle using a magnet (which he quickly attaches to his thumb during a diversionary maneuver). Geller has had videos removed from YouTube showing him unable to complete challenges and showing him cheating.

Television

In 2007, Geller developed a television show in which mentalists had to compete against each other to be able to call themselves the new Uri Geller. In Israel the program was called The Succesor and in the United States it was called Phenomenon . The program is called the new Uri Geller in the Netherlands and will be broadcast live on SBS6 from Saturday January 26, 2008 at 8 p.m. Ten candidates will compete against each other in this live show to be able to call themselves the Uri Geller of the Netherlands. The participants must perform tricks that will then be judged by Uri Gerrer. Candidates are eliminated every week. Prior to the live shows, a documentary about Uri Geller will be broadcast on SBS6 on Friday, January 25 at 10:05 PM.

Had the participants really never had contact with Geller beforehand?

No, because participant Hayashi was also seen in the show that Uri Geller had in Germany with the same trick of the knife and the five tubes. The other candidates also performed tricks that had previously been seen in Germany.

Uri Geller is back in a new series of ‘The New Uri Geller’

A new series of live shows will start on Friday, January 9, 2009, in which twelve candidates will compete for the title ‘The New Uri Geller’. The program can be seen weekly on SBS6 at 8:30 PM and will be presented by Tooske Ragas and Patty Brard.

The new Uri Geller in 2010

‘The new Uri Geller’ will be shown on television again in 2010. The show is broadcast weekly on Fridays at 8:30 PM on SBS 6. The first show will be shown on February 5, 2010 in this third season of ‘The new Uri Geller’.