i heard that when people die, they weigh i think 22 gram more. But whats the explanation behind it?
2007-01-07 05:27:08 · 34 answers · asked by zhang 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
21g less - the weight of the soul.
Dr. Duncan MacDougall was an early 20th century doctor in Haverhill, Massachusetts who sought to measure the weight purportedly lost by a human body when the soul departed the body upon death.
In 1907, MacDougall weighed 6 dying patients in an attempt to prove that the soul was material and measurable. In March 1907, accounts of MacDougall's experiments were published in the New York Times and the medical journal, American Medicine.
Although generally regarded either as meaningless or considered to have had little if any scientific merit, MacDougall's finding that the human soul weighed 21 grams has become a meme in the public consciousness. It lent itself to the title of the mainstream film 21 Grams. In the end however, his practices were considered fallible due to shakey methods and small sample size.
2007-01-07 05:27:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 9⤊ 2⤋
Well they just appear to weigh more... everything becomes stiff, muscles, joints etc and so when trying to pick the dead person up they arent flexible making you feel as if they are heavier...
i think u have it the wrong way dead people weigh 22 grams less not more...
there is alot of theories but i just think that it is due to all the post mortem destruction and decomposition...
2007-01-07 05:55:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually they weigh less- after an - they take all body fluids out- including the b lo o d- if they are an organ donor then the good organs are taken out which also causes them to weigh less. Hope this helped!
2007-01-07 05:30:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, its supposed to be 21 grams LESS.
Some people believe this is due to the soul - thats a load of rubbish which should be blatant to most people. In reality its because of escaping gases and evaporation of trace water - and its probably considerably less than 21 grams in most cases.
If souls had weight they'd be physical substances and we could catch them and do experiments on them.
2007-01-07 05:29:11 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes you weigh less as your lungs empty when you die. The weight of the air is gone. Also dead bodies expell and fluid or waste so that weight would be gone too.
2007-01-07 05:29:22 · answer #5 · answered by lady_necromancer666 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, what you have heard is that they weigh 21 grams less. This is supposedly the weight of the soul. It's a myth though.
2007-01-07 05:28:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
Why should a dead body weigh any more than the same living one? Do they somehow acquire more molecules? No! (And don't believe that guff about hair and nails growing after death either.. both need oxygen via bloodflow and they ain't getting any.)
2007-01-07 05:31:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually - I heard the opposite - that they lose about 2 onces.
I would imagine that a dead person FEELS heavier because it's dead weight. For example, if you carry a 22 lb baby in your arms and they are awake, they "hold" themselves up a bit and actually feel lighter than if you were holding them when they were sleeping (ie 'dead' weight).
2007-01-07 05:30:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No they weigh 21 grmms less..I`m not sure why...Some believe it`s because the soul has left the body. Interesting question though
2007-01-07 05:30:21 · answer #9 · answered by ella915824 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. Most of our bodies are filled with fluids that are taken out or released when our bodies stop functioning. Great way to find out is knowing the embalming process. Quite interesting in how the blood is drained from out bodies.
2007-01-07 05:30:38 · answer #10 · answered by Jennifer P 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋