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THE METAL-BENDERS” by JOHN B. HASTED

It is never easy to achieve a metal bending event under the conditions required in the television studio. The delays and adjustments which are necessary to the production contrive to develop an atmosphere of excitement, impatience, confrontation and even stage fright. If video evidence is desired, it is much better to allow a child metal bender to accustom himself to the equipment for several days in his home, and practise metal bending in view of the camera, with one of the family operating the equipment. I have then been able to visit and monitor (for example, from Stephen North and Julie Knowles) the recording of stroking bends, and of bends without touch; also of strain gauge records.

One very unusual record was obtained by my colleague David Robertson of the action of the metal bender Julie Knowles on a very long thin strip of aluminium (50 cm X 8 mm X 0.8 mm). Such strips can be waved about flexibly and are bent very easily, so I have used them for practice and encouragement of the metal bending children whom I have studied.

Julie held the strip upright by one end and remained still; it soon became apparent that the top end was forcing itself towards her, and then springing back again. She was able to press the strip quite hard against this invisible force, and also to move the strip about and turn it to the horizontal; it was obvious from the video record that the ‘invisible force’ was not in fact produced by a thread or ‘moti’, as it is called by Indian conjurors. Eventually Julie forced the strip sufficiently hard against the ‘invisible force’ to bend it right over in a smooth arc of nearly 180°.