Mother 'died of a broken heart' after false psychic message The dramatic rescue of three women kept prisoner for 10 years in a house in Cleveland, Ohio, came too late for the mother of one of them ... (1343 words)

On a recent visit to New Plymouth I was rather taken aback to see a billboard outside a central city church posing the question: "Evolution? How come we still have apes?" It wasn't so much surprise ... (410 words)

Sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) is a proven tool in the New Zealand pest control arsenal, but significant opposition to its use continues, much of it irrational. This article is based on a ... (2184 words)

A learning difficulties programme that claims to re-train the cerebellum makes some impressive claims which don't stand close scrutiny. DORE is an organisation that claims to treat learning ... (2210 words)

Bad Science, by Ben Goldacre. ISBN 978-0-00-728487-0. Fourth Estate, London. $26.99. Reviewed by Feike de Bock. For those who have not yet heard of Ben Goldacre, his latest book Bad Science is an ... (537 words)

Stuart Landsborough has an interesting night out with one of the Sensing Murder mediums. On 12 May, 2009, Kelvin Cruickshank of Sensing Murder fame came to Wanaka to wow the locals with a one night ... (2160 words)

Some risks in life are distributed throughout a population, others are all-or-nothing. There's a big difference. This article is based on a presentation to last year's Skeptics Conference. Many ... (2399 words)

You can't break the laws of thermodynamics, says Bob Brockie Next time you visit the US don't miss the Museum of Unworkable Devices, the brainchild of physics Professor Donald Simanek from the ... (414 words)

"Energised Water" turns out to be much the same as the other kind Grander water indeed, than the ordinary stuff from the tap; Europeans are paying more than the equivalent of $NZ20 per litre for it. ... (577 words)

Dying is Bad for Business An Auckland law firm was going to court late last year (Dominion Post, November 1) to block the opening of a funeral parlour opposite it. Death (or dealing with it) offends ... (1267 words)

1421: THE YEAR CHINA DISCOVERED THE WORLD, by Gavin Menzies. Bantam, $54.95. Zheng He is not a name that is well known in the west. However, his seven voyages from China, through the Indian Ocean to ... (538 words)

Australians turn up the Heat on Pan Breaking news as this issue goes to press (Waikato Times, April 30 and elsewhere) is the recall by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of 219 ... (1276 words)

Skeptics - always in two minds about something… You may recall I mentioned in the last issue of the NZ Skeptic that we were surveying members to see if we were all still on roughly the same ... (1926 words)

This is the press release (slightly edited) which announced this year's Bent Spoon Winner. Most of the reports used only a small proportion, and included a quote from Ms Fitzsimons saying that the ... (3584 words)

University days are a great time to explore new directions. But sometimes you may end up a long way from where you thought you were going. Back in 1969 I was a fresh-faced first year student at ... (1118 words)

John Riddell learns to his cost that fishermen can be as easy to catch as the creatures they pursue I have a confession to make. I've been taken in by a scam. Normally this shouldn't be cause for ... (1385 words)

Blairs 'rebirthed' Tony Blair and Cherie took part in a 'rebirthing ritual' during a holiday in Mexico, says the Dominion (17 December). They were guided through the ritual while dipping in a Mayan ... (743 words)

Smile for the camera Singaporean ghostbusters are turning to hi-tech equipment as they search for paranormal phenomena, reports the Evening Post (September 9). Singapore Paranormal Investigators say ... (729 words)

Scientific studies suggest "organic" foods are neither healthier nor safer than genetically modified products or those grown conventionally. InterNutrition, the Swiss Association for Research and ... (281 words)

In which John Riddell conducts an entirely unscientific experiment and saves himself quite a bit of money The first weekend of May each year is the opening of the New Zealand duck shooting season. It ... (843 words)

A $110,000 prize offered by Australian Skeptics Incorporated is safe after testing a world record number of water diviners at Mitta Mitta on Sunday. A total of 52 diviners, or dowsers, used an array ... (335 words)

Bernard Howard reports from the Skeptics' World Convention, Sydney, 10-12 November 2000 John Clarke's gaze had been mercifully averted, so we were spared a TV series "The Congress", showing all that ... (990 words)

I hate to spoil a good story, especially a skeptical one, but is there something slightly adrift with William Ireland's piece on the Kaikoura UFOs? He says the camera was looking down at an angle of ... (144 words)

The following is an abridged version of a paper presented at Skeptics 2000, Dunedin, New Zealand. The author would like to thank NZCSICOP and NZARH for sponsoring this visit to New Zealand. In this ... (4234 words)

There are plenty of things which are better to drink than distilled water, says John Riddell. But then, most of you probably knew that anyway. Eight is Enough Unless you have been tied up in a cave ... (1118 words)

It was a Ngatea farmer who finally got to Doug Edmeades on an Autumn day in 1985. Then employed as a scientist for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) Dr Edmeades had amassed a ... (263 words)

Oz Skeptics set up for Video Fraud? A news item that Australian skeptics are considering video evidence of a "Bigfoot" sighting for a $100,000 prize should alarm all who have offered money for ... (446 words)

What red-blooded skeptic could turn up an invitation to stay in a haunted house and meet the inhabitants -- certainly not your intrepid chair-entity.... You get a lot of interesting invitations when ... (1067 words)

Sceptics have put up $100,000 in a bid to make a controversial Australian spiritualist eat her words over claims she does not need food. The New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists has ... (360 words)

More from last year's Skeptics conference. A Relatively recent development in Western society has been the increased popularity of health foods and dietary supplements. While initially these health ... (1490 words)

CHINESE CANCER THERAPY. This title of a modest advertisement in the Sunday Star-Times last September caught my eye. Two statements in the ad surprised me: the first, that "usually only three ... (852 words)

In which we look at another easy way to make money from home. No training or prior experience required! DID YOU hear that the Oxford English Dictionary has removed the word "gullible" from its latest ... (657 words)

John Riddell contemplates how the newspapers would read if psychics really had the powers they claim Missing Persons Department Disbanded (WELLINGTON) In a press conference held this morning Police ... (764 words)

Have you ever had a go at water divining? You wander around with a forked stick until it points to water. It's good fun, but you have to watch for passing clouds or you might poke your eye out. Or at ... (1193 words)

When Brian Edwards interviewed Uri Geller some years ago, Dr David Marks of Otago University used the printed transcript to demonstrate that Brian had been the victim of highly skilled "cold ... (767 words)

Surprising results from a US study of the effectiveness of counselling on reducing juvenile crime. In the March NZ Skeptic, Dr John Welch's excellent column mentioned an article in the British ... (832 words)

Guidelines For Testing Psychic Claimants by Richard Wiseman and Robert L. Morris, 1995, 72pp., University of Hertfordshire Press, Hatfield, UK, (pound)7.00. Reviewed by Bernard Howard When author ... (659 words)

What is the link between chemicals and cancer? Forty years ago, Bruce Ames was a young microbiologist working at NIH in the day and enjoying Scottish country dancing in the evening, when he had an ... (2498 words)

Where Were the Hunters? The account of the meeting between the Moa hunters and the Christchurch Skeptics was interesting, but contained some very odd statements. How many skeptics had done any ... (510 words)

It was a surprise to many outside observers, especially those who don't well understand the Skeptics. Paddy Freaney, Rochelle Rafferty, and Sam Waby, the trio who gained world attention early this ... (538 words)

Rejuvenation! The wish of many a tired old man, and not so old: to regain the physical and sexual vigour of youth. During the early decades of this century it was widely though not universally ... (1692 words)

On open access computer bulletin boards, any entity with a theory can expound on it at length. Many do -- usually to a very unappreciative audience. A seemingly-large proportion of such expositions ... (321 words)

Lewis Jones Can a cotton wristband and a plastic button alleviate seasickness? The British Consumer's Association thinks so, but scientific evidence indicates otherwise. The sea has always brought ... (1288 words)