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                         HIGH-VOLTAGE HUMANS (PART 1)

An article from the Annals of Electricity, Magnetism, and Chemistry, Vol. II,
1838, cited in R.A. Ford's book, Homemade Lightning, published by Tab Books,
Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 1991.

A lady of great respectability, during the evening of the 25th of January,
1837, the time when the aurora occurred, became suddenly and unconciously
charged with electricity, and she gave the first exhibition of this power in
passing her hand over the face of her brother, when, to the astonishment of
both, vivid electrical sparks passed to it from the end of each finger.

The fact was immediately mentioned, but the company were so sceptical that
each in succession required for conviction, both to see and feel the spark.
On entering the room soon afterward, the combined testimony of the company was
insufficient to convince me of the fact until a spark, three fourths of in
inch long, passed from the lady's knuckle to my nose causing an involuntary
recoil.  This power continued with augmented force from the 25th of January to
the last of February, when it began to decline, and became extinct by the
middle of May.

The quantity of electricity manifested during some days was much more than on
others, and different hours were often marked by a like variableness; but it
is believed, that under favorable circumstances, from the 25th of January to
the 1st of the following April, there was no time when the lady was incapable
of yielding electrical sparks.

The most prominent circumstances which appeared to add to her electrical power
were an atmosphere of about 80 degrees F, moderate exercise, tranquility of
mind, and social enjoyment; these, severally or combined, added to her
productive power, while the reverse diminished it precisely in the same ratio.

Of these, a high temperature evidently had the greatest effect, while the
excitement diminished as the mercury sunk, and disappeared before it reached
zero.  The lady thinks fear alone would produce the same effect by its check
on the vital action.  We had no evidence that the barometrical condition
of the atmosphere exerted any influence, and the result was precisely the same
whether it were humid or arid.

It is not strange that the lady suffered a severe mental perturbation from the
visitation of a power so unexpected and undesired, in addition to the vexation
arising from her involuntarily giving sparks to every conducting body that
came within the sphere of her electrical influence; for whatever of the iron
stove or its appurtenances, or the metallic utensils of her work box (such as
needles, scissors, knife, pencil, etc.) that she had occasion to lay her hands
upon, first received a spark, producing a consequent twinge at the point of
contact.

The imperfection of her insulator is to be regretted, as it was only the
common Turkey carpet of her parlor, and it could sustain an electrical
intensity only equal to giving sparks one and a half inches long; these were,
however, amply sufficient to satisfy the most sceptical observer, of the
existence in or about her system, of an active power that furnished an
uninterrupted flow of the electrical fluid, of the amount of which, perhaps
the reader may obtain a very definite idea by reflecting upon the following
experiments.

When her finger was brought within one sixteenth of an inch of a metallic
body, a spark that was heard, seen, and felt passed every second.  When she
was seated with her feet on the stove-hearth (of iron) engaged with her books,
with no motion but that of breathing and turning the leaves, then three or
more sparks per minute would pass to the stove, notwithstanding the insulation
of her shoes and silk hosiery.

Indeed, her easy chair was no protection from these inconveniences, for this
subtle agent would often find its way through the stuffing and covering of its
arms to its steel frame work.  In a few moments she could charge other persons
insulated like herself, thus enabling the first individual to pass it on to a
second, and the second to a third.

When most favorably circumstanced, four sparks per minute, of one inch and a
half, would pass from the end of her finger to a brass ball on the stove;
these were quite brilliant, distinctly seen and heard in any part of a large
room, and sharply felt when they passed to another person.  In order to
further test the strength of this measure, it was passed to the balls by four
persons forming a line; this, however, evidently diminished its intensity, yet
the spark was bright.

The foregoing experiments, and others of a similar kind, were indefinitely
repeated, we safely say hundreds of times, and to those who witnessed the
exhibitions they were perfectly satisfactory, as much so as if they had been
produced by an electrical machine and the electricity accumulated in a
battery.

The lady had no internal evidence of this faculty, a faculty sui generis; it
was manifest to her only in the phenomena of its leaving her by sparks, and
its dissipation was imperceptible, while walking in her room or seated in a
common chair, even after the intensity had previously arrived at the point, of
affording one and a half inch sparks.

Neither the lady's hair or silk, so far as was noticed, was ever in a state of
divergence; but without doubt this was owing to her dress being thick and
heavy, and to her hair having been laid smooth at her toilet and firmly fixed
before she appeared upon her insulator.

As this case advanced, and supposing the electricity to have resulted from the
friction of her silk, I directed (after a few days) an entire change of my
patient's apparel, believing that the substitution of one of cotton, flannel,
etc., would relieve her from her electrical inconveniences, and at the same
time a sister, then staying with her, by my request, assumed her dress or a
precisely similar one; but in both instances the experiment was an entire
failure, for it neither abated the intensity of the electrical excitement in
the former instance, or produced it in the latter.

My next conjecture was that the electricity resulted from the friction of her
flannels on the surface, but this suggestion was soon destroyed when at my
next visit I found my patient, although in a free perspiration, still highly
charged with the electrical excitement.  And now if it is difficult to believe
that this is a product of the animal system, it is hoped that the sceptics
will tell us from whence it came.
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                         HIGH-VOLTAGE HUMANS (PART 2)

An article from the NEW YORK TIMES, April 5, 1920, as cited in R.A. Ford's
book, HOMEMADE LIGHTNING, published by TAB Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 1991.

                               ELECTRIC CONVICTS

As per schedule, the case of the thirty-four convicts at Clinton Prison,
Dannemora, N.Y., who became poisoned by eating canned salmon, and thereafter
developed remarkable electrified propensities, was fed to us for several days
by the ever-busy newspapers, under the captions of "human magnets" and what
not.  The facts in the glaring case are here presented for the first time.

The following details relative to botulinus poisoning, which took place at
this institution on February 20, 1920, are cited in a letter which we have
received from the chief physician at Clinton Prison, Dr. Julius B. Ransom.
Dr.  Ransom says:

   "Dr. Rosneau, of Harvard University, did not make any investigations of the
    electric phenomena and only came into the case with reference to the
    botulinus poison, as it was a rather large group of cases and
    opportunities for study were unusually good.

    Of course the newspaper reports were garbled and exaggerated as they
    usually are when they attempt to report scientific matters.  The newspaper
    accounts were taken from a report made by myself to the Superintendent of
    Prisons, setting forth the history and development of 34 cases of
    botulinus poisoning, due to the eating of canned salmon."

   "During the course of these cases, it was discovered by accident that
    peculiar static electric power had developed in the patients.  It was
    discovered in this manner:  One of the patients who was convalescing
    crumpled up a piece of paper, I imagine in both hands, and attempted to
    throw it in a waste basket; it absolutely refused to leave his hand.

    From this time on, experiments were made, and the matter was reported to
    me, and I found that every case of botulinus poisoning developed this
    strange power, and that neither the attendants nor nurses associated with
    them had any such power.

    All sorts of experiments have been tried and it was found to be a constant
    condition; that is, that this peculiar power of creating a magnetized
    (electrified) field by rubbing the hands together, which puts them in a
    circuit, will electrify different objects, so that they will retain that
    electrification for many hours.

    For instance, forms of paper, such as newspapers, and ordinary
    correspondence paper when electrified by these patients and thrown against
    the wall adhered and clung to any object for many hours.  By again rubbing
    the hands together and rubbing the electric light bulb the filament will
    begin to vibrate very rapidly and follow the motions of the hands and
    attach themselves to the side of the bulb with a good deal of sparking at
    the base of the filament.

    The compass needle of a surveyor's instrument can be rotated with any
    piece of paper electrified by these patients.  A steel tape suspended will
    feel the magnetic field in a remarkable manner and sway from side to
    side."

   "What relation there can be between the botulinus toxin and this phenomena
    of course is difficult to identify; it has been suggested that it is the
    dryness of the skin which prevents the ordinary passing out or dissipation
    of the electric currents from the body; but the patient submerged in bath
    tub performs the same phenomena as when clothed!

    The ability to electrify is proportioned to the severity of the disease;
    as the patient convalesces, he gradually loses this power and when quite
    well loses it altogether."

   "I might mention further that all these cases were ataxic and developed
    pecular reflexes.  Many of them were almost entirely blind and had
    paralysis of the upper lid "Ptosis."

    Of course, in botulinus poisoning, the nervous system is about the first
    to suffer; one thing is quite clear, therefore, the static manifestation
    is closely linked with the disturbance of the central nervous system and
    represents, no doubt, simply a much higher degree of static storage in
    the body than is usual."
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                                FIGURE CAPTIONS

FIRST FIGURE: One of the first of the phenomena, noted in the case of
              "botulinus poisoning," caused by eating decayed canned salmon,
              was that the body of the patient had become highly electrified.
              He was unable, for example, to throw a piece of paper in the
              waste basket, the high electric charge in his body attracting
              the paper to his hand.

SECOND FIGURE: Among other things, the electrified patient was able to move a
               suspended steel tape measure and also to attract the filament
               of an incandescent lamp towards the side of the globe.

THIRD FIGURE: Another phase of the electrified paper phenomenon, due to the
              patient's high potential electric charge occasioned by botulinus
              poisoning.  A sheet of paper electrified by the patient would
              remain against the wall for hours.  He was also able to move the
              compass needle of a surveyor's instrument.

FOURTH FIGURE: Electricians argued that if the patient was placed in a tub
               full of water, that the charge would disappear; but strangest
               of all, it did no such thing - and the patient was still able
               to attract a steel tape measure or other object by electro-
               static attraction.

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