digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About

How A Magnet Turned Off My Speech

telegraph.co.uk — Roger Highfield recalls how he could not utter a nursery rhyme as part of his brain was turned off by a magnet.

Who dugg this? Made popular May 17, 2008

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

138 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • PocketWatch, on 05/17/2008, -4/+162Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder wh--OH GOD THE MAGNET BURNS
  • nonrate, on 05/17/2008, -1/+105Wow... there might actually be a REAL market for tin foil hats now.
  • saxreturns, on 05/17/2008, -2/+53"No, not the magnet... not the magnet!

    She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes, she'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes (I'll kill you Amy!)"
  • JonTheGoose, on 05/17/2008, -4/+46Yea, that thing totally looks like it's not giving you a brain tumor or anything...
  • poidh, on 05/17/2008, -1/+28I just use excess alcohol to do the same thing. It's cheaper.
  • sonnybobiche, on 05/18/2008, -0/+24It's an electromagnetic pulse below the radio energy spectrum. The worst it's gonna do is give you a headache. Not an actual headache, mind you. It's just that the magnet stimulates whatever nerve endings it touches to fire, so it feels like your scalp is getting pinched every time it goes off. It's fine at first, but eventually gets really, really annoying.
    /neuroscience RA
  • amanilaenvelope, on 05/17/2008, -8/+31somebody would've used this on bill o'reily if they had the chance to do it when his "***** IT!! WE'LL DO IT LIVE" thing happened.
  • guyro, on 05/17/2008, -6/+29Wow, pretty amazing!
  • JDoms, on 05/17/2008, -4/+26It would be nice having an excuse to sing everything I want to say.
  • suprdaddy, on 05/17/2008, -0/+18Sweet, now I can finally raise one brow.
    All the ladies will be mine.
  • Startemus, on 05/17/2008, -4/+21This knid of sfutf srecas the Hlel out of me.
  • MasterThief117, on 05/17/2008, -4/+21"because some sufferers of temporal lobe epilepsy seem to experience hallucinations that bear a striking resemblance to mystical experiences of holy figures."
    So, in other words, religion is caused by epileptics?
  • inactive, on 05/17/2008, -1/+16tazer does the same thing! don't magnetic field me bro....
  • Khast, on 05/17/2008, -0/+15Great, magnets destroy floppy disks, AND cause brain malfunction. Now all they need to do is figure out where the memory centers, and pleasure centers are...I can see a government conspiracy happening. But at least everyone would be happy about it.
  • inactive, on 05/18/2008, -5/+17The goggles, they do nothing!
  • inactive, on 05/17/2008, -1/+13I love to sing-a
    About the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a,
    I love to sing-a,
    About a sky of blue-a, or a tea for two-a
  • Hefelumpman, on 05/18/2008, -0/+12I actually participated in some medical trials at this place - staring at a screen with pictures of a hand suffering pain, while having that cranial magnet trigger the muscles in my hand.

    weird. But I got £30 out of it :D
  • inactive, on 05/17/2008, -0/+11This is really interesting since my 45 y.o. mom had a stroke a month ago and now has broca's aphasia. Her speech has been getting a little bit better each day, however. The way the brain is organized is truly amazing.
  • dannytheperson, on 05/17/2008, -1/+11So if you ever get attacked by killer magnets, start singing. :)
  • 15thPD, on 05/17/2008, -1/+11The same thing we always do, Pinky. Try to take over the world!
  • rinote, on 05/17/2008, -0/+9Megalomaniacs and mad scientists take note!
  • xxTazxx, on 05/18/2008, -0/+9Bah. You say that as if you do not believe in the great governmental consipiracy to control our minds. Or maybe, you are one of them!
    *reaches for tinfoil hat*
    TMS this, biatch.
  • Startemus, on 05/18/2008, -0/+7It was an article reference.
  • franksalvo, on 05/18/2008, -0/+7Actually, they use it on him all the time. Imagine what he would sound like if they took it away.
  • awwbees, on 05/18/2008, -0/+6It's the real life version of "what good is a phone call if you're... unable to speak?"
  • anliath, on 05/18/2008, -2/+8I think you would have to find the photoshop and copypasta areas before that would be effective...
  • lhbaker, on 05/17/2008, -3/+9When you hold a magnet to my forehead, my penis points true north.
  • cryonix, on 05/18/2008, -0/+5The same procedure can produce savant like results temporarily.
  • BlueSkyfish, on 05/18/2008, -0/+5Bismuth hats!
  • JazzFlight, on 05/17/2008, -4/+9That's funny, magnets have the exact opposite reaction on Bender...
  • ozid, on 05/18/2008, -0/+5he's ugly enough to warrant you saying that? at least he can speak properly. most of the people on here who have linked pics or youtube vids of themselves look (and sometimes sound) like their parents are also brother and sister.
  • floppyparty, on 05/17/2008, -4/+9Wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting him to not be affected except for his lack of speech abilities. His whole face flipped out as well. I mean, if someone hit me with a hammer, I'm sure I would stutter a little too. Not isolated enough to be honor the story title.
  • jasdf, on 05/18/2008, -0/+4Too bad aluminum is non-magnetic...
  • aechase, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4It couldn't. Appetite, unsurprisingly, has received a lot of attention in neuroscience, and (given that our understanding is still limited) most signs point to the hypothalamus as being of primary importance. TMS can't penetrate the outer cortex, and the hypothalamus is pretty well covered.
  • WalletBoy, on 05/18/2008, -2/+6"She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes..."
  • dralezero, on 05/18/2008, -0/+4Magnet helmets of reverse polarity.
  • Dundasbro, on 05/18/2008, -0/+4Life would be a neverending musical... My dream *sob*
  • LiveeviL, on 05/18/2008, -0/+4Amazing, but that cant be healthy... Although neither are doughnuts!
  • lennybird, on 05/18/2008, -0/+3I sure hate mee-grains.
  • sonnybobiche, on 05/18/2008, -0/+3The surprise is that the "taser" has to be directly over cortical area 22. Well, 44 will work too, but in a different way: you can speak perfectly well, it's just your sentences don't make any sense.

    Any other area: no effect on speech production.
  • Devotia, on 05/17/2008, -1/+4Life’s a show and we all play a part!
  • anliath, on 05/18/2008, -0/+3actually we know quite well what TMS does at at cellular level. Neurons work as electrical devices, TMS just stimulates them to discharge
  • infection0, on 05/18/2008, -0/+3He sounds like frozen winamp in the last magnetization...
    together er er er er er er er
  • babak91, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2Lobotomy, 2.0
  • SubjectiveC, on 05/18/2008, -1/+3They don't.
  • bob12321, on 05/18/2008, -0/+2Comment abuse:
    Video:
    http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid14 ...
  • wontstoptalking, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2 that could probably be very useful *imagines world domination*
  • jp12380, on 05/18/2008, -0/+2Actually you are completely incorrect.

    This stated that he was not able to talk yet he was able to sing.

    When Bender gets near magnets he starts singing.
  • steppinrazor, on 05/18/2008, -0/+2M-m-m-m-m-max H h h h headroom.
  • gurellia53, on 05/18/2008, -0/+2Now i've got that song stuck in my head...

    Its Pinkey and The Brain.
    Its Pinkey and The Brain.
    One is a genius. The other's insane.
    la lalala. la lalala.
    Its Pinkey.
    Its Pinkey.
    Its Pinkey and The Brain Brain Brain Brain.
    Brain Brain Brain .
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 100 of 143 discussions

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...


© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.