Rice Experiment - Results

I first read about the rice experiment in The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto (pp. 64-65).

It piqued my curiosity, so I tried it for myself - three times. And each time I got the same result.

I put in additional "controls":

• I cooked the rice in water and salt, and added nothing else.
• I sterilized the jars and lids to reduce contamination.
• I put the rice in the jars as soon as it had finished cooking.
• I was careful to put equal amounts of rice in each jar (or as close to equal as I could get).
• I made sure the lids sealed the jars tightly.
• I put the three jars together on the same small table in my kitchen.
• Each time I did the experiment, I changed the position of the jars - just in case!

None of this made any difference.

Here's what I found:

• The rice in the "thank you" jar grew a white, fluffy mould.
• The rice in the "you fool" jar grew a darker, heavier mould.
• The rice in the jar I ignored grew an almost black mould - and moulded more quickly than the other two.

Cristina tried the experiment too, with similar results. (Read her comment on the previous post.)

The next time I try this (as I'm sure I will), I won't actually say anything; I'll just think it. And when I do, I'll let you know what happens!

Rice Experiment - What did you observe?

Towards the end of August, I outlined the method for conducting a rice experiment:

1. Get 2 or 3 small glass jars with lids.
2. Fill them with cooked rice and put on the lids.
3. Set them in a common area (e.g., kitchen).
4. Several times a day - or whenever you think of it - say "Thank you" to one jar, "You fool!" to another and, if you've chosen 3 jars, pointedly ignore the third.
5. If anyone else in your home is interested, let them know what you're doing and invite them to participate.
6. Continue the experiment for 3-4 weeks.
   

Next week I'll tell you what I observed the three times I did this.

But for now: If you tried this experiment, share your results with us! Just write your comment in the box below this post.

The Rice Experiment

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

Here's an experiment to test whether or not that's true, whether our words - and perhaps even our thoughts and indifference - actually have any impact on others. Here are the instructions:

• Next time you make rice, make a bit extra, and put equal amounts of the cooked rice in three small, clean, sealed glass jars. (You can find glass jars with glass stoppers at the Dollar Store.) Place them where they're clearly visible. (I put mine on a small table in the kitchen.)
  

• Add any controls you like - e.g., for the sake of consistency, I placed them in the same location so they received equal amounts of light, heat, etc. and I was careful to put the same amount of cooked rice in each jar.
  

• Several times a day, or as often as you think of it, say "Thank you" to one of them, "You fool" to the second, and completely ignore the third. Let others in the house know what you're doing and invite them to participate. Alternately, set everyone in the house up with their own set of jars so you can all see if the results are consistent.
  

• If there are other unkind or judgemental thoughts you have about your teen, use one of those instead of "You fool" - e.g., "You'll never amount to anything, " "There's something wrong with you," "You just don't get it," etc.
  

• If you want to direct thoughts at the jars instead of actual words, go right ahead.
  

• Continue "talking" to your jars, and post your findings on the blog starting the last week in September. Let's see if there's anything to this!
  

I'm not going to spoil it for you by telling you what I observed the three times I did it, but I will say that Mike, who's the ultimate scientifically-minded critic, shook his head and said, "I can't explain it - but I also can't deny what I'm seeing."

By half-way through September, it should start to become apparent what this has to do with a critical step in taming alligators: changing hearts. Watch for upcoming posts! And have fun!