![]() So-called magnetic people have a few characteristics in common. What do metals, glass, and plastic have in common? All of them have very smooth surfaces. Skin can also be somewhat adhesive for the same reason. This is especially noticeable on hot days when bare skin attaches itself to leather or plastic seats. Skin is very elastic and tends to conform to objects it comes in contact with. The real key to understanding this phenomenon lies not in magnetism nor in any sort of mystical ability but instead in the physics of friction. The first clue that the effect has nothing to do with magnetism is of course that many of the objects don’t contain iron and are therefore not attracted to magnets: other things stick too, such as small plates, plastics, and small flat glass objects. The idea that a person could generate a strong magnetic field is bizarre. Typically they are household objects such as spoons, knives, and forks. There are many people who claim to be have an apparently paranormal (though not terribly useful) ability: having objects stick to them. ![]() Though the vaccines themselves are of course new (since they were designed to deal with a novel coronavirus), the underlying technology used to make the vaccines has been around for decades.Ĭlaims about magnetic people are nothing new. Many people are concerned that the COVID vaccines are ineffective or untested, though neither is the case. Vaccine hesitancy has a long history, and it’s not surprising that this particular version would arise, as it’s fueled by the “scary technology” theme that also gave rise to rumors about tracking chips planted in the vaccine (which is not only physically impossible but pointless) and of course 5G signals. Many of them are obviously staged for a laugh, though others are clearly sincere-and make those involved look sincerely stupid. To be fair, it’s not clear how many of the videos and memes are just trolling or mocking the idea. You can find many videos on social media of people making the claims (and in some cases debunking them). There’s a recent twist: the idea that the vaccines are either magnetic or make people magnetic. Both independently and in collaboration with the CFI Coronavirus Resource Center, I’ve written about countless rumors, conspiracy theories, and outright lies relating to the pandemic, from the Plandemic book publicity stunt to confusion about risk perception. There is of course a long and ever-growing list of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines.
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