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vimeo.com
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) announced on Wednesday that the organization’s famed Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge would be opened to more new applicants, with a lower bar for entry. The JREF holds $1 million in an investment account at a New York financial firm1, ready to be awarded to anyone who can demonstrate a paranormal ability under fair conditions that prevent fraud or error. The prize has grown from just $1,000 since it was established more than 40 years ago by magician and skeptic James Randi, and it has yet to be claimed.
Before today, applicants for the prize were required to submit press clippings and a letter from an academic to demonstrate the seriousness of their application. Now, applicants will only have to submit one or the other—demonstrating that somewhere, at some point in time, some independent person has taken their claim seriously. Applicants who cannot provide this evidence have a new, third option: submitting a public video that demonstrates their ability. The JREF will choose some of these video applications for further testing. This option gives potential applicants without media or academic documentation a way to be considered for testing, and allows the JREF to use online video and social media to reach an even wider audience with the Challenge.
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