THE CLAIM: Magnetic Bracelet Provides Numerous Health Benefits
THE REALITY: It's a $20 rubber band
Marketers of the magnetic bracelets such as the iRenew claim that their bracelet among other things, improves balance, relieves joint pain, and improves endurance. You should be skeptical of anyone telling you that they can improve your balance by wearing a bracelet. How does it work?That seems to be the mystery, but the explanations are sure to include improperly used scientific terms, to give the product the sense of legitimacy.
I'm happy that they decided to tell us this was an "actual demonstration", if they had shown us a reenactment of a demonstration or had simply drawn a picture of a demonstration then I would have to call BS. I'm convinced already. This image is deceptive. If you look closely you can see the tester on one side is pulling straight down and slightly to (our) right, while on the other side he is pulling down and slightly to (our) Left and thus away from the demonstrator's center of gravity. Obviously he is going to have better balance when the tester isn't pulling away from his center of gravity. What really makes this trick work is the demonstrator is asked to put his or her feet together so that it's even harder to keep your balance when pulled from the side. The effect is more pronounced the harder the tester pushes. It's nothing more than a simple parlor trick. Anybody can do it.
You can see a video demonstration of how this little trick works here , if you want to impress your friends.
What's strange is that the Power Bracelet asserts the same balancing improving affect that the iRenew promises, except the people behind the Power Bracelet say that their bracelet improves balance using a completely different technology: holographic stickers. No, that's not a joke. Over 2.5 million have been sold. Apparently a lot of people believe in the magical power of holographic stickers. I would have to imagine most of them now populate your local landfill.
Unsurprisingly, the Power Bracelet uses the same "demonstrations" that the iRenew folks use. I think I've been able to detect the smoking mirror in this equation. But Debunkist, even if the demonstrations are fake a lot of people say these bracelets work they can't all be wrong can they? Yes, yes they can all be wrong. Due to something called the placebo effect, the expectations a person has over whether or not a treatment will work will affect their ability to judge whether in fact the treatment is actually working. They will report to see an improvement when there is none. However I'm not convinced this is even the case.
Amazon reviews seem to indicate that people who have tried these products don't think they work and have generated very negative reviews. For the iRenew one of my favorite reviewers said this:
(Rating: 5 stars) I bought four of these bracelets and could not have made a better purchase.I put one on each wrist and ankle and after a few days was able to leviate. Two weeks later and with alot of experimentation I was able to transport anywhere I wanted to go by just thinking about the location. I have sold my gas guzzling car and since have traveled to 24 countries for free. I have thought about transporting into a bank or perhaps Fort Knox, but just can't get up the nerve. If you are really heavy you might need more than four, just make your best guess.
The reviews for these products are overwhelmingly negative, and for the few positive reviews the sarcasm is caked on pretty thick. As for the health claims, the Federal Trade Commission has already brought the case to court not only for making unsubstantiated claims but for failing to hold up to their money back Guarantee. It's important to recognize that claims that magnets have magical healing powers is not a new claim, people have been making this claim for thousands of years and in that time nobody have been able to provide concrete evidence that it works. Magnet therapy is a pseudo-science. The earth is essentially one big magnet, and we live within the earth's magnetic field everyday, not only that but we subject ourselves to electromagnetic fields everyday created by computers, televisions, and appliances and never have they relieved joint pain or increased endurance.
-The Debunkist
