Lady Wonder
Encyclopedia
Lady Wonder was a horse that was purported to have psychic abilities. Over 150 thousand people came to consult the horse at the price of three questions for one dollar. Lady Wonder is said to have helped the Massachusetts
police to find the body of a missing girl, to have predicted that Jack Dempsey
would defeat Jack Sharkey
in 1927, and to have helped discover oil.
Lady Wonder's trainer, C.D. Fonda, raised the horse on a bottle. The horse spelled out the answers to questions by manipulating toy blocks with her nose.
Dr. J. B. Rhine investigated the horse and concluded that there was strong evidence for telepathy between human and horse. This was Rhine's first experience with such claims. The Magician Milbourne Christopher
concluded that the phenomenon was due to ideomotor reaction. Christopher
determined that Lady Wonder only answered questions correctly when her trainer was aware of the answer. Many observers agree that its owner sincerely believed in the horse's psychic powers.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
police to find the body of a missing girl, to have predicted that Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
would defeat Jack Sharkey
Jack Sharkey
Jack Sharkey was an American heavyweight boxing champion. He was born Joseph Paul Zukauskas , the son of Lithuanian immigrants, in Binghamton, New York but moved to Boston, Massachusetts as a young man...
in 1927, and to have helped discover oil.
Lady Wonder's trainer, C.D. Fonda, raised the horse on a bottle. The horse spelled out the answers to questions by manipulating toy blocks with her nose.
Dr. J. B. Rhine investigated the horse and concluded that there was strong evidence for telepathy between human and horse. This was Rhine's first experience with such claims. The Magician Milbourne Christopher
Milbourne Christopher
Milbourne Christopher was an American illusionist.President of the Society of American Magicians, an honorary vice-president to the Magic Circle, and one of the founding members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Christopher authored several books, including a biography of Harry Houdini, and...
concluded that the phenomenon was due to ideomotor reaction. Christopher
Milbourne Christopher
Milbourne Christopher was an American illusionist.President of the Society of American Magicians, an honorary vice-president to the Magic Circle, and one of the founding members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Christopher authored several books, including a biography of Harry Houdini, and...
determined that Lady Wonder only answered questions correctly when her trainer was aware of the answer. Many observers agree that its owner sincerely believed in the horse's psychic powers.
See also
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- Beautiful Jim KeyBeautiful Jim KeyBeautiful Jim Key was a famous performing horse around the turn of the twentieth century. His promoters claimed that the horse could read and write, make change, do arithmetic for "numbers below thirty," and cite Bible passages "where the horse is mentioned."Beautiful Jim's trainer, "Dr." William...
- BetsyBetsy (dog)"Betsy" is a black and white longhaired Border Collie, credited with being one of the world's most intelligent dogs.- Biography :Betsy lives in Vienna, Austria with her owner, who goes by the pseudonym "Schäfer" . Betsy is also a pseudonym given to her by animal cognition researchers...
, a border collie known to understand over 340 words - Rico, a dog who reportedly understood more than 200 words.
- KokoKoko (gorilla)Koko is a female western lowland gorilla who, according to Francine "Penny" Patterson, is able to understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language, and understand approximately 2,000 words of spoken English....
, a gorillaGorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
who learned sign languageSign languageA sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's... - AlexAlex (parrot)Alex was an African Grey Parrot and the subject of a thirty-year experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard University and Brandeis University. Pepperberg bought Alex in a regular pet shop when he was about one year old...
, an African Grey parrotAfrican Grey ParrotThe African Grey Parrot , also known as the Grey Parrot, is a medium-sized parrot found in the primary and secondary rainforest of West and Central Africa. Experts regard it as one of the most intelligent birds. They feed primarily on palm nuts, seeds, fruits, leafy matter, but have been observed...
known for intelligent use of speech - Animal cognitionAnimal cognitionAnimal cognition is the title given to the study of the mental capacities of non-human animals. It has developed out of comparative psychology, but has also been strongly influenced by the approach of ethology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology...