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pencil reading, where mentalists track the writing movement to "predict" what is written. To test this hypothesis, Christopher tricked Mrs. Fonda by pretending to write the number 9, touching the paper only in the downstroke, thus writing the number 1. When he asked Lady which number was written in the paper she readily spelled "9". Christopher's tests concluded that Fonda was involved in Lady's apparent intelligence and that she achieved this by providing subtle cues when Lady's head was in the correct letter.
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numbers so they could communicate. Eventually, Lady outgrew the children's blocks and Mr. Fonda built her a large typewriter, that Lady could use by hitting her nose on padded keys which lifted tin cards containing letters and numbers. This home-made device was used to allegedly communicate with more than 150,000 visitors coming for all around the
779:, a river close to the boy's house from where both children went missing. Several weeks later the bodies of both children were found over the frozen river. Skeptics point out that in both cases these locations had been or were being searched already, and Lady's intervention served only to reinforce the beliefs of the inquirers.
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was skeptical about the alleged abilities of Lady and decided to visit the Fondas, presenting himself as John Banks, and when asked Lady for his name she spelled "Banks". Christopher suspected Mrs. Fonda's involvement in Lady's answers, and he decided to test if Fonda was employing a technique called
713:
Lady was born on
February 9, 1924. Clarence and Claudia Fonda adopted the weeks-old filly and called her Lady. Due to her early age, Lady was bottle-fed by her owner, Mrs. Fonda, who also trained Lady using lettered and numbered children's wood blocks in an attempt to teach her the alphabet and
811:, a New Jersey magician, also investigated Lady's abilities and arrived at the same conclusion, Lady's behavior was highly dependent on cues given by Mrs. Fonda when holding a whip. Scarne also concluded that when Mrs. Fonda was not aware of the answer, Lady usually answered incorrectly.
768:. The police chief William Ferrazzi tried to interpret Lady's message and wonder if she might mean "Field and Wilde Water Pit", a quarry close to Matson's house which had already been searched. Further searches found the child's body at the quarry.
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abilities and be able to perform intellectually demanding tasks such as arithmetic and spelling. Lady's owner, Claudia E. Fonda, trained her to operate a device that she used to spell out answers to the more than 150,000 visitors.
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explanation". In a follow-up study, in
December 1928, Rhine noticed Lady's telepathic abilities had been lost and that her answers depended heavily on Mrs. Fonda signaling the mare.
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in a 1927 boxing match, predicting earthquakes and shifts in the stock exchange. According to Mrs. Fonda, Lady predicted all the US presidential elections, except the victory of
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Lady was said to have predicted the outcome of boxing fights and political elections, and was consulted by the police in criminal investigations. The
764:. When prompted about Matson's location, Lady spelled "Pittsfield Water Wheel". The police investigation concluded that there was no water wheel in
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Lady's celebrity grew across the United States when she was credited to have helped to solve the case of a missing 4-year-old boy, Danny Matson, in
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1033:"A different type of horsepower – Lady Wonder, the 'Psychic Mare'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 18 October 1993.
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Dinneen, Joseph F. (6 December 1952). "'Talking Horse' Gave Tip in Matson Case – Dewing". The Boston Globe.
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During its long life, several predictions have been attributed to Lady such as predicting the victory of
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Davis, James (29 October 1956). "Palmist Says
Stevenson will win hands down". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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investigated Lady's alleged abilities and concluded that there was evidence for
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showed that Lady's prediction abilities resulted from Mrs. Fonda employing
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between human and horse. The magicians and skeptical investigators
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Feral
Children and Clever Animals: Reflections on Human Nature
870:, a dog who reportedly understood more than 200 words.
1056:"The story of Lady Wonder, Richmond's psychic horse"
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The
Amazing World of John Scarne: A Personal History
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744:Lady died on March 19, 1957, at the age of 33 from
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771:In December 1952, two children went missing in
748:. Lady was buried in the Pet Memorial Park in
1152:The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology
1083:"The Story of Lady Wonder, the Psychic Horse"
940:The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology
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661:(February 9, 1924 – March 19, 1957) was a
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739:1948 United States presidential election
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16:Horse claimed to be psychic (1924–1957)
1183:. Articles about Lady Wonder from the
430:Prizes for evidence of the paranormal
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1114:. New York: Oxford University Press.
922:. Csicop.org. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
893:known for intelligent use of speech
791:, one of the initial proponents of
1081:Schneider, Caitlin (6 June 2016).
709:Lady Wonder with trainer Mrs Fonda
420:James Randi Educational Foundation
14:
1191:Lady Wonder: A Mind-Reading Horse
1007:Moon, Heather (30 August 2013).
833:
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787:During the winter of 1927–1928,
920:"Psychic Pets and Pet Psychics"
405:Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
1:
1110:Candland, Douglas K. (1993).
359:Reportedly haunted locations:
198:Electronic voice phenomenon
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973:ESP, Seers & Psychics
840:Photograph of Lady Wonder
766:Pittsfield, Massachusetts
756:Collaboration with police
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470:Apparitional experiences
1204:Mysteries at the Museum
1185:Richmond Times-Dispatch
1060:Richmond Times-Dispatch
1013:Richmond Times-Dispatch
793:extrasensory perception
683:extrasensory perception
528:Argument from ignorance
495:Out-of-body experiences
208:Extrasensory perception
1202:Segment from the show
969:Milbourne, Christopher
802:In 1956, the magician
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553:Communal reinforcement
1181:Richmond Then and Now
804:Milbourne Christopher
762:Quincy, Massachusetts
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687:Milbourne Christopher
665:some claimed to have
533:Argumentum ad populum
465:Anomalous experiences
445:Scientific skepticism
263:Paranormal television
828:Sign for Lady Wonder
773:Naperville, Illinois
548:Cognitive dissonance
543:Begging the question
490:Ideomotor phenomenon
996:. Crown Publishers.
598:Scientific evidence
440:Scientific literacy
85:Cause of death
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1224:1957 animal deaths
1219:1924 animal births
1009:"Lady Wonder 1952"
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308:Spirit photography
258:Paranormal fiction
178:Demonic possession
857:Beautiful Jim Key
701:Life and activity
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313:Spirit possession
123:Astral projection
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1148:Rhine, J. B.
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1090:. Retrieved
1087:Mental Floss
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1064:. Retrieved
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1016:. Retrieved
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990:Scarne, John
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936:Rhine, J. B.
916:Nickell, Joe
911:
880:who learned
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777:DuPage River
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759:
746:heart attack
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727:Jack Dempsey
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658:
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618:Urban legend
608:Superstition
588:Protoscience
583:Junk science
523:Anomalistics
400:Cold reading
358:
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333:Supernatural
323:Spiritualism
318:Spirit world
268:Precognition
188:Doppelgänger
148:Clairvoyance
89:Heart attack
78:(1957-03-19)
1193:. Essay by
891:grey parrot
852:Clever Hans
809:John Scarne
789:J. B. Rhine
723:Gene Tunney
691:John Scarne
679:J. B. Rhine
677:researcher
659:Lady Wonder
613:Uncertainty
338:Telekinesis
288:Psychometry
168:Conjuration
20:Lady Wonder
1213:Categories
975:. Crowell.
918:. (2002).
903:References
797:telepathic
573:Groupthink
393:Skepticism
328:Stone Tape
233:Mediumship
183:Demonology
138:Bilocation
109:Paranormal
64:1924-02-09
1092:3 January
1066:3 January
1018:3 January
695:mentalism
410:Debunking
343:Telepathy
193:Ectoplasm
158:Cold spot
128:Astrology
992:(1956).
971:(1970).
846:See also
578:Hypnosis
485:Hypnosis
213:Forteana
203:Exorcism
101:a series
99:Part of
878:gorilla
815:Gallery
737:in the
667:psychic
558:Fallacy
517:Related
353:Ufology
278:Psychic
238:Miracle
35:Species
731:Truman
475:Empath
243:Occult
103:on the
49:Female
862:Betsy
735:Dewey
733:over
725:over
380:World
365:India
253:Ouija
228:Magic
40:Horse
1094:2021
1068:2021
1020:2021
889:, a
887:Alex
876:, a
874:Koko
868:Rico
689:and
663:mare
415:Hoax
133:Aura
73:Died
58:Lady
54:Born
1160:doi
948:doi
248:Orb
46:Sex
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