I don't believe it either. He reported that they lost 21 grams even though there was a wide variance in the weight changes, and one of the patients/subjects actually GAINED weight after death. So, any mean that could be determined from a small sample size is not reliable.

Other than that, if the findings of the research were actually correct, then they would be reproducible. Ever wonder why there haven't been any studies reproducing this in the past 100 years? Certainly with the technologies we have now (e.g. digital scales), if people were actually losing weight when they died, then we would be able to witness it now with greater accuracy than they could 100 years ago. Because they haven't been reproduced, we know that his research is invalid, likely due to a flawed methodology.


The movie's name was 21 Grams. I've never actually seen it, but I heard it didn't actually have anything to do with that research.

from what i remember even at the time other doctors figured out the real reason for the weight difference which was sweat evaporation due to the temperature spikes in the patients bodies.

No you cannot. You could have a philosophical debate over it, but technically, you cannot prove or disprove anything.

human heart weighs approx 21 grams. depressing movie.

Yeah; celebrities sell their soul all the time.

i don't think we have souls

That is indeed weird, the fact that the body loses 21 grams of actual at the exact moment a person dies.

Could this perhaps be due to a chemical change in the body, or the fact that everything relaxes? Definitely something to look into.

This post was edited by Torm1 on Apr 7 2011 10:30pm

flexing a muscle doesnt change the weight of the muscle.
unless the muscles were applying pressure to make the weight seem greater and when they were relaxed the pressure was no longer applying. even still, there is still the same weight of muscle before and after.
for there to actually have weight loss something would have to have left the body, such as fluids, gases,.... or supernatural souls.

So, are you saying that you think the 21 grams of weight lost upon death are due to the human having a "Soul" that leaves the body?