Two companies, seemingly independently but both based in California, have introduced items of jewellery or other wearable items with embossed hologram which – according to their endorsements – have amazing life-enhancing properties. Power Balance states that ‘The hologram in Power Balance is designed to resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body’, while EFX ‘manufactures, distributes and licenses holographic performance technology (which) contains algorithms and frequencies that interact positively with (a naturally occurring energy field) in both humans and animals at the cellular level.’ While both websites avoid making direct claims for the benefits of their holographic jewellery, both abound with testimonials from professional athletes, other celebrities and ordinary ‘users’ of these ‘energy’ and ‘balance’ enhancing holograms (which just shows that celebrity is no protection against naivety and gullibility).

Both companies products are bracelets or other wearable items made of plastic (silicon, neoprene etc) with one or more small (±15 cm diameter or diagonal) embossed holograms of the company’s logo attached. Neither company has revealed where these holograms are sourced, but presumably a lucky manufacturer simply believes they are making logo holograms without realising what they are being used for (and if they do realise what they are being used for, perhaps they should have second thoughts about being complicit in such a scam.) Prices for the jewellery items are around $25-$30 each.

These websites persuade by dazzling with science – or so-called science – asserting that all life is surrounded by some kind of energy field which is channelled through the hologram to enhance the wearer’s energy and balance. They also use a supposed demonstration, showing a ‘trainer’ trying to push a subject off balance, and obviously when the subject dons a bracelet his or her balance improves. Except that it is easy for the trainer to make subtle, un-noticeable changes to the direction of push… as demonstrated by Australian Skeptics, which challenged a Power Balance trainer to prove that the test worked, but he failed in five out of five tests.

But the message conveyed is persuasive, so we carried out our own sanity-check with some well-respected holographic scientists. Jan Stenberg of … epitomised the response by simply stating ‘I´m almost speechless!’, while Steve McGrew said that the holograms ‘cannot affect any aspect of human physiology or neurology.’

Ed Note: At Holography News® we endeavour to separate editorial opinion from news articles, but very occasionally a holography story demands a subjective, editorial voice, and this is such an occasion.

Contacts: http://www.skeptics.com.au/, www.efxusa.com, www.powerbalance.com.