On Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 4:22:39 PM UTC-6, Quadibloc wrote:

On Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 1:34:21 PM UTC-6, Gary Harnagel wrote:

They were not "sudden" since these weight changes were were measured
MINUTES after death, not seconds.

Yes, but I didn't recall you saying that the weight change, when it
occurred, took longer to happen. Something that happens hours after
someone dies can still happen in only a few seconds.

John Savard

Read MacDougall's paper. It seems quite clear to me.

Patient #1: "At the end of three hours and forty minutes he expired and
suddenly coincident with death the beam end dropped"

Patient #2: "The last fifteen minutes he had ceased to breathe but his
facial muscles still moved convulsively, and then, coinciding with the
last movement of the facial muscles, the beam dropped."

Patient #3: " a man dying of tuberculosis, showed a weight of half and
ounce lost, coincident with death, and an additional loss of one ounce
a few minutes later."

Patient #4: " a woman dying of diabetic coma, unfortunately our scales
were not finely adjusted and there was a good deal of interference by
people opposed to our work" (3/8 to 1/2 ounce recorded but not included
in my analysis)

Patient #5: " a man dying of tuberculosis, showed a distinct drop in the
beam requiring about three-eighths of an ounce which could not be accounted
for. This occurred exactly simultaneously with death"

MacDougall also reported an anomaly occurring a few minutes later. This
data was included in my analysis, nevertheless.

Patient #6: "The patient died almost within five minutes after being
placed upon the bed and died while I was adjusting the beam."

Thus four samples were included in my analysis (#1, #2, #3 and #5),
3/4, 1/2. 1/2 and 3/8 ounce.