In 1922, Scientific American

Scientific American

Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...

made two US$

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

2,500 offers: (1), for the first authentic spirit photograph made under test conditions, and (2), for the first psychic to produce a "visible psychic

Psychic

A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...

 manifestation." Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...

 was a member of the investigating committee. The first medium

Mediumship

Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...

 to be tested was George Valiantine, who claimed that in his presence spirits would speak through a trumpet that floated around a darkened room. For the test, Valiantine was placed in a room, the lights were extinguished, but unbeknownst to him his chair had been rigged to light a signal in an adjoining room if he left his seat. Because the light signals were tripped during his performance, Valiantine did not collect the award.

Since then, many individuals and groups have offered similar monetary awards for proof of the paranormal in an observed setting. These prizes have a combined value of over $2.6 million dollars. , none of the prizes has been claimed.

Prizes

Date	|Prize	|Unclaimed
1963	Abraham Kovoor Abraham Kovoor Abraham Thomas Kovoor was an Indian professor and rationalist who gained prominence after retirement for his campaign to expose as frauds various Indian and Sri Lankan "god-men" and so-called paranormal phenomena...	100,000 LKR Sri Lankan rupee The rupee is the currency of Sri Lanka, divided into 100 cents. It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and is generally written Rs. The rupee (Sinhala: රුපියල , Tamil: ரூபாய்) (sign: ₨; code: LKR) is the currency of Sri Lanka, divided into 100 cents. It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri...	(US$901 approx) Kovoor initiated the Abraham Kovoor's challenge Abraham Kovoor's challenge Abraham Kovoor declared, in 1963, an award of Rs. 100, 000/- for anyone who could demonstrate supernatural or miraculous powers under fool-proof and fraud-proof conditions.-The challenge:...  starting in 1963.
N/A	Alfredo Barrago's Bet	€ Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... 50,000	(US$67,922 approx) "... shown at least a "phenomenon" produced by "medium, seers, sensitive etc." of paranormal nature."
N/A	Association for Skeptical Enquiry	£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... 13,000	(US$20,942 approx)
N/A	Australian Skeptics Australian Skeptics The Australian Skeptics is a non-profit organisation based in Australia which investigates paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies.-History:...	AU$100,000	(US$101,374 approx) For proof the existence of extrasensory perception, telepathy Telepathy Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference... , or telekinesis.
N/A	Basava Premanand Basava Premanand Basava Premanand was an eminent skeptic and rationalist from Kerala, India.-History:Premanand was born on 17 February 1930 in Kozhikode, Kerala. His parents were followers of the Theosophical movement....	100,000 INR	(US$2,190 approx)
N/A	Center for Inquiry West	US$50,000	For "a demonstration of so-called paranormal ability scientifically tested onstage".
2000	Independent Investigations Group Independent Investigations Group The Independent Investigations Group is a volunteer-based organization founded by James Underdown in January 2000 at the Center for Inquiry-West in Hollywood, California...	US$50,000	Contact www.info@iigwest.org for more information. Challenge rules located at http://www.iigwest.org/challenge.html.
N/A	Fayetteville Freethinkers	US$1,000
N/A	Finnish Association of Skeptics	€ Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... 10,000	(US$13,584 approx) Money partially from Hannu Karttunen and Iiro Seppänen Iiro Seppänen Iiro Seppänen is a Finnish producer, director and author. After successful careers as a master magician and professional BASE jumper, Seppänen turned his talents to filmmaking and since 2005 has produced two award-winning documentaries , more than 50 hours of prime time TV entertainment, the CBS... .
N/A	Indian Skeptic 100,000 Paranormal Challenge	100,000 INR	(US$2,190 approx)
1968–present	James Randi Educational Foundation James Randi Educational Foundation The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled...	US$1,000,000	Largest prize money in US dollars. (Also see the Sima Nan Sima Nan Sima Nan is a television pundit, social commentator, and journalist from the People's Republic of China. He is well known for his criticism of pseudoscience and supernatural phenomena, especially his opposition to qigong-related fraud. He is also active as a blogger and owns a television...  prize.)
N/A	Kazakhstan Commission for the Investigation of Anomalous Phenomena	US$1,000
N/A	Les Sceptiques du Quebec	CA$10,000	(US$10,132 approx)
N/A	New York Area Skeptics	US$2,000	Awarded to the successful completion of the James Randi Educational Foundation James Randi Educational Foundation The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled...  prize winner.
N/A	North Texas Skeptics	US$12,000
N/A	Philip J. Klass Philip J. Klass Philip Julian Klass was an American journalist and UFO researcher, known for his skepticism regarding UFOs. In the ufological and skeptical communities, Klass tends to inspire strongly polarized appraisals. Klass has been called the "Sherlock Holmes of UFOlogy"...  (deceased)	US$10,000	For proof of an extraterrestrial Extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...  visit to the Earth.
N/A	Science and Rationalists' Association of India Science and Rationalists' Association of India The Science and Rationalists' Association of India is predominantly a rationalist group based in Kolkata, India. It was established on March 1, 1985 by rationalist Prabir Ghosh, which happens to be the international rationalists' day...	2,500,000 INR	(US$54,758) Prabir Ghosh Prabir Ghosh Prabir Ghosh is the head of the Science and Rationalists’ Association of India, and president of the Humanists' Association based in Kolkata. He was once referred to in the media as being from the "Rationalist Association of India"...  will pay Rs. 2,000,000 to anyone can demonstrate a supernatural power in his presence.
N/A	Scientific American Scientific American Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...	US$2,500	Two US$2,500 offers: (1) for the first authentic spirit photograph made under test conditions, and (2) for the first psychic to produce a "visible psychic manifestation." From 1922.
N/A	Sima Nan Sima Nan Sima Nan is a television pundit, social commentator, and journalist from the People's Republic of China. He is well known for his criticism of pseudoscience and supernatural phenomena, especially his opposition to qigong-related fraud. He is also active as a blogger and owns a television...	10,000,000 CNY Chinese yuan The yuan is the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The yuan is the primary unit of account of the Renminbi.A yuán is also known colloquially as a kuài . One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo or colloquially máo...	(US$1,524,157 approx) Can be won in conjunction with the James Randi Educational Foundation James Randi Educational Foundation The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled...  prize.
N/A	SKEPP	€ Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... 10,500	(US$14,263 approx) In association with the Sisyphus project.
N/A	Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World	NZ$100,000	(US$76,989 approx)
N/A	Swedish Humanist Association	100,000 SEK Swedish krona The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...	(US$15,421 approx)
N/A	Eesti Skeptik	1000 EUR	(US$1,300 approx)
N/A	Raul Jaanson	6,000 EUR	(US$8,000 approx)
N/A	Eng. Sanad Rashed and Dr.Ahmed Khaled	US$5,000	For proof ouija Ouija The Ouija board also known as a spirit/fire key board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" and "goodbye", and other symbols and words are sometimes also added to help personalize the board...  boards function as claimed.
N/A	Bitva Ekstrasensov	No money	Prize is the chance to participate in the James Randi challenge with full media and academic support.
1987–2002	Henri Broch, Jacques Theodor, Gérard Majax Gérard Majax Gérard Faier, known as Gérard Majax is one of the most famous French illusionist.He has appeared in many television programs, magic demonstrations, and movies....	€200,000	International Zetetic Challenge International Zetetic Challenge The International Zetetic Challenge was an attempt to prove or disprove the existence of, or demonstrate events related to, the paranormal...

External links

• Worldwide list maintained by the Association for Skeptical Enquiry