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A bed of nails "Magic" trick with smashing cinder blocks placed on a "fakir" Herbert Ponting's 1907 photograph of "a fakir in Benares" (Varanasi, India) Modern version of the ancient bed of nails

[edit] History

A bed of nails is an oblong piece of wood the size of a bed with nails pointing upwards out of it. It appears to the spectator that anyone lying on this "bed" would be injured by the nails, but this is not so, assuming the nails are numerous enough, since the weight is distributed between them such that the force exerted on each nail is not enough to break the person's skin.

One use of such a device is for magic tricks or physics demonstrations. A famous example requires a volunteer to lie on a bed of several thousand nails, with a board on top of him. Cinder blocks are placed on the board and then smashed with a sledgehammer. Despite the seemingly unavoidable force, the volunteer is not harmed: the force from the blow is spread among the thousands of nails, and the breaking of the blocks also dissipates much of the energy from the hammer. This demonstration of the principles of weight distribution requires that the weight of the volunteer be spread over as many nails as possible. The most dangerous part is the moment of lying down or getting up, when one's weight may briefly be supported on only a few nails. Some "beds" have rails mounted at the sides to help users lie down and get up safely.

The bed of nails is used by some for meditation, particularly in India and other parts of Asia.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, a commercial version of the bed of nails (called a 'spikmatta' or 'spike mat') became highly popular in Sweden.^{[citation needed]} More than 300,000 of the modern version of the ancient bed of nails were sold. The modern version of the bed of nails has spikes made of PVC and a bottom made of cotton and sponge, unlike the old versions which were made of wood. It is used for pain relief and relaxation.

[edit] Claimed benefits

Despite the claims made by the Swedish company who sell 'spike mats' that they provide multiple health benefits, there is little or no evidence to support these claims.

The manufacturers of modern 'spike mats' claim that regular usage may provide the following benefits: stress relief; relaxed body; improved sleep; reduced pain; improved blood circulation; alertness; strengthened immune system; decreased muscular tension; lower blood pressure; decreased inflammation; increased energy levels, metabolism, and uptake of oxygen; deep sense of relaxation; positive mental outlook.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] External links

• How the bed of nails works and how to make one
• The bed of nails in use as a school physics demonstration