All language subtitles for The.Proof.Is.Out.There.Unexplained.Edition.S02E05.Superhumans.1080p.HULU.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-RAWR_track3_[eng]

Tonight on
"The Proof is Out There:

Unexplained Edition".

Is this man a
modern day Hercules?

Some have
speculated that there

might be
a genetic mutation

behind superstrength.

Is this person
impervious to heat?

The human can
will himself to

do something that seems
almost superhuman.

Is she
able to climb walls?

The internet actually
nicknamed her Spider-Girl.

Around the world,

unexplained encounters
are being recorded.

Tonight's focus, superhumans.

Our experts will
analyze the evidence.

These videos are crazy.

How are they surviving this?

And then
pass a verdict.

It's incredible

and it doesn't seem like
it should be possible.

The proof starts now.

Good evening, everyone,

and welcome to "The
Proof Is Out There".

You've heard of the
Incredible Hulk,

but tonight we're
going to introduce you

to the Incredible Tulk.

He appears to be capable of
superhuman feats of strength.

How does he do it? Just watch.

October, 2017.

It's a seemingly typical
day in Luton, England.

A nearby security
camera is recording

as a determined man
approaches a small blue car

parked on the street.

He reaches under the front
bumper and after a few seconds,

proceeds to not only
lift the vehicle up,

but actually push it backwards.

Look again.

The car is parked,

but he's able to push it out
of the way in his bare feet.

The man performing
this incredible feat

of strength is Hakan Acar,
aka, the Incredible Tulk.

I couldn't go anywhere

because someone
blocked my driveway.

So my thought process was,
I'm gonna go to the car,

I'm gonna see how heavy it is.

Decided to lift it.

I started just pushing
and pushing and pushing

until the car was actually
veering off into the road.

Hakan isn't the
only modern day Hercules

caught on camera treating a
car like a children's toy.

This video from Russia in 2016

shows a man overpowering
this vehicle's acceleration.

So how are these
guys doing this?

Some have speculated

that there might be
a genetic mutation

behind superstrength.

There's a protein
called myostatin,

which typically inhibits
the growth of muscles.

But if you have this condition
that limits myostatin,

your muscles will
actually grow bigger.

Artificial substances
can also be involved,

pushing the limits
of human strength.

Steroids are the modern
method, of course,

but the practice goes back ages.

We know that warriors in
South America from Aztec

and Mayan cultures would
often ingest plants

that contained what we would
sort of call narcotics today

for the purpose of
getting ready for combat.

Mescaline, which
naturally occurs in cacti

such as peyote, were common
sources of such drugs.

It reduces fear, but it
also opens up blood vessels.

It opens up how much oxygen
the body can take in.

Hakan assures us

that's not what's
giving him his strength.

I've never took
anything in my life.

I've always been
naturally quite strong.

And then once I started
actually going to the gym

and training,

I realized that my strength
levels were quite high.

So Hakan's superior strength

really is the result of nature
and regular trips to the gym.

But is his ability to move
an entire car as impressive

as it looks to the rest of us?

Or is there something
else at work here?

Let's have our experts
do the heavy lifting.

Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi says Hakan's
physical strength is part

of the equation, but he is
also getting a big assist

from an age-old
scientific principle.

We know cars are
heavy, on average around 3,000

pounds, but he's using one of
the six simple machines,

and that is the lever.

The front tires are where
the fulcrum is located,

and he's basically just
lifting it off the ground

a little bit, one end of it,

and that's very different
than just picking up a car

and lifting it above your head.

Hakan has
essentially turned the car

into one big resistance arm

that redistributes its own
weight toward the back wheels,

similar to how you can
move a bunch of heavy rocks

in a wheelbarrow.

Professor Michio Kaku also says

it's not the muscles you may
think that are at work here.

We're not talking about
upper body muscular strength.

We're talking about his feet
helping to push the car.

And the car, in turn, is
designed to minimize friction

in the horizontal direction.

That explains
why those bare feet

seem to help as well.

My Crocs ended up
getting flung off at the

same time.

I thought I'd get a bit
more traction with my feet.

Hakan built up a
greater coefficient of friction

with the road, allowing for
even more horizontal force.

And as for the guy in Russia
battling the accelerating car.

Look at the wheels,
he's lifted the car off the

ground so that most of the
energy of the gasoline is being

used to simply spin wheels.

Because this is a
front-wheel drive vehicle,

the back tires on the
ground aren't powered

by the accelerator.

He appears to be able to
take a car's forward motion

and stop it, when actually
that energy is being wasted.

Our verdict, a blend of
strength and proportional mass.

There's no doubt that Hakan
has above average strength,

but a variety of
outside conditions

are making the Incredible
Tulk's astounding feat

slightly easier than it looks.

Minnesota is home to
some large attractions.

Lake Superior, the
Mall of America,

and the legendary Paul Bunyan.

But this next local hero is
the most impressive Minnesotan

we have ever featured on
this show, hands down.

It's August, 2015
in Stacy, Minnesota.

52-year-old Jeff Dabe is at home

being interviewed about
the unique feature

that sets him apart.

It's nothing new to me.
I mean, it goes from birth.

He looks like an
ordinary guy, 5'8, 260 pounds,

until you see his
arms and hands.

Jeff's hands are a
massive 14 inches around

and his forearms measure
19 inches in circumference.

It's no wonder he's known

as the real-life
Popeye the Sailor Man.

Jeff swears he doesn't
take growth hormones

and that his strength
and size are all his own.

It's something he's been
able to take advantage of

since he was young.

Jeff also
picked up arm wrestling

and still competes today.

In 2021, he became
a world champion.

So how does Jeff
have these strong,

massive forearms and hands?

Some suspect he might
have symptoms of gigantism

or acromegaly.

Gigantism is caused
by excessive production

of the growth
hormone in childhood,

whereas acromegaly
is characterized by

excessive production of the
hormone in adulthood.

Both conditions are
typically caused

by a tumor on the
pituitary gland.

Most people
will recognize

this next real life Colossus

who had one of these conditions.

Andre Rene Roussimoff, better
known as Andre the Giant,

was diagnosed with
acromegaly in adulthood.

He was so big and so strong

that he actually used to
move cars around as a prank.

Not only that, but
Andre's fingers were so large

that he supposedly couldn't
fit them into the holes

on rotary phones and had
to use a pen to dial.

Jeff can surely relate.

But some wonder if he
could have a different

rare congenital disorder.

Klippel-Trenaunay
Syndrome or KTS.

KTS affects the development
of bones, blood vessels,

skin, muscles, and sometimes
the lymphatic system.

It's characterized by
a port wine birthmark,

a malformed limb,
typically one of the legs,

but sometimes the arms as
well, and vein malformations.

And another theory.

Growing up on a farm,

it's possible Jeff
may have been exposed

to radiation out in the fields.

The reason, radioisotopes
and radiation have been used

in agriculture for decades.

Fertilizers and pest control.

Radiation exposure can
cause congenital disabilities.

Azamat Kazizov was born
in Mailuu-Suu Kyrgyzstan.

It's essentially built
on radioactive waste.

Kazizov has 12
fingers and 12 toes

as a result of exposure to
this radioactive pollution.

On top of using his oversized
limbs to his advantage,

Jeff says he can do
pretty much anything

a regular guy can do,

though he prefers
using a flip phone

since it's easier
for him to operate.

So how did Jeff get his
huge forearms and hands?

Let's see what our
experts have to say.

Often times this
kind of a condition

will affect a single
limb, but not both limbs

in such a symmetrical fashion.

And tests showed
Jeff did not suffer

from a pituitary
form of gigantism.

He has not displayed
any excessive growth

in overall stature and size.

There's only this
disproportionate growth

of just his forearms and hands.

So since it's not
a pituitary gland issue,

Dr. Ed Hope weighs in

on the possibility this could
be Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome,

or KTS.

KTS Syndrome as a diagnosis
for Jeff is not a bad one

because he also has
some port wine stains,

but for me, he doesn't fit some
of the other things going on

because he has
both limbs affected

and also he doesn't
have any kind of pain

or loss of function.

Then what about
those environmental factors,

such as exposure to radiation?

Radiation is something

that can damage your
DNA, cause mutation

and therefore lead
to excess growth.

But it's not like
the comic books.

But it's not like
the comic books.

You don't get this lovely,
perfect, structured growth.

You get dysregulated,
disordered growth.

You get cancers.

Jeff's had no history
of radiation exposure

or any history of acute
radiation syndromes.

He's also got no history
of cancers or cataracts,

which also can be associated
with radiation exposure.

Our verdict, there's no
known scientific explanation

for Jeff's condition.

It's possible he has KTS,

since he's never been
tested for this syndrome,

though he doesn't have
all of the symptoms.

So it seems just as likely
he was simply blessed

with superhuman like forearms
and hands from birth.

But hey, if you've
got it, flaunt it.

Boiling cooking oil is
not something you want to touch.

At 572 degrees Fahrenheit,

it is much hotter
than boiling water,

which is only 212
degrees Fahrenheit.

But video has emerged of one man

whose seemingly superhuman
hands are heat resistant.

December 18th, 2021.

It's lunchtime in Jaipur, India,

and like most days,
a crowd is assembled

in front of a
popular restaurant.

They're here to sample the
fried fish and shish kebabs,

but also to catch a glimpse
of Chef Abhay Sharma

whose skills aren't just
culinary, they're super sensory.

Standing over a vat of
boiling cooking oil,

Abhay, with no gloves,
mitts, or tongs,

reaches into the
scolding liquid,

and to the crowd's wonder,

he continues to pass his
fingers through the oil

as if performing his
morning ablutions.

As we zoom in and slow down,

we see that he's not covering
his fingers with anything.

They're definitely going into
the oil over and over again.

Viewers, do not
try this at home.

The chef here seems to
be completely comfortable

with dipping his hands in oil.

One theory is that this
chef is using a technique

akin to fire walkers.

Fire walking is a longstanding
tradition in Indian cultures.

It dates back to
India's Iron Age.

Fire walking was
a rite of passage

and a way for people
to show strength.

Pain immunity is not
exclusive to Indian fire

walkers, Jewish writer Jack
Schwartz became known

for his mind over
matter abilities

after being forced to
develop them through prayer

and meditation while being
imprisoned by the Germans

during World War II.

After the war, he continued
to show off his talents,

being capable of pushing
a needle through his arm

without experiencing any pain.

Are we witnessing the
same thing with Abhay?

His ability to put his
hands in this hot vat of oil,

which is about 575
degrees Fahrenheit,

might be similar in that
it's mind over matter,

that the human can will
himself to do something

that seems almost superhuman.

Walking on coals is no joke.

At a 2016 self-help seminar
hosted by Tony Robbins,

roughly 30 people
were treated for burns

after stepping through
coals in an exercise.

Though most of the 7,000
guests sustained no injuries,

there's always a risk
when playing with fire.

So does Abhay possess
superhuman abilities

or is there some
sleight of hand at play?

Let's ask our experts.

I think this is a case
of sensory adaptation,

where he has become
accustomed to do this

and his body has adapted to it.

Humans can
and have adapted

to extreme conditions before.

For example, in Tierra del Fuego

on the southern tip
of South America,

the early Yahgan
people were able

to wear very little clothing
despite the ice cold climate.

Among other reasons, scientists
believed this was partly

because they evolved higher
metabolism over time.

I think that after
repetitively placing his hands

in this boiling hot oil,

his body simply
became adapted to it

and it no longer affects him.

World-renowned
physicist, Michio Kaku,

respectfully disagrees.

He thinks the chef is likely
putting his hand in water

before he puts it in the oil
and that water turns to steam.

Steam is not a good
conductor of heat.

It has very low
thermal conductivity.

That's the Leidenfrost Effect.

If I get a hot skillet

and put drops of water
on top of the skillet,

the water will skitter around

because it's floating
on a layer of steam.

That's the same
thing happening here.

I think what we did
not see is the fact

that he probably put
his hand in water first

to get that layer of water so
that when he stuck his hand

inside the hot oil, the
water turned to steam

and steam protected him.

That's the trick.

And notice that he only
did it for a second or so.

If he left his hand there,

the steam would've been
vaporized eventually,

and then, of course, you
would burn your hand off.

By the way, this is the
technique used by fire walkers.

They wet their feet first, and
as long as they keep moving,

the steam protects them
from the hot coals.

So two diverging
expert opinions.

The steam theory is intriguing,

but Abhay has never admitted

to putting his hands
in cold water first,

and we don't see him
doing that on the video.

So for now, we're going
to go with Dr. Hayes

and say that this
is a real deal case

of acquired pain immunity.

Is it possible to withstand
extreme physical pain

from a burning flame, no less,

using only the
power of the mind?

This next video may
provide the answer.

But we can already
say this much,

do not try this at home.

October 24th, 2015.

We're near the town of Peace
River in Alberta, Canada.

Doug Thompson is in his garage

about to do something extreme.

Today, I'm gonna extinguish
a cutting torch on my tongue,

Acetylene. Oxygen.

With the temperature
ranging from 5,900 degrees

to 6,300 degrees Fahrenheit.

World's hottest flame.
First person to do this.

Doug draws
the flame to his mouth.

Then he snuffs it
out with his tongue.

Let's watch that again
from a different angle

and slowed down.

Man, that's gotta burn.

There's two types of
torch in the sideshow world.

You'll see propane and oxygen
and acetylene and oxygen.

Acetylene is more
dangerous than propane

because it's highly reactive.

It's highly explosive.

The spectacle
of fire eating

dates back thousands of years,

spanning several cultural
and artistic traditions

from the fakir mystics of India

to today's carnival sideshows.

This engraving from
the 19th century

captures Englishman
Robert Powell,

a performer known for
swallowing not only fire

but also red hot
coals and brimstone.

My understanding is most
fire eaters do something

at the temperature of
1,000 to 1,200 degrees,

and this guy is doing several
times hotter than that.

Is he doing this with
mind over matter?

Is this some kind of innate
superhuman ability that he has?

First question
for our experts.

Are we simply seeing an
unusual tolerance for pain?

People have varying
thresholds for pain.

Congenital insensitivity to
pain is a very rare condition

where these individuals
cannot feel any pain

or temperature from birth.

There's a lot of techniques
that people can use

to help minimize pain.

Applying heat or ice
will help decrease pain.

There are relaxation and
meditation techniques

like breathing and yoga
to help relax the muscles

which can minimize pain.

But in the video, Doug
isn't in a meditative state

and he's not using
ice or anything else.

So if the secret to pulling off
this jaw dropping fire stunt

isn't in the performer,
maybe it's in the flame.

Is Doug's torch as
hot as he claims?

In the video, the
flames were blue colored,

meaning that it was very, very
hot, thousands of degrees.

How is it possible

that your tongue can
withstand temperatures

thousands of degrees?

Well, there's something
called the Leidenfrost Effect.

The Leidenfrost Effect
occurs

when a liquid comes into
contact with a solid

that's hotter than the
liquid's boiling point.

Upon contact, a
layer of vapor forms,

creating an insulating barrier

between the liquid
and the solid.

And that's what's
happening here.

When he puts that
thing in his mouth,

the saliva then turns to steam

and steam insulates him
from the temperatures

that are thousands of degrees.

And as a consequence, he's able
to choke off the air supply

and extinguish the flame.

And again, don't
try this at home.

When I do it,

I have to extinguish it in
my mouth for a whole second

and I have to hold it with
as much pressure as I can

so it doesn't
auto-reignite in my mouth.

Our verdict,
Leidenfrost Effect.

Our torch eater, Doug
Thompson has his doubts,

saying the acetylene torch
he uses can burn underwater.

But we're going with
Professor Kaku on this one.

Man, I've heard that
some people like it hot,

but Doug, you're taking
it to the next level.

A simple light
bulb can't illuminate

without an AC or
DC power source,

but one man claims he
can bypass all that

with just his fingertips.

Is such a self-contained
human circuit really possible?

Or is it just an
elaborate trick?

May, 2021.

Canadian resident Rob
connects with Chris from Utah

on a video chat.

The two met on a Facebook group

that explores the idea of
possible extrasensory powers.

Chris claims to have one
particularly shocking ability.

There you go.

With a piece
of foil on one finger,

Chris holds up a light
bulb and presses the end

and suddenly is able to make
it light up without any wires.

Turn it all
around, everywhere,

so people can see there's
nothing anywhere. Perfect.

The two got together
to talk to us.

I was skeptical.

I got him to take his camera
and show it all around

because I was wondering

if there was some kind
of a static generator

or a Tesla coil,
but there wasn't.

Chris says this
extraordinary ability

was taught to him by
a man in South America

who honed this power
through years of meditation.

We're like a
capacitor or a battery.

That's what my
teacher taught me.

All I'm doing is I'm
gathering an abundance

of negative ions
from the atmosphere

and charging my body with it.

So I create a
voltage differential.

And so what you're seeing,
most of it is static discharge.

Now does that hurt, Chris?

Oh!

It, it drains.

It's physical exercise.

He's, like, moving his
muscles in a certain way,

breathing a certain way,
and it creates the charge.

It pulls negative
ions out of the air

so the negative ions in his
body are going through the bulb,

lighting it up, and then they
pass on their way to ground

and discharge to the ground.

You know, it's really
just about physics.

Now, the average human
produces about 100 watts

of electricity at rest, but
we generally lack the ability

to focus that energy into
a consistent current.

So how is Chris able to do this?

Let's ask the experts.

He's actually got
a little bit of foil

on the end of one finger.

If you look at a
regular light bulb,

you see it's got one
contact in the middle

and then the other contact
where the screws are,

and electricity normally
flows across those.

But if you stick a battery

and a small bulb
inside the light bulb,

you can actually create
a trick light bulb

that will light up when
touching a bit of aluminum foil

to the two contacts.

And I think that's all
that's going on here.

But maybe that's
not how the trick's done.

Wow.

Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi
says it may be possible

he's not collecting
ions from the air,

but that he's conducting
the electricity

coming from somewhere else.

Our bodies are 50% water,
and the water in our bodies

is a pretty good
conductor of electricity.

The body can hold a voltage

if he's directly connected
to a source of power

and he can transfer that
voltage to the bulb,

causing it to illuminate.

It's not out
of the question then

that Chris is hoaxing us

by hooking himself up to
a low voltage current.

Contact. Yep.

But even a
small sustained amount

could have damaging effects.

A current going
through your body,

particularly if it
goes through the heart,

it'll upset the heart's rhythms.

So the first question may be,
how are they surviving this?

Ow!

When we talked
to Chris and Rob,

they insisted no wires or
trick bulbs were involved

and even demonstrated
this power in a new way.

Let me hold your hand.

Okay, and I'm
gonna take the bulb

and I'm gonna touch it to
the ground of the table.

There it is.
There we go.

If you look around the table,

there's nothing
attached to the table.

There's nothing
attached to Chris.

It's not a trick light bulb.

I can't make it go
on by touching it.

No way, no how.

But if I grab his hand

then I can do it.

Ow!

Our experts were pretty
convinced this was a hoax.

But even though we weren't
with Chris and Rob in person,

their demonstration
was pretty convincing.

Since we can't explain
how he's doing it,

we're gonna call this
an unexplained trick.

Any superhero fan knows

that once Peter Parker was
bitten by a radioactive spider,

he became Spider-Man, able to
climb walls and catch thieves.

But that's all comic
book stuff, right?

Certainly no one
in the real world

could possess those abilities.

Well, this next video
might change your mind.

It's July 9th, 2023,
in Pingtan, China,

known as the County of Islands.

A mother and her
children are at home

watching something on television

when something in their own
living room steals the show.

The family's home
surveillance camera is rolling

as one of the kids climbs
onto the back of the sectional

and then makes her
way up the wall,

perching herself in the
upper corner of the room.

Another video, this one
taken on a phone camera,

shows a closer angle
of the 8-year-old

demonstrating her
wall climbing talent.

It's incredible

and it doesn't seem like
it should be possible.

The girl's mother
uploaded the video

and the internet actually
nicknamed her Spider-Girl

because what we're seeing
here is very similar

to the abilities
that Spider-Man has.

So is this footage a fraud

or do this girl's wall
climbing talents stick?

Let's find out what
our experts think.

First, is the video for real?

As you watch, you can see
the subject's reflection,

the way that the
feet are positioned,

the hand motions
and even the hair

all appear to be consistent
with one another.

So the video appears
to be genuine.

Then does
this girl really have

spider-like climbing abilities?

To answer that, we need to
know how spiders really climb.

First of all, spiders
are really light,

so that works towards
their advantage

because gravity is not
acting upon them as much.

Also, they have small
hairs on their feet,

and those hairs have
smaller hairs called setules

and they form triangular tips.

And what happens is
there's temporary forces

that form between the
spider feet and the walls

called Van der Waals forces.

Named for
the Dutch physicist,

Johannes Diderik van der Waals,
who first proposed the idea,

a Van der Waals force is
an electrostatic attraction

that occurs between molecules
in extremely close proximity,

like a 25 millionth of an inch.

This is due to the positive
and negative charges

within molecules
attracting each other

like opposing magnets.

These small hairs
enable spiders to grip to

surfaces with a force 107 times
greater than their weight.

But this girl
clearly lacks a number

of these arachnid features.

She doesn't have
the tiny spider hairs

and her skin looks
pretty smooth.

She's also not obviously
as light as a spider.

So is
there some other way

she's defying the relentless
force of gravity here on Earth?

Physicist Dr.
Michio Kaku explains

what he thinks is
actually going on

and it has something
to do with the location

where this was filmed, on an
island right off the mainland.

Notice that A, she's
small.

B, the amount of muscle
mass per kilogram

is higher for small objects
than for big objects.

The fact that they're
near the ocean

and the air is humid
helps to a degree.

If there's too much
water vapor in the air,

then you slip and fall down.

If there's only a little
bit, then you stick.

That's because
the small amount of water

sandwiched between the
girl's skin and the wall

acts as a binding glue,
increasing the friction

and causing the skin to stick.

So the fact that she's
small, she's skinny,

and she sweats a little bit,

allows her to
perform these feats

that a large person
could never perform.

So while she
may not be Spider-Girl,

her technique does
bear some resemblance

to the arachnids, in principle.

It's somewhat
similar to what spiders do

in that her skin is
resisting the wall

and becoming kind of
like sticky to it.

But she has another
wall to support her,

where spiders are just working

with the bottoms of their
legs and the one wall surface.

Our verdict,

this is the result of the
muscle mass on the girl

and the moisture in the air.

We don't have to test out this
girl's web spinning abilities

to know she's not
exactly Spider-Girl,

but that doesn't make her
talent for wall climbing

any less impressive.

Okay, watch this.

That's about as fast
as I can throw a punch.

How quickly could you move
if your life depended on it?

This next video has proved

some people have nearly
superhuman reflexes

fast enough to escape
a treacherous trap.

Check it out, but please
don't try this at home.

It's January, 2015
in Gilbert, Arizona.

People have gathered
for a church talent show

where 65-year-old Gordon Ray
is getting ready to demonstrate

how to set off a bear
trap with a stick.

I was one of the
youth leaders

and, you know, I
can't sing or dance,

but I said, "I can do this."

And so I just started out that
routine with the mouse trap

and then I just worked up to
the big grizzly bear trap.

But at the last minute,
Gordon switches things up

and tosses aside
the wooden stake.

What are you doing?

Ignoring terrified
shrieks from the crowd,

he suddenly thrusts
his hand downwards

and into the jaws of the trap.

He removes his hand
in the split second

right before the
trapped snaps shut.

It happened so fast,

I think we need to take
another look in slow motion.

You can hear the
people screaming

in the backround.

But I had done the practice
so many times in the barn

ahead of time that I
was really confident

that I could beat it.

The left-handed
Gordon claims

he's always been
naturally quick.

I'm real agile.

I'd say, like, instead
of a a big bear,

I'm more like a a squirrel.

But Erin McCarthy
says Gordon isn't alone

in his feats of speed.

Bob Munden Jr. was
an exhibition shooter

who could unholster his
Colt.45, shoot a target

and reholster his gun
in 0.0175 seconds.

Munden is so fast,
here he is in slow motion.

McCarthy says there's
a strange science

behind fast reflexes like his,

Your brain, your spinal
cord, your nervous system,

and your muscles all
have to work together

to make movement happen.

And it's almost instantaneous.

When we're talking
about reflexes,

they're even faster

because they cut the
brain out of it entirely

and go directly to the spinal
cord within milliseconds.

There are people who
have super fast reflexes.

For example, Pekka
Luodeslampi from Finland

has the central nervous system
condition Tourette Syndrome,

and he has the fastest
punch on record

at 0.186 seconds.

Studies have shown
human reaction time peaks

at 24 years old

and declines between
4 and 10 milliseconds

every year after that.

Amazingly, Gordon was 65 years
old when he did this trick,

even though he should be 160
to 400 milliseconds slower

than his 25-year-old self.

Let's see if our
experts can figure out

how he pulled it off.

Now, if he was on steroids,
perhaps he would be bulked up.

And I think we can also
rule out amphetamines,

because psychologically
you think you're Superman,

but the reality is you're
limited by the speed

at which muscles contract.

That's a law of physics.

Could being left-handed
give Gordon an advantage?

Left-handed people make up
10% of the general population,

but in certain elite sports
make up disproportionately more

and they tend to be sports
that involve one-on-one plays.

People who are left-handed,

their moves are more
unfamiliar to most people,

so they have limited
time to react.

For sports such as swimming,

or dare I say,
escaping a bear trap,

there'd be no advantage
in being left-handed.

So could he have a
neurological condition

like Pekka Luodeslampi's
Tourette Syndrome?

We think it's
the basal ganglia

that causes Tourette Syndrome.

And some neurologists
agree with Pekka

that his record breaking
reaction times and speed

is likely due to excitation
in these area of the brain

as a result of his
neurological condition.

But actually, there's
not enough evidence

to say that in general,
people with Tourette syndrome

have improved motor abilities.

So then is Gordon
actually superhuman?

Physicist Dr. Matthew
Szydagis says not so fast.

The total closure of the
bear trap is about five frames.

So at 30 frames per second,

that means we can
estimate the time it takes

for the bear trap to close as
being about 100 milliseconds.

Then if we look at what
is the maximum possible

human reaction speed, we
see that this actually fits.

Szydagis says Gordon's
reflexes are above average,

but that's likely
helped by muscle memory,

which despite the misnomer,

actually takes
place in your brain.

And there's only
one way to get that.

How do you go
to Carnegie Hall?

Practice, practice, practice.

I think he's been able to
shave a few milliseconds here,

shave a few milliseconds there.

He's right at the edge of
what is physically possible.

Our verdict, naturally
fast reaction time

plus muscle memory.

After the video went viral,

Gordon received offers to
do the stunt on talk shows,

but he declined,

promising his wife that what
we saw was his final attempt.

And remember, don't you
go trying this at home,

or there could be severe or
even severed consequences.

And finally tonight,

we all remember the
story of Dr. Dolittle.

This fictional animal
doctor used to speak

with his furry and
feathered patients

in their own languages.

And from the look
of this next video,

a man in India might have
that talent for real.

It's February, 2023
in Bhopal, India.

A group of men are
gathered at the center

of a dirt intersection

when one of them starts to
conjure up an unusual crowd.

We hear the man
suddenly let out

what appears to be a bird call.

Initially, only a
couple of birds appear,

but then, after a
second of stillness,

a whole sweeping flock of
crows, known as a murder,

fills the previously empty sky

like an outtake from Hitchcock.

Is this man a pied piper
who can summon crows

by speaking their language?

In 2013, MIT published a paper

that suggests that the
origins of human language

have something to do with
imitating bird songs.

Songbirds mostly communicate

through an expression layer.

The order of words

and how you can rearrange
those create meanings.

And the lexical layer is
the meaning themselves.

So if humans, in the early
stages of our development,

started imitating bird noises
to the expression layer,

well, we already have
the lexical layer

because we're primates.

Researchers at
Duke University found

that humans and birds even
share an identical set of genes

that are activated when
birds learn to sing

and humans learn to talk.

Corvids, which include
crows, jays, and magpies,

are among the most
intelligent creatures

in the animal kingdom.

They can use tools

and actively evaluate
how to solve problems

by thinking them over.

Our experts examine if
we have more in common

with our feathered
friends than we thought.

I don't think
this man is speaking

the language of crows.

Language is more complex.

There are communications that
animals use with each other,

but it's incorrect
to call it language.

Most agree that
language can be defined

as a system of communication,

consisting of sounds,
words, and grammar.

But Manka says animal
communications are classified

as call systems, which
are patterned forms

of communication
that express meaning.

It's possible that
he knows some sort of crow call

that indicates something.

Danger.
Get out of that area.

Or there's food in this area

when they're calling
to each other.

Manka says
these crows may recognize

this guy specifically

since they can remember
individual humans

and what they do.

One of the possibilities
is that there's some

Pavlovian conditioning
going on here,

so maybe they've been
fed in this area before

or maybe they've heard
a call like this before

and then been fed afterwards.

Hope says the
location of this video

may provide an essential clue.

This is taking
place within India,

where the feeding of crows
is a very common thing to do.

During Sraddha the
offering of food or pinda

is also still in vogue.

There's a huge local
population of crows

that know they'll
be getting food.

But after
reviewing the video again,

Dr. Hope isn't sure that
explains everything.

I think the
explanation here is

that he is mimicking
the call so well

and once a few are interested,

get this big flock trying to
figure out what's going on.

Our verdict, this is
another kind of UAP,

an unexplained avian phenomenon.

Dr. Hope thinks the crows are
curious at the man's mimicry,

and Stephanie Manka thinks
he may be offering them food,

but the locals clearly
believe this man has some kind

of special connection
to these birds.

Since we can't speak to the
crows, it's impossible to say

for sure how or why
they felt summoned.

Tonight, we've explored
superhuman abilities,

people pushing beyond
what we think is possible.

Some of it science can explain.

The rest remains a mystery.

Thank you for watching
this special edition

of "The Proof is Out There.

Please send us any
videos, images, or sound

that you think we
should investigate

and remember to keep
those cameras rolling.