A man was taken into the custody of a small
police department in Bucks County for suspicion of crime. He kept repeating that
he was innocent of any wrongdoing, and the arresting officers, convinced of his
guilt, asked him if he would be willing to take a lie detector test. He agreed,
and the officers took him to the Xerox machine. In this copy machine, the police
had already placed a typewritten card in it that read, “He’s lying.”
They then sat the man next to the machine
and on his head, placed a metal colander that had been fashioned with wires and
alligator clamps. During his interrogation, whenever he gave an answer the
officers didn’t like, or thought was a lie, they pushed the “Start” button
on the copy machine, and the copy of the “He’s lying” message would come
out.
The man finally decided that he couldn’t beat the machine, and made a full
confession.
