‘I CANNOT TELL A LIE’: IS TRUTH SERUM REAL?

We have all heard the story about 6-year-old George Washington chopping down his father’s cherry tree and then confessing by saying, “I cannot tell a lie.” And, of course, President Abraham Lincoln was known as “Honest Abe.”

Therefore, we can conclude from this that American presidents always tell the truth, right? And if you believe that, there is some nice land in southern Okeechobee County I can sell to you for cheap.

What if those lying presidents (you know their names) had taken a truth serum? Would they have been honest with us? Well, maybe… but probably not. So-called truth serums have been tried for nearly a century, but there has never been any firm proof they work.

Truth serums are barbiturates, which act on the central nervous system to calm anxiety, induce drowsiness, eliminate pain, or even knock someone out. These drugs include scopolamine, sodium amytal, and the best-known truth serum, the brand-name Sodium Pentothal.

“The way most of the popular truth serum drugs typically work is by placing the patient into a ‘twilight sleep,’ a state where the patient is conscious and unable to feel pain. While truth serums do work in some cases, in just as many other instances the same drugs don’t work,” Emily Upton wrote for TodayIFoundOut.com.

Alan Bellows, writing for the website DamnInteresting. com, was more direct about whether truth serums work: “The short answer is no,” he wrote. “The long answer is ‘Noooooooooooo!’ while running in slow motion.” y pping down his hen e.” And, of course, as that American n now had been honest with us? led truth serums have e has never any act on the central drowsiness, eliminate e include est-known truth hal. erum typically wilight ble to feel While as other uth serums work: he long answer is w motion.” sions made

While researchers found some confessions made by people under the influence of truth serums to be true, they “admit despairingly that they know of just as many confessions that were demonstrably false,” wrote Cecil Adams for StraightDope.com. In many ways, truth serums act on an individual like alcohol. In Ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder told us that in vino veritas, or “in wine, truth.” Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and you are likely to say things you would normally keep secret. “Unfortunately for cops and CIA interrogators,” Adams says, “what you spill isn’t necessarily the truth.” secret. for and CIA

In many cases, truth serums simply cause people to provide answers that they think their interrogators want to hear. Drugs can also reduce someone to unintelligible babbling. In addition, just because someone thinks something is true does not mean it is.

In cases, truth serums cause to want to hear. can also reduce someone to In is true does not mean is

Some of us, like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, simply always tell the truth. Let me tell you more about that land in southern Okeechobee County…

Some of us, like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, tell the truth. Let me tell more about that land in southern Okeechobee County