Guardian Angels Or The 'Third Man Factor'?

G'day to you! And a fine one it must be... somewhere. Here it's just a dull winter's day between storms But...we're one day closer to spring and that's what counts!  Glad you could take a few minutes to click by. Coffee's hot and there's a tray of assorted virtual treats right out of my virtual oven awaiting your pleasure so...don't be shy, eh! Say...have you ever had the feeling there's someone watching you over your shoulder? Eerie, isn't it? Well listen to this...

In 1933, British explorer Frank Smyth almost became the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The journey to the top of the mountain was arduous and nearly disastrous; his entire hiking party had fallen back, unable to make it through the sweeping wind, snow, ice and low oxygen. Smyth continued, but never made it to the top — he missed it by 1,000 feet. 

Later, writing in his diary, Smyth described something that scientists commonly refer to as the "Third Man Factor." He recounted how at one point on the ascent, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a slab of Kendal mint cake, broke it in half and turned around to give the other half to a companion. But there was no one there: "All the time that I was climbing alone, I had a strong feeling that I was accompanied by a second person. The feeling was so strong that it completely eliminated all loneliness I might otherwise have felt."

John Geiger is the author of four other works of nonfiction, including Frozen In Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition.

Writer John Geiger chronicles the phenomenon of the phantom companion in his new book, The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible. As Geiger explains, the Third Man is an unseen being that intervenes at a critical moment — when people are in great stress or in a life-and-death struggle — to give comfort, aid or support. 

"Clearly there is a spiritual or religious explanation to this phenomenon," Geiger tells Guy Raz. But he also says there is strong science behind the Third Man: "Many skeptics and non-believers also had this experience and they attribute it to other explanations and there is certainly some very interesting science behind this."

As William Shatner would ask, "Is that weird or what?"

See ya, eh!

Bob