Gillis Patrick Flanagan (born 11 October 1944 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American inventor.
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As a teenager Flanagan invented a device he called a Neurophone which he claimed transmitted sound via the nervous system to the brain.[1] This earned him a profile in Life magazine, which called him a "unique, mature and inquisitive scientist".[2][3] In 1968, the invention was further improved by the development of a means of simplifying speech waveforms, for which he received U.S. patent no.3,647,970,[4] which allowed the device to produce clear sound at lower power levels. Flanagan has continued to develop the Neurophone and it is currently being sold as an aid to speed learning.
Flanagan claims to have invented an electronic sleep machine at age 8, developed and sold a guided missile detector to the U.S. military at age eleven, gained his air pilot's licence at age seventeen, and been employed by a Think Tank at The Pentagon, and later as a consultant to the NSA, CIA, NASA, Tufts University, the Office of Naval Research, and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds for the Department of Unconventional Weapons and Warfare.[5] He also claims the unusual ability to tie 6000 different knots, 4800 by the age of 8.[6]
During the 1970s, Flanagan aroused controversy by becoming a proponent of pyramid power, widely regarded by mainstream science as New Age pseudoscience. Flanagan wrote several books about the topic (see bibliography) and promoted pyramid power through lectures and seminars. According to the Skeptical Inquirer, during the planetary alignment of 1985 Flanagan "charged up a number of crystals full of pyramid energy during the alignment and offered to give one free to everyone who signed up for his $145 seminar near San Francisco. These crystals "were also charged at the apex of the Pyramid in the full moon-light on the last day of this most powerful alignment." In 1977, Flanagan told a press conference that he had 15 gold needles embedded in his body at a cost of $1,000, in the belief that this would make him immortal.[7]
In 1981, Flanagan invented an Electron Field Generator, or air ioniser, capable of negatively charging and purifying air, for which he received U.S. patent no.4,391,773.[8] It consists of two or more circular flat electrodes, stacked on top of one another, separated by and encased in a dielectric material, through which a high voltage alternating current is passed. The design was improved upon in 1986, receiving U.S. patent no.4,743,275, [9] by doping the dielectric material with conductive or semiconductive particles, reducing the power consumption and increasing the field strength.
In 1982, Flanagan and his wife, Gael Crystal, claim to have discovered a new form of colloidal silica known as a microcluster in the glacial water drunk by the Hunza people of northern Pakistan, a people who are renowned for their health and longevity. The Flanagans went on to develop a product utilizing the microclusters called Crystal Energy (the ingredients are water, silica, potassium carbonate, and magnesium sulfate), which is claimed to lower the surface tension of drinking water. In the 1990s the couple claimed discovery of negatively charged hydrogen or hydride ions in the Hunza water. They claim that these ions act as powerful antioxidants. A nutritional supplement was developed using silica microclusters to stabilise the hydride ions, a novel compound known as silica hydride.[10] For this work he was named 1997 Scientist of the Year by the International Association for New Science, a body that promoted work in fringe science. Several scientific papers by Flanagan about silica hydride have been published in peer review journals such as the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy[11] and Free Radical Biology and Medicine.[12]
On May 29, 2002, Royal BodyCare Inc. filed a lawsuit against Patrick Flanagan and his partners requesting injunctive and monetary relief and alleging, among other causes of action, breach of contract, conspiracy, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, disparagement, tortuous interference and unlawful restraint of trade. On February 18, 2003, a settlement was reached, requiring Flanagan to pay an aggregate of $250,000.00 to Royal BodyCare Inc.[13]
Patrick's wife, Gael Flanagan nee Gordon died due to an overdose of the drug ketamine, and it has been alleged that this was a case of murder on the part of Patrick[14][15], owing to Gael wanting out of Patrick's business, and Patrick wanting to protect his secrets at any cost.[16]