21 grams experiment
One patient lost weight. But then gained it back again. Two other patients lost weight at death. But then lost even more weight a few minutes later. One patient lost “three-fourths of an ounce” (21.3 grams) in weight at the time of death. MacDougall did not count the results of another patient because the scales were “not finely adjusted”. He also did not count the results of another patient because the patient died while the equipment was being set up. MacDougall said that none of the dogs lost any weight after death.