URI (ER-ee)
One
of the 26 cantons of Switzerland
Uri Geller: an Israeli-British
performer and magician
Common clues: Mentalist Geller; Swiss
canton; Spoon-bender Geller; Altdorf's canton; Tell’s
home canton; Self-proclaimed psychic Geller
Crossword
puzzle frequency:
7 times a year
Frequency
in English language:
43869 / 86800
Video: Uri
Geller fails on the Tonight Show
I've seen lights in the sky, I've seen UFOs, I've even seen something on the ground that I can't explain, but I've never actually seen a being. I wish I had. – Uri Geller
Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss River between Lake Lucerne and the St. Gotthard Pass. German is the primary language spoken in Uri. The population is about 35,000. The legendary William Tell is said to have hailed from Uri.
The canton is located in the centre of the country on the north side of the Swiss Alps. The lands of the canton are that of the Reuss valley and those of the main river's tributaries. The total area of the canton is 1,077 km². About half of this is considered productive land. Forests cover a significant part of the territory, and glaciers make up 20% of the unproductive land.
The highest elevation in the canton, and in the Urner Alps as a whole, is the Dammastock, at 3,630 m, north of the Furka Pass. The Glarus and Lepontine Alps ranges are also partially situated in the canton of Uri.
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Uri Geller (December 20, 1946) is an Israeli-British performer and magician who once claimed "to be able to bend spoons with the power of his mind" and to have psychic powers, although he currently prefers to the designation of "mystifier" rather than "psychic."
Geller rose to fame after performing a series of televised performances which he said were paranormal demonstrations of psychokinesis, dowsing, and telepathy. His performance included bending spoons, describing hidden drawings, and making watches appear to stop or run faster. Geller said he performs these feats through willpower and the strength of his mind.
Geller was unable to bend any tableware during a 1973 appearance on The Tonight Show in which the spoons he was to bend had been preselected by Johnny Carson. Earlier in his career, Carson had been an amateur stage magician, and consulted James Randi for advice on how to thwart potential trickery. Randi explained in a 1993 "Secrets of the Psychics" for the NOVA television series: "I was asked to prevent any trickery. I told them to provide their own props and not to let Geller or his people anywhere near them." A clip of this incident was televised on the NBC show Phenomenon. This two-minute clip, which has been widely circulated on the Internet since James Randi acquired permission to use it from NBC (videotape transfer paid for by Carson) in his television special Secrets of the Psychics only shows Geller failing at psychic "hand dowsing," not metal bending. However, in the television special Randi demonstrates how to bend spoons with seemingly mental powers.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Canton of Uri" and “Uri Geller”.
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