(Investigator 11, 1990 March)
Scottish-born Tom Wards of Melbourne advertises himself as an "internationally famous clairvoyant".
Mr Wards works out people's lucky numbers, has a problem and answer column in Australasian Post, and makes regular political and social predictions.
An Adelaide news report titled "Prince Charles will wed in 1979 – clairvoyant" (1978 December 28) contains proof of Tom's paranormal skill.
Prince Charles wedded in 1981 and not in 1979 – Tom was therefore wrong.
He was also wrong [in the same article] about "a flag at half mast at Buckingham", wrong about reintroduction of TV licenses, and wrong about the "Pope…killed by a sniper's bullet".
That's zero out of 4 = 0%
Tom is not always that bad. Investigator Number 4 estimated ten correct in one set of 130 predictions = 8%.
An Adelaide skeptic commented: "I don't understand how he keeps going when he's nearly always wrong."
What would happen if someone trusted the lucky numbers Tom supplied and lost all he had? A law student explained: "Tom couldn't be prosecuted because illegal contracts can't be enforced."
Tom Wards confidently proclaims that his success rate is 85%. Apparently arithmetic wasn't his best school subject.[Is Tom's surname "Wards" or "Ward"? A search of Investigator's files found a "Special 1985 Liftout" from Australasian Post (January 3, 1985) listing Tom's predictions for 1985. On pages 29, 30, 34 and 35 the name is "Wards".]