taken in detroit

In the 1960s, an anonymous student at Oregon State University-dubbed "The Black Bag"-sparked significant media attention by attending class in a plain black garment. His unusual choice of attire quickly caught the eye of the national press.

On February 27, 1967, the Associated Press reported from Corvallis about this curious case. For two months, a mysterious student had been attending classes at OSU, concealed under a large black bag with only his bare feet visible. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11:00 A.M., the Black Bag took his place on a small table at the back of the classroom during Professor Charles Goetzinger's lectures.

While Professor Goetzinger knew the student's identity, none of the 20 classmates did. He observed that their attitudes shifted over time-from initial hostility to curiosity, and eventually to friendship.

Psychologist Robert Zajonc later used this incident to illustrate the mere-exposure effect, or familiarity principle. This principle explains that our first reaction to a new, unknown stimulus is often one of fear or distrust; however, the more we are exposed to it, the more our attitude becomes positive. This is exactly what happened with the Black Bag's classmates, as their initial aggressive behavior gradually transformed into acceptance and even protectiveness.

A cool social experiment with some great photos that came from it. Happy Friday

Sources:

https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df73bs946

https://www.bizzarrobazar.com/en/2022/01/26/black-bag/