Wednesday, October 8, 2008

RFID Chips inside 20 Dollar Bills? - An Unexciting Truth

I've been reading about a little myth floating around on the net. Supposedly, the U.S. Government has but RFID chips inside every new $20 bill after 2005. Skeptical, I took a closer look.




I read the first article at: http://www.prisonplanet.com/022904rfidtagsexplode.html. In the article, the author said that When you put a $20 bill into a microwave, the RFID chip inside explodes. I was shocked. RFID has been somewhat of an obsession to me, and I have a hard time believing that a tiny little chip would explode creating such a large hole in a bill. The article said that the chip was located inside Jefferson's right eye. Using my powerful high resolution microscope I went in manually...

Using my set of tiny tools, I went into our founding father's eyes.

I started with the left, to make sure the author didn't mean the observer's right, instead of Jefferson's.



I tediously removed layer after layer of ink.



Sure enough, Jefferson's left (our right) eye was clean.



Now to the right eye I entered. Each eye took about 20 minutes to carefully dissect, so by the second eye I was frustrated, but undeterred.

So I started once again from scratch.



Nothing. I searched carefully, moving bits of cotton here and there. Alas, there was no mystery chip.



Just to be sure I went through two more twenties. Empty. I scanned each very thoroughly, and I knew what I was looking for. It is not for certain that the United States is once again innocent.



But then how to explain the burning?

As it turns out, most paper, cotton, etc. will burn at a concentrated point when showed into a microwave. There was no "exploding RFID chip". Sometimes the truth is unexciting, but that doesn't change the fact that it is still the truth.

Consider this myth busted.






15 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is absolutely fascinating! I am astounded at the particular and complete work you did to discover the truth. You are a true scientist.

Anonymous said...

Actually, this is an exciting truth.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what an experiment! So there is no chip inside these new $20 dollar bills. What about the new $5 dollar bills?

Brennon said...

Nope. $20 bills are the most commonly carried. I doubt that there's a RFID chip in any other bill, because the data provided would not be accurate. For instance: Most people carry twenties, with a few exceptions. RFID chips could tell someone how much money they were carrying with high accuracy. This is valuable knowledge when dealing with security. At least, that's what some want to believe.

The concept of tracking devices in twenties has been around for a while. In the 1990s show The X-Files there were magnetic strips inside twenty dollar bills. This was before RFID technology had developed.

Anonymous said...

How do you know so much history of the concepts and practices of such topics as this? This is amazing depth on this topic.

Brennon said...

Thank you. I've always been fascinated by RFID technology.

Anonymous said...

Haven't RFID chips been used in tracking animals and sea creatures for environmental purposes?

Anonymous said...

This is amazing. Can you still use paper money after it has been through this kind of examination, like a hole in it?

Brennon said...

As long as you can still see the serial number, then the money is still valid. However, I don't recommend sticking any of your money in a microwave because it proves nothing, there is no RFID chip.

And yes, RFID chips have been used in many animals (and a few people). There are implants that consist of a tiny tube with the chip and wire inside.

stb666 said...

What would be the purpose of putting RFID chips into twenty dollar bills?
There would be over 60 million places where these RFID chips were found.

Brennon said...

As I previously said:

"RFID chips could tell someone how much money they were carrying with high accuracy. This is valuable knowledge when dealing with security. At least, that's what some want to believe."

Often times, if people are carrying large quantities of money and are leaving the country with no return flight, then they could be considered a security threat.

Anonymous said...

That's so true about the money leaving the U.S. Recently I went to Europe, and Homeland Security was stopping people in the line to board the plane and actually counting their cash before they allowed them to board.

Unknown said...

This is inaccurate. If you put a 20 in the microwave you see a tiny explosion with similar colors that foil produces. And it always leaves a burn imprint under his right eye. There is rfid in the 20s. Test for yourself

Anonymous said...

Yes they are in 100s. Read article on CNN.website

Unknown said...

I have a $20 I recieved today with a small piece of metal attached to it. Embedded in the fiber of the bill. It's really odd.

blogger templates 3 columns | Make Money Online