Some patients who 'died' for a short period have reported things that they couldn't possibly have known about. Seeing events flashing before your eyes, observing a bright light at the end of a tunnel or feeling as though you are floating above your own body are just some of the things commonly described by patients who have had a near-death experience. But do such experiences represent genuine evidence that there is something more after we die or are they simply illusions produced by the chemistry of the dying brain in our final moments ? To answer this question, it is worth considering those rare cases where near-death experiences have revealed details about the physical world that the patient couldn't have otherwise known about. One well known case, which was reported by hospice physician John Lerma, concerned an 80-year-old man who recalled floating above his body in the hospital trauma room. From this elevated position, he spotted a quarter dating back to 1985 sitting on the top of