In 2021, the polygraph machine turns 100 years old.

Man has been lying since the beginning of time. That’s a lot of lying. And humans have tried all kinds of creative ways to find out if someone is telling the truth. The oldest technique is torture. In the middle ages, they would use boiling water on suspected liars. They believed that honest men would tolerate the pain better. Brutal. 

Torture almost guarantees a confession. But the quality of those confessions is pretty unreliable. It wasn’t until 1921 that a machine was created that could measure both blood and breathing. We call this the polygraph machine. It’s much gentler than pulling off fingernails with pliers. But the question is, how accurate is it? The device has changed forms since its inception, but the basic technology essentially remains the same.

For more fun facts and resources about the polygraph, visit antipolygraph.org.

William Moulton Marston 

William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman, invented an early prototype of the lie detector. Yes, the creator of Wonder Woman was one of the pioneers of the polygraph machine. 

In the comics, Wonder Woman wraps her lasso of truth tightly around the villain. But the purpose of the golden lasso was less about getting the truth out of someone and more about submission.

Perhaps the goal of the polygraph is not much different. It’s always been about gaining dominance over someone.  

Polygraph failures

The first director of the FBI, J Edgar Hoover, said that the polygraph machine is unreliable. He knew it was unreliable because the first time they used it in an espionage investigation in 1938, a spy passed it and escaped on the next ship to Germany.

Even the strongest supporters of the polygraph will admit that it’s had some spectacular failures. In 1986 and 1991, a CIA officer passed two polygraph exams, all while spying on the United States for the Soviet Union.  

In 1994, Aldrich Ames was arrested as a Soviet Russian spy. He famously beat the polygraph twice while he was spying for the Russians. 

If a KGB double agent could pass the test, you would think that the federal government would rely less on this machine. Well, they tried that, and then the FBI got burned again with yet another KGB double agent. FBI agent Robert Hanssen spied on the U.S. for the Soviets from 1979 to 2001 and was never required to undergo a polygraph test. As a result, a polygraph is required for all new hires and repeat the test every five years.   

Update on Doug Williams

I reached out to Doug Williams. Just to see what he thought about the episode. But he never returned any of my emails. 

Then I learned, just days after part one of this series aired, Doug Williams passed away from a medical illness. He was 75. 

Doug Williams lived an extraordinary life, from working inside the White House Situation Room to his career as a polygraph examiner for the Oklahoma City police department. But perhaps he will always be remembered for his crusade against the polygraph industry. He was instrumental in the passing of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988. And he educated countless people on the flaws of the polygraph machine. He died a 5-time felon for what he believed was his calling. 

You know, I had one listener reach out and tell me that they agreed with Doug Williams. The polygraph machine is flawed, and many innocent people have lost their jobs or freedoms because of it. But this listener didn’t like the messenger. She found his style brash and overbearing. But maybe that was the whole point. Would anybody listen if he quietly challenged the industry? I don’t know. 

Either way, love him or hate him, Doug Williams made a mark in this world. And I’m lucky to have had the chance to talk with him.