Preliminary research began in 1969 in Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.  The same year when man first stepped foot on the moon, one of the Spindrift founders was developing tests of directed thought, the placebo effect, and prayer on simple subjects like seeds and plants.  Full-time research began in Schaumburg, Illinois, in 1975.  Most of the experiments were done between 1975 and 1993.