Dowsing: Is It Fact or Fake?

Dowsing: Is It Fact or Fake?

(Amber Kanuckel, farmersalmanac.com.  Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

Man dowsing wirh dividing rod to locate ground water under surface or currents of earth radiation to check home for safe zones.

Some call it “the gift.” Others refer to it as “twitching,” “doodlebugging,” or “water witching,” the practice of locating water underground using a forked stick. Sounds simple, but does it work?

According to the American Society of Dowsers, divining the location of water dates back many millennia. In the Tassili Caves of northern Africa, an 8,000-year-old cave painting depicts a man holding a forked stick, apparently using it to search for water. In fact, historical images that appear to represent dowsing appear all over the world – in the temples of Egyptian pharaohs, in ancient Chinese etchings and more.

Although most would say that dowsing is nothing more than a myth, there are quite a few people today who believe in this practice. In fact, many drought-stricken Californians have been turning to local dowsers to uncover hidden sources of water. And, despite the skepticism, there are even a few scientists that think there’s more here than meets the eye.