dowsing (a.k.a. water witching)

[BryanP]

I place dowsing with psychics, esp, unicorns and other delusions.  

It's a bunch of hooey.  Many years ago James Randi set up a controlled test of dowsers.  He let them do it under his monitored conditions.  They failed miserably.

[Tallpine]

"I had someone tell me it was due the the magnetic field that water creates"

Actually, it would be the opposite - a break or gap in the earth's magnetic field (or so I've been told)

[RevDisk]

Not something I've personally done, but I know more than a few very sane individuals who swear by it.  They're happy with the level of service, so does it really matter?   If one commissions the service of a dowser, and said dowser finds the right spot, who cares what his/her method is?   If everyone's happy with and understanding of the terms, I wouldn't care if the dowser walked around with a rubber chicken.

Whatever works.

[Art Eatman]

BryanP,  one carefully monitored anything is pretty much irrelevant to anything.   Why it works or doesn't work in any one and only one given situation just doesn't matter.

Dowsing is known to work for some people, some times.  Not everybody, certainly, and not all the time for those who have had success.

I'd consider it a fair test if a dowser could go out into an area where most drilling efforts have been to no avail, and find water where others could not.  (Assuming there is actually some sort of groundwater formation in the vicinity)  If he says, "Drill here." and sure enough, they hit water, that's as controlled and monitored as ever one could wish.  Results are what count, not the number of witnesses to the dowsing effort.

That's why I brought up the Marfa Lights.  Folks have been studying and theorizing about them for over a hundred years.  Some things, I guess, are just forever gonna be part of the Great Unknown.

, Art

[client32]

Well, the guy that was needing to find water has had several people go out there.  This included one guy that has been successful with it before.  

Dowing was already in the works for this guy, but what really lit a fire for him was when he called one of the local drillers.  The driller told him to find someone who could witch for water.  

I'll let you know how it turns out when they start drilling.  It may be a while.

[stevelyn]

My dad could douse. That was how he picked the location of our well. I'm not sure I ever believed in it nor did I understand what tools were used.

Then about 5 or 6 years ago I learned I could do it myself. I can't tell you what's in the ground when the rods react, but it's either metal of some sort or an underground stream.

There's nothing mystical or magical about it as the only explaination has to be magnetic fields created by moving water underground or metal objects.

The method that worked for me is to take two copper-coated gas welding rods and and put a 90 degree bend on them about 5 or 6 inches long. You hold them out in front of you like a pair of handguns. When you cross an underground stream or metal object they will turn inward about 90 degrees or more as you pass over the top of it.

You can grip them as tight as you want and they'll still turn inward.

[client32]

Update for all.

The drillers struck water.  It isn't hard evidence that dowsing works, but we did find a good hole with it.