Dowsing rods.

SkepticOne

It seems to me that this would be one of the easier claims to test. Would any dowsers like to come forward and prove the skeptics wrong?

IIRC an experiment was done by Richard Dawkins on one of his programmes where he hid targets to be discovered by the dowsers under some sort of cover.

pH

SkepticOne wrote: »

It seems to me that this would be one of the easier claims to test. Would any dowsers like to come forward and prove the skeptics wrong?

IIRC an experiment was done by Richard Dawkins on one of his programmes where he hid targets to be discovered by the dowsers under some sort of cover.

Here's the Dawkins clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQREhk1t_sw

Very similar to one done by Randi, with exactly the same ending, dowsers making excuses and continuing to believe in their powers.

It's a pointless exercise, those who are open to being swayed by evidence can see that dowsing is all in the mind of the dowsers, for those who believe no conceivable test could convince them otherwise.

There's another dowsing test video floating around where pipes are buried in trenches and have water flowing them, replicating exactly conditions that dowsers claim they can detect. Even at the end of this one dowsers still make excuses and refuse to accept that they can't do what they say they can.

???

To make it sweet, I bet 20 quid to any dowsers that I'll come within 20% of them!

johnsix

pH wrote: »

There's another dowsing test video floating around where pipes are buried in trenches and have water flowing them, replicating exactly conditions that dowsers claim they can detect. Even at the end of this one dowsers still make excuses and refuse to accept that they can't do what they say they can.

I think that was Randi's test in Australia.

Doubt anyone will come forward. Our negative vibrations adversely effect dowsing.

Always wondered, if water did put out a electro magnetic field surely we would have a better detector than coat hangers.

pH

johnsix wrote: »

I think that was Randi's test in Australia.

Yes, indeed it was.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7461912885649996034

more tea vicar

If it started raining would dowsing rods start to point upwards?

What about the human body being two thirds water, would dowsing rods not point back to the stomach of the dowser, especially if he is drinking a pint of water?

If you had a strong pee when you were dowsing, would the dowsing rod point toward the pee?

If it were raining and you were peeing would the dowser rod point up, down or in, or rotate violently?

What if dowsers were blindfolded and given a pair of feather dusters like ken dodd, and let loose in the knotty ash area of merseyside? Would they find water first or a phalanx of diddy men?

Whispered

Hey guys,

I believe in dowsing. I don't like people saying that it's messages from spirits though. I personally believe that we can all (by all I mean all animals) sense water to an extent. It's a fundemental need for life. So I think dowsers are just a bit more in tune with this. As for the rods moving, this i think is a minute movement on the part of the dowser which they dont realise thay are doing. Hence the "miraculous" results. I'm not saying this is fact, but just what I believe. And it makes sense to me.

Whispered

SkepticOne wrote: »

Would any dowsers like to come forward and prove the skeptics wrong?
.

What would you suggest?

???

A test similar to the video above.

Whispered

I'd love to see that, would you video it?

SkepticOne

I would be willing to organise such a test. The James Randi one would be impractical but Dawkins one I think would be feasible. Any dowsers willing to come forward?

more tea vicar

I have tested two different dudes, dabbling in dousing.


Douser number one was a digger driver, early twenties, not the full shilling. He used metal welding rods and was wandering around a 1/2 acre plot, plying his art.

After several attempts to avoid the existing buried water main, he ended up cutting into it so many times with the digger, that it ended up with a dozen or so repair joints and had to be ripped out altogether and a new water mains installed.

After a week or so with the new mains in, he got out the welding rods again to make sure he did not dig up the new pipe, and as it happened a local farmer passed by and said " by jees, he's got the gift, he's got the gift", watching on as he did his stuff.

The ****er dug into the new mains three more times.



The next dousing nutter was a new age hippy turned be-suited consultant of various nefarious arts, one being divining.

He had wooden sticks, walking up and down my driveway saying where he thought the mains was. His sticks were wobbling all over around the corner of the house near to the driveway.

"That's where your mains pipe is!" he said.

Actually it was on the other side of the property recently installed, laid loose in the field and there was not any previous mains laid historically as the house had its own rain tank water system fitted from day one.

I told him where the mains was, over 50 foot away past the house, over the wall in adjoining field.

"Oh", he said. "There must be an old mains under the driveway, here then" ???





Where is that icon with the wee fellow slapping his forehead.

more tea vicar

Some people claim it is all to do with body energy, and magnetic flow lines in water etc.

Others may even add in fairies, elves and dwarfs, maybe wood spirits, imps and leprachauns that have some magical effect.

No just good old snake oil, quackery and goofing about.

Nolanger

The best test for self-proclaimed dowsers is to fly them to the middle of desert and leave them there.
If they have dowsing abilities then they should find water and survive.

more tea vicar

Nolanger wrote: »

The best test for self-proclaimed dowsers is to fly them to the middle of desert and leave them there.
If they have dowsing abilities then they should find water and survive.

The best test is to take a dowser into the middle of a frozen lake covered in a thick layer of sand and place a hat secretly full of water on their heads with a fire crew on standby with their hose at the ready.

If they can't find water, douse them with petrol and set a light to them, and have the fire crew stand idly by laughing at them.

more tea vicar

How many dousers does it take to change a light bulb?

Dousers do not believe in electricity, instead they live in small caves and cast spells on the wicked townsfolk, plotting occasional raids on dark winter nights, dancing naked through the streets, chanting gibberish and shítting on pavements.

Oryx

I think you been readin too much harry potter, vicar. Themll be the fictional voldemort dowsers your on about. And this circle jerk you got goin wit your mates is hardly productive for the forum but its amusing to observe.

more tea vicar

They probably poo on pavements though, I've seen the poo, definitely douser poo.

There are probably douser poo dousing rods that can probably detect douser's poo.