Fact or Fiction?

Water dowsing has been a subject of controversy for hundreds of years. The United States Geological Survey frowns upon it, stating the following: “Case histories and demonstrations of dowsers may seem convincing, but when dowsing is exposed to scientific examination, it presents a very different picture. The natural explanation of ‘successful’ water dowsing is that in many areas underground water is so prevalent close to the land surface that it would be hard to drill a well and not find water. In a region of adequate rainfall and favorable geology, it is difficult not to drill and find water!”

On the flip side, in a study over 10 years, conducted by the German government in the 1990s, researchers paired up experienced geologists and dowsers to try to find a cheaper way to find drinkable water for dry regions of the world, such as Zaire and Kenya. The results concluded that many of the dowsers were spot-on in their assessments of both depth and volume and were accurate to within 10% to 20%. The results were published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration (https://bit.ly/2VP39Wb).

Yet, still, no one knows why dowsing works or if, indeed, it does work. However, the proof might be in the pudding — or maybe rather, the puddles. — Ed.