Given how quickly times change and trends come and go, it’s no wonder that as we get older, we often feel disconnected from the world around us. I’m not just talking about big changes, but also the small ones that happen over the course of decades. Just like my grandmother, who would talk about things from her youth that none of us recognized, I imagine the same will be true for me if I live as long as she did.
It’s this sense of nostalgia that makes “what’s this?” articles so popular online. You know, the ones with pictures of unfamiliar objects, where people want to know what they are and what they were used for. There’s currently a new one making the rounds, and it’s proving to be quite a challenge to figure out.
When I first saw a photo of this tool on the internet, I had no idea what it was. At first glance, it just looked like a regular old tree branch, V-shaped and nothing special. Little did I know, it has a long history dating back to the 1500s and a practice called “Water Dowsing.”
This tool, also known as a water dowser, has had various names over the years, such as “diviner,” “doodlebug,” “well witch,” or “water-finder.” And its purpose? You guessed it – to locate water!
To use it, a person would hold both branches of the stick in each hand, with their palms facing upward. The bottom part where the two rods meet, known as the stem of the V, would be tilted toward the Earth at a 45-degree angle. The user would then walk back and forth, searching for vibrations at the bottom of the V to indicate the presence of water hidden beneath the Earth.
Initially, dowsing was practiced with metal rods to find metals in the ground during the 1500s. Eventually, people started using the same method to locate water for those who lived in rural areas.
To learn more about water dowsing, watch the video below. And if you already knew what this tool was for, let us know in the comments! If you found this article interesting, be sure to check out the links below for more captivating stories.
