Dowsing is, perhaps, the only human extrasensory ability that has found a fairly widespread practical application. There are many cases when water was easily and quickly found in a similar way, if it was not possible for a long time to do it using the most advanced scientific methods and technical means. Here are some examples.
Dowsing helped the auto concern
In 1951, the world's largest American automobile company, General Motors, was building a large plant in a semi-arid region of South Africa, near Port Elizabeth. It is known that for the normal operation of any plant, it needs a reliable water supply.
But Port Elizabeth was so limited in water consumption that in order to save it, they even banned watering the lawns. And no additional water sources were foreseen. There was only one way out - to drill a new well (or wells).
The corporation called for help from a specialist who performed a lot of measurements and calculations and, finally, chose a site for drilling. The drillers hastily assembled and commissioned their rig. At the same time, everything was carried out in a scientific way and cost the company a lot of money.
And then a local resident, a middle-aged General Motors employee, C. J. Becker, told one of the plant managers that the drillers would not find anything there, except for some salt water at a depth of about 150 feet (45 meters). There was no reaction to this statement, and drilling, of course, continued.
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And when the drillers reached a depth of 150 feet, only a little salt water was actually recovered from the well. Then the boss, A. J. Williams, remembered Becker's prediction. If Becker knew about bad water in advance, would he be able to suggest where to look for good water?
Becker did not use a willow twig or any other traditional instrument of dowsers. Instead, he crossed his arms tightly across his chest and slowly paced the General Motors estate. Half an hour later, he stopped and asked to mark this place. At the same time, Becker trembled violently.
“Here,” he said, chattering his teeth, “there is a lot of good water, this is what we need.
After the spot was marked, Becker again paced back and forth slowly until he started to shake again. The second place, 1,800 feet away from the first, was also noted.
The leaders of the auto concern were overcome by doubts, because Becker's method looked like charlatanism. We decided to invite him to repeat the search, but with a blindfold. Becker readily agreed to this. With a heavy bandage over his eyes, "led" by two employees of the firm, Becker walked up and down the vast plaza. Again, his reaction was the same and in the same places. She clearly did not depend on whether his eyes were open or not.
A new well was drilled at one of Becker's locations. And there was so much water that it was enough for the plant, and for lawns, and for flowers. So there was no need to drill a second well.
How Becker became a water seeker
He was born in the arid area of Jansenville, 100 miles from Port Elizabeth. In those parts, farmers had only one choice: either to find water or to go broke. Becker's grandfather, who became famous as a successful water finder, taught his art to his grandson. When searching, one had to firmly clasp his hands on his chest and slowly walk back and forth until a shiver enveloped the whole body.
A description of the amazing story of the discovery of an underground water source was published in the magazine "General Motors Folks" in October 1951. In it, Becker gives some details of his method and sensations: “I feel that I can distinguish between salt water and fresh water by holding a silver coin in one hand and a copper coin in the other. If the water is fresh, then the hand in which the silver coin lies begins to vibrate strongly. And if the water is salty, a hand with a copper coin vibrates. Why this is happening, I do not know."
And further: “If I stand over an underground source, I am shaken, and if I open my hands, the vibration immediately stops. If I stand facing downstream, the vibration also stops, but if I face upstream, then I immediately start to shake; I think that the degree of vibration depends on the flow rate. I can clearly distinguish three types of underground currents: one - rising vertically upward, the other two - at an angle of 45 °. When I am shaken the most, I know that I am standing over the very center of the stream. Then I start walking back and forth and thus determine the fading points. By simply counting steps, I determine the depth of the underground source, as I did for General Motors."
On a drought-stricken Karel-za farm near Port Elizabeth, where 12 wells failed, Becker discovered a massive underground flow at a depth of about 400 feet on his first try. The central current, 14 feet wide, was so strong, and so affected Becker, that he was thrown to the ground several times before he could cross the area indicated. Drilling confirmed that Becker was right, as has already happened in 98% of cases.
Old engraving with dowser
Instead of a twig - an electrode
And in the city of Kennewick, Washington, USA, in 1956, they were looking for parts of the lost pipes from an underground pipeline of one of the power plants. The route plans were either not preserved or turned out to be inaccurate. It was forbidden to open soil over a vast area, and there was no time for that.
The problem was solved by urban utility engineer Marston B. Weingar using his abilities as a water finder. Instead of a freshly cut twig in the shape of a slingshot, he took a welding electrode in each hand and, keeping them parallel to the ground and directing them forward, went in search. When he stepped over a pipeline buried in the ground, the electrodes unfolded by themselves parallel to the pipes.
- I myself wonder how it happens, - said Weingar, - but the device works.
He first began to use this method in the winter of 1955, and since then many have tried to follow his example. Some have succeeded, others have not. The American Water Exploration and Supply Association published an article on how to properly use the method mentioned. It was noted that it is not suitable for finding wood and concrete pipelines.
Trust but verify…
In a rural area near Bloomington, Illinois, school officials were very concerned about water shortages. Therefore, in the spring of 1956, they invited experts to conduct conventional geological exploration, hired experts to drill wells and waited for the results. However, the school board received only a few dry wells for their money.
And across the street from the school lived Mrs. J. M. Curry. The school superintendents asked if Mrs. Curry would allow several wells to be drilled in her area. Mrs. Curry responded with a polite but firm refusal, but at the same time offered to let her "twist a little" and look for water on the school grounds. The slightly perplexed school leaders agreed.
Mrs. Curry went into the garden and cut a flyer from a peach tree. With this "search tool" she walked up and down the school playground and pointed out where to drill, and no less than 70 feet. The school council thanked Mrs. Curry, but delayed drilling.
One student councilor contacted a friend who was "dabbling" in dowsing, and he pointed to the same spot as Mrs. Curry, determining the future well to be 80 feet deep. A third biolocator was invited, but his willow twig pointed to the same place. And to the water, according to him, it was about 75 feet.
And yet the school board was filled with doubts. A fourth psychic was invited. This one pointed to a spot less than three feet from the previous one. And then the school board decided. The drillers were called and they drilled a well "in the same place" and reached the aquifer at 87 feet. The well turned out to be reliable, in a layer of gravel.
They find more than water
Some dowsers can detect not only water, but other substances as well. One such case was widely reported in Canadian newspapers in 1956.
For two years, engineers and technicians were unable to locate the oil leak from the pipeline, which became a real disaster for the homes of Owen Niblett and Lyle Watson in Toronto. Gradually, the smell of oil fumes in homes became as strong as in oil refineries. And the concentration of gases in the premises has reached a level at which it became unsafe to light a fire. At the same time, soon Niblett's house was also flooded, so much so that he began to tumble to one side.
The engineers and technicians had to admit that they were unable to locate the oil leak and turned to the local dowser, Beatrice Sproul, for help. The potential savior said she would try to help, although she had not yet had the opportunity to search underground for oil.
Taking a freshly cut slingshot twig in her hands, Mrs. Sproul began to walk around the houses. Soon she managed to spot one place where the rod showed activity, and then began to deviate to the side, as if indicating the direction of the continuation of the search. Based on this instruction, Mrs. Sproul crossed the highway, then, winding, came to the intersection of two city roads. Then Mrs. Sproul crossed the railroad track and found herself in the field.
As she moved across the field, the rod in her hands showed continuous activity, as it were jerked from side to side in those places where the lady, apparently, crossed the oil leak line. Suddenly Mrs. Sproul stopped, drew a circle and pointed it to the engineers. They began to dig where it was indicated. And it was soon discovered that from the two branches of the high-pressure oil pipeline there is an intensive leak into the surrounding loose soil, from where the oil flows under the houses of the long-suffering Niblett and Watson.
Mrs. Sproul, using an “unscientific” method and a primitive, ridiculous “tool,” found the damage that experts, doing everything in science, had been doggedly searching for for two years.
It took Mrs. Sproul less than two and a half hours.
Vadim Ilyin