# Now I'm affected by Dowsing **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287 "2012-03-30T15:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/1 "2012-03-30T15:22:31Z")
I’m trying to sell a house in PA, got a buyer and everything was going OK. But Mortgage company wants the septic and drain fields re-certified. The buyer sends a guy out who states “there is no Drain field”. WTF?!? I lived there for over a year, I know they are there and work fine. My agent calls me yesterday and tells me they hired a Dowser to verify the drain field and he can’t find any. I almost couldn’t stop laughing to realize he was serious. The sale is off due to a dowser!! Today he is personally going to dig a hole and bring out a guy to certify the drain field is exactly where I said it is. The dowser said he will go out there as well and give the money back he charged if he is proven wrong. IF? Then the sale will be back on. What really gets me is the mortage company would have taken the dowser’s word for it if he had certified the drain field. Maybe I should have put this in the Pit, but I don’t like the pit. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/2 "2012-03-30T15:31:21Z")
Bizarre… But dowsing really isn’t any crazier than thinking you can [use a system to win at slots.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14889220&postcount=19) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/3 "2012-03-30T15:34:50Z")
Is your house ghost-free? You might want to get a ghost whisperer out there too. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/4 "2012-03-30T15:39:19Z")
If the mortgage company had accepted that fakir’s word and bollixed the deal, I would have been all over their ass with threats to go public with their methods. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/5 "2012-03-30T16:06:00Z")
Maybe the prospective buyer wanted to get out of the deal some way and came up with this. Then the real estate company called shenanigans. That’s Shenanigan’s Septic Service." ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/6 "2012-03-30T16:17:58Z")
Dowsing is nonsense. But your drain field may have become saturated anyway. Isn’t there a local engineering department that makes that determination? ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/7 "2012-03-30T16:29:39Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Bizarre… But dowsing really isn’t any crazier than thinking you can [use a system to win at slots.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14889220&postcount=19) Misinterpreted much? I do win at slots, I’m way ahead. I posted a very small single thing I do, from this you call it a system? If everone could win at slots with what I do, I would call it a system, but I do not. I think believing in dowsing is pretty much above that. If YOU think it the same thing, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/8 "2012-03-30T16:30:45Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Dowsing is nonsense. But your drain field may have become saturated anyway. Isn’t there a local engineering department that makes that determination? Got to be something better than some guy with a forked stick. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/9 "2012-03-30T16:39:12Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Dowsing is nonsense. But your drain field may have become saturated anyway. Isn’t there a local engineering department that makes that determination? If the drain field was saturated, wouldn’t a dowser be finding plenty of water? If that bullshit actually worked, I mean. What a load of crap. I’d be tempted to go public on the mortgage company anyway if that’s the kind of expert advice they’re actually taking seriously. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/10 "2012-03-30T16:43:24Z")
In his book _Flim Flam!_ James Randi reproduces engineering instructions and a drawing fro m some (un-named) company, telling you how to construct and use a dowsing rod. I’ve heard of people getting Army training in this, too. There’s widespread and institutionalized belief in dowsing and similar hokum. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/11 "2012-03-30T17:13:40Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > If the drain field was saturated, wouldn’t a dowser be finding plenty of water? If that bullshit actually worked, I mean. > > What a load of crap. I’d be tempted to go public on the mortgage company anyway if that’s the kind of expert advice they’re actually taking seriously. I meant saturated with dirt, silt, or whatever. Not water. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/12 "2012-03-30T17:25:04Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Misinterpreted much? I do win at slots, I’m way ahead. I posted a very small single thing I do, from this you call it a system? If everone could win at slots with what I do, I would call it a system, but I do not. “There is a way to play slot machines and consistently come out ahead.” “Dowsing works.” Both peg the logic Fail-O-Meter at eleven. Point goes to **Bob Ducca**. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/13 "2012-03-30T17:26:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In his book _Flim Flam!_ James Randi reproduces engineering instructions and a drawing fro m some (un-named) company, telling you how to construct and use a dowsing rod. I’ve heard of people getting Army training in this, too. There’s widespread and institutionalized belief in dowsing and similar hokum. Randi also pretty much debunked dowsing by proving they couldn’t find a series of water pipes (with water flowing in them) that he had buried. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/14 "2012-03-30T17:29:56Z")
Here you go. An engineer should be performing a [percolation test](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percolation_test). ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/15 "2012-03-30T17:38:57Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In his book _Flim Flam!_ James Randi reproduces engineering instructions and a drawing fro m some (un-named) company, telling you how to construct and use a dowsing rod. I’ve heard of people getting Army training in this, too. There’s widespread and institutionalized belief in dowsing and similar hokum. You get a forked stick or a pendulum (or whatever) and convince other people that you can use the item in question to find water, oil, or whatever else you want to claim you can find. Actually finding the object or substance in question might be helpful, but is not required to convince many people that you can find it. _That’s_ how dowsing works. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/16 "2012-03-30T17:43:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If the mortgage company had accepted that fakir’s word and bollixed the deal, I would have been all over their ass with threats to go public with their methods. Yeah, fork them with a stick! ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/17 "2012-03-30T17:45:28Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > “There is a way to play slot machines and consistently come out ahead.” > > “Dowsing works.” > > Both peg the logic Fail-O-Meter at eleven. > > Point goes to **Bob Ducca**. I wasn’t going to gloat, but… ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/18 "2012-03-30T18:08:48Z")
> [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > Maybe the prospective buyer wanted to get out of the deal some way and came up with this. Then the real estate company called shenanigans. That’s Shenanigan’s Septic Service." “Shenanigans’s: Your number two is our number one priority!” ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/19 "2012-03-30T18:20:12Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In his book _Flim Flam!_ James Randi reproduces engineering instructions and a drawing fro m some (un-named) company, telling you how to construct and use a dowsing rod. I’ve heard of people getting Army training in this, too. There’s widespread and institutionalized belief in dowsing and similar hokum. [Yes,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651) but it seems to be the Iraq military that is really into those devices to detect explosives. So, the OP might want to try telling the real estate agent that the failure of the dowser to find anything is simply proof that there are no car bombs buried in the back yard. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287/20 "2012-03-30T18:56:55Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I meant saturated with dirt, silt, or whatever. Not water. Eh. I have exactly no experience with septic fields, but when I looked up “saturated drain field” to find out what it meant, every page I looked at indicated it involves too much water not being able to drain the way it should, for various reasons. Seems like a dowser should be able to detect the difference between a “saturated drainfield” and “no drainfield,” if what they’re looking for is water. That is assuming of course the concept that that crap actually worked. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-im-affected-by-dowsing/617287.md?page=2)