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Drought Inspires a Boom In Pseudoscience, From Rain Machines To 'Water Witches'

merbs (2708203) writes Across drought-stricken California, farmers are desperate for water. Now, many of them are calling dowsers. These "water witches," draped in dubious pseudoscience or self-assembled mythologies—or both—typically use divining rods and some sort of practiced intuition to "find" water. The professional variety do so for a fee. And business is booming. They're just part of a storied tradition of pseudoscientific hucksters exploiting our thirst for water, with everything from cloudbusters to rainmachines to New Age rituals.

3 of 266 comments (clear)

  1. It's OK to attack mythology and superstition... by mythosaz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...unless someone was taught it over a series of Sundays. :/

    I suppose ignorance on things like this is generational, and we'll stamp it out slowly, like racism or smoking.

  2. Re: A fool and their money by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    my father called the local dowser in for his house in a remote part of SW Ireland.

    The low areas of Ireland get more than 40 inches of rain a year, and the mountains get as much as 80 inches. I would be much more surprised if he found an area without ground water.

  3. Re: A fool and their money by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Found 3 spots that felt just right, drilled the first, and found water at 70 feet.

    How deep did you have to drill for the holes in the control group?