Double blind study comparing dowsing to metal detecting silver coins

[Tom_in_CA]

Since there are so many know it alls on here ...tell you what you can travel to Ohio and bring a pint jar of gold coins and a quart jar of silver coins and bury them one foot deep in two separate locations and if I can find them without using a metal detector, they are mine with no questions ask.

Also if you run your mouth while I am looking for them....you will be charged for my time.

Anyone want to take the challenge? .... I didn't think so.

I'll do it ! As long as the challenge is equal and goes both ways. You have to have a pint jar of gold coins to give me, if you fail the test. Agreed ?

And I applaud you for breaking ranks with other dowsers.
Who claim that the supposed ability *can't* be tested. All the while screaming that it "works".

So you got a pint jar of gold coins ready ?

 

[Cherry Picker]

Detector - my question is have you been able to repeat finding a silver coin with coat hangers. Heck, I a very hard time doing that with my 800.

I guess that may be where superstitions come into play. I find a silver coin when wearing a yellow scarf, then find another one that same day. Next day don't wear a scarf and get skunked. Hmmm, maybe the scarf is a good luck charm.

And if a good luck charm makes you have more confidence then in some way it might work. Having a positive attitude on a metal detecting hunt may very well improve your odds.

I don't think anyone will argue against the fact that bad luck and good luck does exist but has little emperical evidence to support the theory or belief in both types of luck.

You missed my point. Yes it was no doubt pure coincidence I walked out and found the silver half in a field following the coat hangers, but it does not change the fact that I can honestly say I found that silver half because I followed where the coat hangers said to go. That fact can not be changed. I never would have gone out in that field had it not been for playing with the dowsing rods idea. FACT!

So, whoever made the comment you can never find a nickle/penny/whatever with a dowsing rod was wrong.

 

[maxxkatt]

You missed my point. Yes it was no doubt pure coincidence I walked out and found the silver half in a field following the coat hangers, but it does not change the fact that I can honestly say I found that silver half because I followed where the coat hangers said to go. That fact can not be changed. I never would have gone out in that field had it not been for playing with the dowsing rods idea. FACT!

So, whoever made the comment you can never find a nickle/penny/whatever with a dowsing rod was wrong.

so the dowsing rods actually crossed and you dug there and found the silver half?

I am not trying in any manner saying what you say is incorrect. But did you ever try to repeat that event and find other coins?

 

[Cherry Picker]

so the dowsing rods actually crossed and you dug there and found the silver half?

I am not trying in any manner saying what you say is incorrect. But did you ever try to repeat that event and find other coins?

No, my buddy and I were reading some Treasure MAGS back in the 80s. There was an article about using coat hangers as dowsing rods so we decided to try. We walked out back of the apartment and I started to scan. They crossed telling us to go a certain way which we did. We ended up out in the middle of a plowed field by following the crossing of the rods. My buddy was walking in front of me and walked right over it. I happened to look down and saw the walker sticking halfway out of the ground.

Now would they have crossed had I walked over it? All I can say is that I found a silver walking half in the middle of a plowed field because I was trying the coat hangers as dowsing rods. I would not have been out there if not for messing with the rods.

 

[maxxkatt]

No, my buddy and I were reading some Treasure MAGS back in the 80s. There was an article about using coat hangers as dowsing rods so we decided to try. We walked out back of the apartment and I started to scan. They crossed telling us to go a certain way which we did. We ended up out in the middle of a plowed field by following the crossing of the rods. My buddy was walking in front of me and walked right over it. I happened to look down and saw the walker sticking halfway out of the ground.

Now would they have crossed had I walked over it? All I can say is that I found a silver walking half in the middle of a plowed field because I was trying the coat hangers as dowsing rods. I would not have been out there if not for messing with the rods.

I agree that you can honestly say you found the half dollar while using dowsing rods.

If I thought I could use dowsing rods finding silver half dollars or even yet gold dollars, I would be out there using them every day, if they would do that on a consistent basis. I would be foolish not to use them.

 

[KingTotsalot]

AND not mentioned in all this discussion are those folks that claim that it only works if you use a forked peach tree limb....

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....All I can say is that I found a silver walking half in the middle of a plowed field because I was trying the coat hangers as dowsing rods. .....

detector, did you just eyeball that ? Or did you use a detector where the rods indicated at ?

Sorry if you already answered this. I'm trying to understand.

 

[KOB]

Maybe your buddy walking in front of you , dropped the half just to mess with you. And he's been laughing for 40 years....

 

[MuddyMo]

I'm not going to tell believers they're wrong but for d rods to work it would have to be the human not the rods. Unless the strength of the pull was real strong then you would have to have the vertical part exactly plumb and with no friction the entire time you're walking. If it was the rods you could mount them and move the targets under them and they would indicate a target just like a metal detector.

 

[MuddyMo]

When we were kids and now in front of grand kids, we messed with others using the Y limb. We would twist the ends and make it dip. Funny to see the amazed looks on their faces.

 

[Cherry Picker]

detector, did you just eyeball that ? Or did you use a detector where the rods indicated at ?

Sorry if you already answered this. I'm trying to understand.

I did eyeball it. I saw it before I got to it with the rods. That is why I say I can say if I had not been testing the dowsing I never would have been out there to eyeball it.

It was not a fresh drop because the top half, not in the ground, was black patina real bad like it had been in the sun for a long time. It was a plowed field, but not recently plowed field. Nothing was ever plated there it was like they only plowed it to keep the overgrowth down. Once I saw it I could tell right away it was a coin so I told my friend to look what he just walked over. I still had not gotten over the coin with the rods. I'm sure they would not have crossed had I walked over it. Funny thing was I was thinking about finding silver when I found it LOL.

 

[Florida Tabdigger]

Come on you guys...everyone has a vid-cam...show something...pro or con.

 

[maxxkatt]

Come on you guys...everyone has a vid-cam...show something...pro or con.

I wonder if a skeptic of dowsing could try it and give it a fair shot. This all started in my mind when over on TN guys were offering to dowse photographs of fields and tell the metal detectorist where to hunt for their silver coins.

Prior to that had not giving dowsing much thought one way or the other. Saw many older movies where individuals used dowsing with forked sticks to find water. Just kind of accepted it might or might not be true. Did not do any critical analysis about the subject until lately.

I admit there are things that just because I don't understand them, that does not mean they don't exist. Most things in science seem to be proved with mathematics. Gravity, light waves and the list goes on.

I don't know enough about mathematics to even begin to see how you could apply that to dowsing. I have heard this repeated before, that everything in the universe can be describe by some type of mathematical formula.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.......I admit there are things that just because I don't understand them, that does not mean they don't exist.....

Katt-maxx : Doesn't really matter if the participants in this conversation can "understand" the mechanics of dowsing . What really matters is not the "HOW" it works. What matters is "IF" it works.

I've seen people get into long drawn out debates on the "How". Eg.: some-sort-of-attraction with a bunch of $20 words. Or some sort of paranormal (then people get their panties in a wad about that). Or some sort of "un-discovered science".

But then one day I came to my senses and realized : WAIT A SECOND ! What does it matter the "how" ? We haven't even agreed on "IF" it even works, IN THE FIRST PLACE !

So I make it easy now and simply grant whatever explanation they care to attribute it to. And then simply say : Great ! Let's see it Problem solved

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I did eyeball it. ....

Ok, thanx.

I might be wrong, and I'm open to counter-evidence, but here's my proposed explanation. And the best way to convey is via example :

Using myself as an example, I've been md'ing for 45-ish years. So I've developed a keen eye for anything md'ing related. So I tend to see and notice things that the next guy simply won't notice.

For example: In my job at my street sweeper company, we used to have a string of shopping center accounts. We had to clean their parking lots each night. And I would routinely find objects of value. Eg.: A $10 bill here and there. Sometimes a piece of gold jewelry, etc.... in the middle of the night.

And one week, after I'd found 2 gold jewelry items (simply by eyeballing them), I bragged to my coworker that they had such & such melt value. But my coworkers never found as much as I did. Not that they would turn-a-blind eye to picking up something of value, but .... it just wasn't on their mind. Versus me: It was a sport. I was purposefully keeping my eyes peeled.

SO TOO IS IT WITH DOWSING ! If you are distinctly specifically going out, looking for, and having the expectation of finding a goodie, then go-figure : You're going to have your eyes peeled. The next guy, who WASN'T "looking" for a goodie (and hence not carrying a wand), is NOT going to be looking. And will thus not notice.

I Mean, for example, newspaper headlines sometimes have stories of persons who've accidentally stumbled on to caches. Right ? Eg.: Construction workers digging a ditch. Or someone found a false-wall during remodeling, in their old house, with a cache hidden. Therefore, go-figure : HOW MUCH MORE-SO will there inevitably be stuff found, by persons who go out SOLELY to find things ?

So too might the explanation of your half dollar be. IF I'M WRONG, and there's some sort of quantifiable method that can be repeated (beyond random chance), then : I'm more than willing to see it demonstrated in a double-blind test.

 

[graybeard]

I'll do it ! As long as the challenge is equal and goes both ways. You have to have a pint jar of gold coins to give me, if you fail the test. Agreed ?

And I applaud you for breaking ranks with other dowsers.
Who claim that the supposed ability *can't* be tested. All the while screaming that it "works".

So you got a pint jar of gold coins ready ?

I have nothing to prove to anyone, so I don't need to have any coins to give you or anyone.

You are the one saying nothing works unless proven by science. So according to science the BIGFOOT coil don't work, because nobody has been able to duplicate it, lots of people tried to do it. The makers of the BIG DAWG thought they solved the problem that others were having of copying it, but they failed.

If you do happen to get brave enough to take the challenge, after I find them you have to go on all the metal detecting forums and admit you were wrong about things working that science can't prove either way.

 

[chillforlife]

Have no idea about the validity of dowsing, but doubt it. But, I stand by my original post on this thread.

 

[atomicbrh]

I wonder if a skeptic of dowsing could try it and give it a fair shot. This all started in my mind when over on TN guys were offering to dowse photographs of fields and tell the metal detectorist where to hunt for their silver coins.

Prior to that had not giving dowsing much thought one way or the other. Saw many older movies where individuals used dowsing with forked sticks to find water. Just kind of accepted it might or might not be true. Did not do any critical analysis about the subject until lately.

I admit there are things that just because I don't understand them, that does not mean they don't exist. Most things in science seem to be proved with mathematics. Gravity, light waves and the list goes on.

I don't know enough about mathematics to even begin to see how you could apply that to dowsing. I have heard this repeated before, that everything in the universe can be describe by some type of mathematical formula.

Maxx,
I think you should try dowsing as you fit in the category of skeptic.
I will describe how to make the best bang for your buck dowsing rods.
Two 4 inch sections of the old steel type automotive fuel line for handles.
Two welding rods bent at 90 degrees so that you can insert about 5 inches through the fuel line. Bend another 90 degrees in the 1 inch or so of the rod sticking out of the handle to prevent the handle from falling off.
Go to any shop that repairs older used cars and they will probably give you this stuff for free. The rods and fuel line can be in any used condition as long as the rods pivot freely in the handles. Bare rods in the hands are not suppose to work as well as the ones with the fuel line handles.

 

[maxxkatt]

Maxx,
I think you should try dowsing as you fit in the category of skeptic.
I will describe how to make the best bang for your buck dowsing rods.
Two 4 inch sections of the old steel type automotive fuel line for handles.
Two welding rods bent at 90 degrees so that you can insert about 5 inches through the fuel line. Bend another 90 degrees in the 1 inch or so of the rod sticking out of the handle to prevent the handle from falling off.
Go to any shop that repairs older used cars and they will probably give you this stuff for free. The rods and fuel line can be in any used condition as long as the rods pivot freely in the handles. Bare rods in the hands are not suppose to work as well as the ones with the fuel line handles.

That is a good idea. But with a twist on it. Have someone build the dowsing rods for me and I sell them on eBay. I seriously think that would make me more money than using them.

When I buy a new detector, I research this detector AND watch youtube videos of people actually using it to find relics or silver coins with live digs showing the coins coming out of the hole.

Trouble with dowsing, I cannot find those youtube videos of people dowsing and pulling silver coins out of the holes. I wonder why I cannot find successful dowsing for silver videos on youtube?

But..., I can find many hundreds of youtube videos of detectorists pulling out silver coins from dirt where the detector pinpointed those coins.

I would love for you to make such a video and show us that the dowsing rods really work on silver coins or better yet gold coins.

 

[Tpmetal]

I have nothing to prove to anyone, so I don't need to have any coins to give you or anyone.

You are the one saying nothing works unless proven by science. So according to science the BIGFOOT coil don't work, because nobody has been able to duplicate it, lots of people tried to do it. The makers of the BIG DAWG thought they solved the problem that others were having of copying it, but they failed.

If you do happen to get brave enough to take the challenge, after I find them you have to go on all the metal detecting forums and admit you were wrong about things working that science can't prove either way.

you are the one issuing the challenge...sounds like you have something to prove...Also if you can dowse so well why not pony up for a fair challenge? there will be no loss on your part because it works right?