WorldWide Drilling Rescource

Through the Back Door! by Jim Kuebelbeck Pseudo-Science Misconceptions about the practice of water dowsing persist. In my early years of locating satisfactory groundwater supplies by my dowsing methods, an article about my unusual success in locating water supplies in areas where only dry holes had been drilled previously, appeared in our little two-page home- town newspaper. Little could I have realized, the article would somehow be forwarded to someone asso- ciated with a well-respected national water well association. This person took issue with the content of the article and wrote to me personally. In his letter, he wrote that I was simply “one of those uneducated mentally deluded 'water witchers' who still believed in superstitious folklore!” Two weeks after I received his letter, my local area of Minnesota was flooded with little brochures decrying the practice of water dowsing. The title on the pamphlets read, “Before You Hire a Water Witch.” The brochures were everywhere - in grocery stores, service stations, banks, restaurants, and anywhere people were likely to see them. Recently, one of my young granddaughters called me saying, “Grandpa, you're not going to believe this, but in our science class today we were studying about water and water sources. On one of the pages in our science book there was a picture of someone holding a dowsing rod, and underneath the picture in large letters the caption read, 'WATER DOWSING - A PSEUDO-SCIENCE'. Our teacher elaborated on the subject of pseudo-science a bit, and then went on to a different subject. I was afraid to say anything to her in front of the class, but I'm going to sit down tonight and write her a letter, telling her I think our science book is wrong. Do you think it would be okay?” I told her if someone has a belief about something, it's hard to convince them otherwise, especially when what they believe to be true is reaffirmed by what they read in a book. I told her she could feel free to write her teacher if she wanted to, but it was unlikely she was going to change her teacher's mind about something writ- ten in the textbook, and unless someone would be sufficiently motivated to investi- gate further on a particular subject about which they know little, the person is likely going to continue believing whatever has been ingrained into their personal belief system. For an eighth grader, the sensible letter she subsequently wrote to her teacher was so tactful and well-written, I was quite impressed, as was her teacher. Later in the week, her teacher told the class she had no knowledge about the practice of water dowsing until she received my granddaughter's letter, and had since done some research on the subject. She told the students that in the course of her recent research, she had come across credible tes- timonials from many landowners who had been helped by the successful water dowsing methods of one of her student's grandfather. This surprisingly open-minded teacher then said she would like to know more about the practice of water dows- ing, and asked my granddaughter if her grandfather might be willing to speak to her class about his unusual occupation. I might consider doing that. I do realize the content of many textbooks become outdated over time as new discoveries are made, and it sometimes takes years before textbooks are revised, but in this particular case I was quite shocked to discover what was published in my granddaughter's current textbook was “word for word” exactly what had been printed in the misleading brochures distributed in my area of Minnesota about 50 years ago! Life does go on. The statements and comments in this article are based on information and references believed to be true and fac- tual. If you have any questions or com- ments, please forward them to me in care of WWDR . Jim Jim Kuebelbeck may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 32 OCTOBER 2019 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Congratulat ions to : Gai l Ezepek IGSHPA Sti l lwater , OK Winner for September! Time for a Little Fun! September Puzzle Solution: Boshart Industries Acker Drill Company Win a prize! Send your completed puzzle to: WWDR PO Box 660 Bonifay, FL 32425 or fax to: 850-547-0329 Can you identify which ads in this issue these two photos came from? WTR Marcel, I certainly appreciate you guys . . . ABOVE AND BEYOND! Thanks!!! Daniel Hidalgo Marketing Manager Flomatic ® Glens Falls, NY Visit us online! worldwidedrillingresource.com