The earliest accounts of modern dowsing, also known as “divining,” “water witching,” or “doodlebugging,” go back to ancient Greece. Early proponents of the practice would grab a y-shaped stick with both hands, following the pull of the apparatus’s third prong. When the prong dipped towards the ground, they knew that they had found whatever they were looking for. As time went on, new and exciting devices were developed, such as sticks that weren’t y-shaped. Science never stops moving forward. ” The practice of dowsing has been described as sinful and even demonic by everyone from Martin Luther to the Jesuits, according to Aeon.

Today, most researchers agree that any successes that dowsers have experienced come down to random chance, and that the motion of a dowsing rod can be pretty well attributed to ideomotor response — the same subconscious muscle movements that make Ouija boards talk. For a great example of how this works, try holding a pendulum as still as possible while only thinking about moving it. Without meaning to, your body will make small, subtle motions, causing the pendulum to jiggle.

Or maybe your weird uncle has superpowers. No judgement.