History question: Who invented the L-rods?

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Ian Pegler
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History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by Ian Pegler »

From Dowsing Today, November 2017, page 46:
"Louis Matacia, an American, revolutionised dowsing by inventing the Angle Rod."
This seems to agree with information in Christopher Bird's "The Divining Hand" - but is it correct?

Your thoughts please ... no off-topic posts...

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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by Geoff Stuttaford »

Dowsing, I get confirmation that Louis matacia did invent the anger rod but that a wooden rod, taken from a branch of a tree and shaped more like a letter T, was used by dowsers , prior to the angle rod and as well as the Y rod, to find water.
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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by simonwheeler »

Louis matacia did invent the anger rod
So-called because they did more than cross? :lol: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:
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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by Grahame »

I can't find the reference in The Divining Hand (pp199-200)- it doesn't seem to explicitly say that Louis invented the L-rod, but it could be interpreted that way I guess. It refers to them as 'Matacia's wire rudders'.
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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by plazak »

The March 1961 Journal of the BSD (pages 163-166) has an article titled "Dowsing with the angle rod" reprinted from a 1938 issue of the Journal, and taken from a talk by E. P. Wilson to the BSD on 13 January 1938. The article begins: "About a year ago I saw a diviner walking over some fields holding a pair of angle rods." There we have it, back at least to 1937, well before Matacia.

It is certainly a pity that old issues of the BSD Journal are not more widely available. There is such a wealth of history there.

Regards, Plazak
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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by Ian Pegler »

I am wondering also about the Russell Crow movie, "The Water Diviner" which begins with the protagonist (played by Crowe) dowsing for water using L-rods. The action is set a few years after the Battle of Gallipoli, so say 1920. It seems a tad early for L-rods.

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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by Ian Pegler »

plazak wrote:The March 1961 Journal of the BSD (pages 163-166) has an article titled "Dowsing with the angle rod" reprinted from a 1938 issue of the Journal, and taken from a talk by E. P. Wilson to the BSD on 13 January 1938. The article begins: "About a year ago I saw a diviner walking over some fields holding a pair of angle rods." There we have it, back at least to 1937, well before Matacia.

It is certainly a pity that old issues of the BSD Journal are not more widely available. There is such a wealth of history there.

Regards, Plazak
Excellent research by plazak, as usual. 8)

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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by patrick herring »

plazak wrote:
There we have it, back at least to 1937, well before Matacia.
I've just been through the index for Barrett & Besterman's The Divining Rod for metal/angle rods and found nothing. There are several metal versions of Y-rods, e.g. watch-spring material, and many pictures, including hands-only and I-rod dowsing, but nothing with a right-angle bend. So, unknown in 1926, at least by those authors.
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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by Grahame »

I found a reference in Capt. W H Trinder's book 'Dowsing', dating from 1939, where he mentions angle rods as though they are some new-fangled gadget that he doesn't entirely trust as a dowsing tool - possibly referencing the Wilson talk that Plazak mentioned.
Trinder gives a sketch and suggests L-rods of 20 inches with a handle of 6 inches.
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Re: History question: Who invented the L-rods?

Post by Grahame »

I found a reference in Colin Bloy's book I'm just going down the pub to do a few miracles (just republished on Lulu.com) where he refers to, "...the Mosaical rods, as L-rods used to be called in the 17th Century..."

I've never heard that term used before, but if it's correct it would push back the date of L-rod invention considerably! :lol: :lol:
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