Dowser

A dowser is a person who claims to be able to locate underground water using a rod or a pendulum. A long-standing figure of rural life, the dowser was consulted before a well was dug. Some extend the practice to searching for metals, lost objects or missing people. Hydrogeologists point out that groundwater is found almost everywhere at some depth, which makes successes hard to assess. The skill belongs to tradition more than to geology.