divining-rod???


Fritz Lang put this to the film seriously?

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Why not? It has been known to work after all.

"Any plan that involves loosing your hat is a BAD plan.""

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There probably weren't portable metal detectors at that time. Some people put a lot of stock into diving rods, although I have questions, like does a wooden divining rod (forked stick) work in a similar fashion to metal ones (2 separate rods held in each hand)?

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Was he using the divining rod to look for water or gold? I'm watching it now, and it was mentioned that they had to find water. Anyway, wooden ones should work for water anyway. I've seen divining rods made from a y-shaped tree branch before.

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I'm just a patsy!

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Yeah, they're total bollocks of course and don't work at all, but I'll forgive Fritz as it's such a lovely film.

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Pseudoscientific nonsense, of course. But keep in mind that this type of thing was very popular in German cinema in the '20s, especially in Lang's work. Individuals with psychic/telepathic powers like Dr. Mabuse, or seances to commune with spirits -- the Germans loved this supernatural stuff. They ate it up with a spoon. So I wasn't even remotely surprised to see something like a divining rod pop up in "Woman in the Moon". I think I would have been more surprised if something like that didn't pop up in Lang's film.

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