Given the speed of change and fashion, it’s not surprising that as we get older, we feel like we’re living in a world that many of us don’t recognize.
And I’m not just talking about the big changes, but also the little ones that seem to happen over the decades. My grandmother, God rest her soul, was always talking about the habits and routines she had when she was young, just as she was always showing us odd instruments and trinkets that no one else in the family recognized.
I imagine it will be the same for me if I’m lucky enough to live as long as she did.
Anyway, I think it’s this sense of nostalgia that makes the “What’s this?” articles so popular on the internet. I’m talking about those photos that people upload with the desire to know what a familiar object is and what it was once used for….
Fortunately, there are people who know.
One person held the two branches of the stick in each hand, palms up. The stem of the V (the lower part where the two sticks meet) is bent towards the Earth at a 45-degree angle.
The user then walks back and forth, supposedly looking for vibrations at the bottom of the V that promise signs of water hidden beneath the earth.
Hardly anyone recognizes this ancient tool. Are you one of the few who do?