HOW OUIJA BOARD WORKS

In February 1891, the first few advertisements started appearing in papers: "Ouija, the Wonderful Talking Board", boomed a Pittsburgh toy and novelty shop, describing a magical device that answered questions, "about the past, present and future with marvelous accuracy." Price $1.50. Ouija Board is a flat board with letters of the alphabet arrayed in two semi-circles above the numbers 0 through 9; the words "yes" and "no" in the uppermost corners, "good bye" at the bottom; accompanied by a "planchette", a teardrop-shaped device, usually with a small window in the body, used to maneuver about the board.

Christian religious groups still remain wary of the board, citing scripture denouncing communication with spirits through mediums. In early 1990s the sale of the boards were suddenly fell down with the beliefs that Ouija Boards were spooky rather than spiritual.

Scientific explanation is that the Ouija Boards rely on the power of your own body. The idea to summon the spirits one wants to communicate with, and they will move the planchette around the board to spell out answers to questions you ask, until finally said good bye and the spirits go back to wherever they came from. It all sounds pretty harmless, but there is a long tradition of people believing that Ouija boards are dangerous occult gateways that can lead to demon possession or worse. After all, what happens if it's a non-friendly spirit that is moving the planchette without your control? In fact, there is a simple scientific explanation: The mysterious mechanism that powers the Ouija board  is called the ideomotor effect and it is basically a way for your body to talk to itself. The ideomotor effect is an example of unconscious, involuntary physical movement - that is,  we move when we are not trying to move. If you have ever experienced the sudden feeling of jerking awake from sleep (known as the hypnic jerk) you have experienced a more abrupt verson of the ideomotor effect: your brain signalling your body to move without your conscious awareness. The obvious difference is that the ideomotor effect happens when you are awake, so the reflexive movements you make are much smaller.

(Indebted to article by Aja Romano)

KV George

kvgeorgein@gmail.com